Christian, Muslim accord signed in Indonesia

Christian, Muslim accord signed in Indonesia

AMBRON, Indonesia — On Feb. 12, a second peace accord in the space of three months between Christians and Muslims in one of Indonesia’s trouble spots got off to a rocky start.

The eleven-point peace accord was barely signed in war-torn Ambon, when Jafar Umar Thalib, commander of Laskar Jihad extremists, said in a press conference two days later that he did not recognize the agreement. Local Christian leaders warned that the agreement will only work with greater government determination to deal evenhandedly with extremist groups dedicated to violence.

More than 5,000 people have been killed and 250,000 have been left in refugee camps as a result of the violence that has erupted on Ambon and the surrounding Maluku islands since December 1998.