JAKARTA - Corruption, not religion, is to blame for the continuing violence in the Maluku islands, according to observers.
Troops stationed in the strife-torn province are among those who have a hand in prolonging the conflict by selling their weapons and their services to rival Muslim and Christian groups, they say.
Certain other groups such as traders and radical groups also wanted to keep the tensions alive, said observers who noted that both Muslim and Christian communities widely supported a peaceful solution.
'It looks like a religious conflict but actually it is not. The core problems are economic and political,' said Mr Tamrin Tomagola, a Moluccan sociologist who runs a group advocating peace on the island chain.
Two months ago, religious leaders signed a government-brokered peace deal to end the three-year-old conflict but it was shattered after a series of explosions and an attack on a Christian village in which at least 14 people were killed late last month.
According to Mr Tamrin, the troops stationed in Ambon often supplement their meagre pay by selling weapons and hiring themselves to provide security for businesses.
They were not necessarily backed by higher-level military commanders, he added, noting that the flow of weapons to both sides in the conflict was 'quite abundant'.
The troops may also have been offering training and support to groups such as the militant Laskar Jihad, say other observers.
They point out that Laskar Jihad members who attacked a Christian village last month, were seen arriving in military trucks.
Several hundred soldiers and policemen, who deserted their duties more than six months ago to join a radical group, were also fuelling the violence, said Mr Tamrin.
Ms Sidney Jones, director of international think-tank International Crisis Group, said police and the military stationed in Ambon were deeply involved in almost every sector of Ambon's economy.
They have not just been running protection rackets for businesses but also trading in basic supplies for the island, she said.
Speedboat operators, for instance, provide an alternative route around the island so that Christians can avoid travelling through Muslim areas, or visa versa.
There are also several businesses selling smuggled goods who may be backing militant groups in Ambon.
'A lot of economic activity such as land-rights, trade and the spice trade are being controlled by certain groups,' said one aid worker.
Aid workers and Mr Tamrin also suspect that some radical groups had opposed the peace treaty because they feared that the flow of aid from both international organisations and local religious outfits might dry up if the conflict ended.
Top security minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono announced yesterday that a single command for the military and the police would be established to help authorities in the province, which is currently under a state of civilian emergency.
It will be headed by a major-general who will be seconded by a police lieutenant-general to ensure proper coordination, he said.