The Jakarta Post, 4/26/2004 5:48:34 PM
Ministry of Health sends 16 doctors to Ambon
JAKARTA (Antara): The Ministry of Health sent 16 doctors and medicine supplies to
the eastern Indonesian city of Ambon on Monday to provide medical aid a after fresh
sectarian clashes killed at least 16 people and injured dozens of others on Sunday.
"The team consists of 10 specialists from Jakarta and 6 doctors from South
Sulawesi," Minister of Health Achmad Sujudi said.
"The medical assistance is badly needed because the central government stopped
sending medical teams to Maluku in mid-2003."
The team includes surgeons, orthopedists, anesthetists,internists and psychiatrists,
who will be stationed in a number of hospitals in Ambon where victims of Sunday's
conflict are undergoing treatment, he added.
President Megawati Soekarnoputri, to be accompanied by Sujudi and National Police
chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar, is expected to hold a teleconference with officials , security
personnel and medical workers in Maluku on Monday afternoon.
Sunday's flareup began when some 25 members of the separatist Maluku Sovereignty
Front (FKM), mostly Christians, staged a rally in Ambon to mark the 54th anniversary
of the outlawed Republic of South Maluku (RMS) movement.
During their rally, the protesters jeered at security personnel while passing Jl. Dr.
Tamaela in the city and insulted the Muslim community living along the street.
The two groups hurled stones at each other, prompting security personnel to open
fire.
Maluku province has been calm since a number of meetings between the two groups
took place in 2002 to put an end to the conflict that began in January 1999.
Thousands of people were killed in the conflict.
The government lifted the state of civil emergency in Maluku last September following
a significant drop in the level of violence in the famed Spice Islands.
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