: Indonesia Works to Quell Muslim-Christian Violence

With a new round of violence increasing tensions between Muslims and Christians in Indonesia’s troubled Central Sulawesi region (one person was found dead and three people are reported missing), Indonesian minister Yusuf Kalla arrived in the regional capital Palu in order to hold a second round of peace negotiations designed to put an end to inter-religions clashes that have killed over 2,000 people since late 1998. Jakarta is eager to put an end to the violence, which is discouraging investment and aid into the worlds fourth most populous country. The latest incident involved an Italian tourist being shot by gunmen as his bus passed through the Christian enclave of Tentena. The US government, wanting to help keep Indonesia in line with respect to the war on terrorism, is sending help in the form of American mediator Anthony Zinni. Hope he has better luck than he did in the Middle East.

Shahed Amanullah is editor-in-chief of altmuslim.com.