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Megawati's resignation demanded over Ambon

JAKARTA: Hundreds of Indonesian Muslims on Wednesday protested outside the palace of Vice-President Megawati Sukarnoputri demanding her resignation after her failure to resolve conflicts in the eastern spice islands.

Fighting between Muslims and Christians in the eastern Moluccas islands has raged on for almost a year, killing more than 1,500 people. Around a third of the victims died in December.

After she was elected in October, Megawati was handed personal responsibility by President Abdurrahman Wahid to resolve the conflict which first erupted last January in the eastern island of Ambon.

Both Megawati and Wahid visited the racked island last December but the visit failed to restore peace and order in the islands, once held up as a symbol of religious harmony in this multi-ethnic nation.

On Wednesday, most of the 800 Muslim protesters -- clad in white veils and white headbands -- cried outside the palace as they demanded to meet Megawati who is also the leader of the secular Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P)

Some of the protesters shouted "Jihad! Jihad!" (Holy war) against Christians in the Moluccas.-Reuters