Tearing a nation apart

In November 1998, two hundred Christian gang members retreated to Ambon aft er losing a turf war in Jakarta's notorious Ketapang casino district. The c onflict in South Maluku had begun in earnest. Rival Christian and Muslim ga ngs started to organise in church halls and mosques. The Christian 'Reds' - named after their red bandannas - and the Muslim 'Whites' confronted each other on the streets. The red-and-white of the Indonesian national flag was symbolically torn down the middle.