A FRIEND reminded me of a slice of history in the Moluccan history of violence. In the 1950s, the Indonesian Republic sent a force to quell the Republic of the South Moluccas (RMS) rebellion in Ambon. In the fighting that ensued, the commander of the special army force was shot. He died. His name was Slamet Riyadi. He was a Catholic.

This is a fact I need to state. For people in Ambon are now reviving the slogans and flags of the "Repu