[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 458]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                    CIVILIANS MURDERED IN INDONESIA

  (Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about what is happening 
to the people of Ambon in Indonesia. Over 2,000 people have been killed 
in the past few months; hundreds have been severely wounded; dozens of 
churches have been burned, all as a result of fighting in Ambon and 
approximately 1,000 extremists having traveled to the area to wage 
jihad on the inhabitants.
  Unfortunately, the Indonesian military has played a role in the death 
and terrorizing of civilians. In one report, a church was being guarded 
by its congregation when soldiers arrived. The military went into the 
church, started shooting, killed 24 men, dragged the bodies outside and 
burned them beyond recognition. The soldiers apparently belonged to the 
elite strategic reserve command and the paramilitary police.
  Observers in local hospitals have heard numerous stories of people 
shot by soldiers of the Indonesian army.
  Mr. Speaker, I commend President Wahid for his efforts to end this 
violence and I urge him to take the needed steps to bring the military 
under control and to bring to justice those responsible for brutally 
murdering innocent civilians.

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