| Indonesia’s president was greeted by hundreds of Muslim protesters as she made her first visit to the city of Ambon since 38 people died in sectarian violence last month. About 500 students urged President Megawati Sukarnoputri to take action against a mainly Christian separatist movement as she held talks with religious and Maluku provincial officials during the brief visit, which lasted several hours. Megawati, who is seeking another term in the July 5 presidential election, later travelled on to Ternate in North Maluku. Thirty-eight people died and over 100 were injured during more than a week of communal violence in Ambon, which was sparked by a parade by the separatists on April 25. An international think-tank this week said both national and local governments responded poorly to the Ambon strife. Ambon was ravaged by three years of Muslim-Christian clashes which left more than 5,000 dead before a February 2002 peace pact ended the violence. |