Churches call for UN intervention

The World Alliance of Reformed Churches have called on the United Nations to intervene in the Molluccan crisis. An official statement released yesterday (31 July) from Bangalore, India, where the executive committee have been holding their annual meeting, expresses concern over crimes of humanity in the Molluccas and asks the Indonesian government and world community to do 'whatever is necessary to restore peace and security'. The WARC's executive committee called for the United Nations send a team of peace-keepers to the troubled region and begin an 'urgent evacuation airlift for people in danger'. On Sunday, the UN Refugee news service reported that a boat with 3,000 Christian refugees from Ambon had been turned away from Sorong in Irian Jaya. During clashes at least six people had been injured by the police. The report said 18,000 Molluccan refugees have already poured into Irian Jaya which has a population of about 2.5 million.