Renewed trouble in the provinces
In December 1999, the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM), a 5,000-strong guerrilla force, effectively gained control of much of Aceh province. President Wahid rejected demands by the army to impose martial law to put down the GAM. In mid-December 1999 more sectarian fighting broke out in Maluku (the Moluccas). The riots were reported to be between Muslims and Christians, and brought the number of victims of religious killings in the archipelago in 1999 up to 1,500. The conflict provoked demonstrations in Jakarta; some protested against the government's failure to stop the fighting, while Muslims there called for a holy war against the Christians in Maluka, on whom they blamed the slaughter of hundreds of Islamic faith.In January 2000, the EU lifted its ban on arms sales to Indonesia, which had been imposed four months earlier during the violence in East Timor. Criticism of the EU's move was based on the idea that it could