The Presbyterian Church in Ireland has appealed to the British and Irish governments and the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights, Mrs Mary Robinson, to intercede with Jakarta over attacks on Christians in outlying Indonesian islands.
The appeal follows a 14-day visit to the Maluku islands, formerly known as the Dutch Spice Islands, by a Belfast-born minister who told Presbyterian headquarters in Belfast that unless there was an urgent peace agreement and ceasefire, the 150,000-strong Christian community on the island of Halmahera would be wiped out.
Prof James Haire, a former missionary in Halmahera and president-elect of the Uniting Church in Australia, reported from Australia that he was prevented from going to Halmahera, but on the island of Mandao he met local leaders including the Rev Agustinus Aesh, moderator of the Halmahera Church.
"All civil administration has broken down and the situation in Halmahera is chaotic," he said. "Of the 150,000 Christians on the island, hundreds have been killed and over half are now refugees or displaced from their homes. Most have either fled the island or moved to the northern peninsula, leaving the rest of Halmahera under Muslim control, where anything Christian, including family homes, churches, schools and hospitals, has been destroyed."
The violence in Maluku has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Christians and Muslims in the last year. Prof Haire said that in the last six weeks Muslim extremists appeared to have embarked on a jihad to drive out all Christians from Ambon, Halmahera and Seram, where they have lived for centuries.
Prof Haire said the Indonesian military had last week acted to stop Christians from being killed, but had not been able to prevent burning and looting. He reported that there were no Christians left on the islands of Bacan, Tidore and Ternate. The 15,000 Christians on Ternate had been killed or fled and churches, schools and hospitals destroyed; "and it is reported that the bodies of Christians have been dumped near a missionary home originally built by the Presbyterian Church in Ireland and now destroyed".
The Rev Terry McMullan, executive secretary of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland's Overseas Board, said: "We are continuing to appeal to United Nations Human Rights Commissioner Mary Robinson and both the British and Irish governments to exert whatever pressure they can on the Indonesian government." At Mrs Robinson's request, they had provided eyewitness reports of human rights violations for the UN's Special Rapporteur on religious intolerance.
A separate report from Maluku this week described how 1,000 white-robed Muslim militants attacked a Christian village on the island of Haruku, leaving 25 people dead in a seven-hour killing rampage. This came shortly after a reconciliation meeting of Muslim and Christian leaders in Jakarta.
Many observers blame elements of the Indonesian military for stirring up trouble to undermine the democratic government in Jakarta. On Sunday, Presbyterians in Ireland will join the international Christian community in a day of prayer and fasting for Maluku.
Today the governor of the Malukas, Mr Saleh Latuconsina, along with Muslim and Christian leaders, will leave for the Netherlands for a dialogue organised by the Dutch foundation, HAIN.