The Jakarta Post, April 28, 2004
Snipers pick off 2 police officers
Azis Tunny, Octavianus Pinontoan and Tiarma Siboro, Ambon/Jakarta
Two police officers were shot dead by snipers and another officer was in a critical
condition on Tuesday as violence continued for a third day in the riot-torn city of
Ambon.
Although the level of conflict was diminishing, the number of victims continued to rise.
As of day three, the number of fatalities had reached 30 including the two officers,
with over 186 people injured.
The security situation in the Maluku capital has largely returned to normal, with the
exception of Tanah Lapang Kecil (Talake) in Nusaniwe district, where angry mobs
attacked and burned down a number of refugee shelters.
Maluku Police chief Brig. Gen. Bambang Sutrisno said at Maluku Police
Headquarters that the two police officers had been shot dead in the Talake area
shortly after they arrived from Jakarta.
The two, from the police's paramilitary Mobile Brigade unit, were First Brig. Lalu S.
Daeng, 25, and First Brig. Safrudin, 27.
The wounded officer, First Brig. Alfiandi, 26, was shot in the right eye and is now
being treated at the Al Fatah Hospital.
Outside the hospital, sounds of gun fire and explosions were heard sporadically, but
the security forces had the situation largely under the control.
Reinforcements in the form of four companies of police from Kelapa Dua and Jakarta,
and one battalion of soldiers from the Diponegoro Military Command in Central Java
have arrived in Ambon. The arrival of the security personnel has restored the
confidence of locals that the conflict can soon be overcome.
Ignoring the threat of snipers, people in some areas began to frequent traditional
markets again. Most shops, schools and government offices, however, were still
closed.
However, violence was still occurring in a number of areas, including Talake. Mobs
burned down refugee shelters in Talake, a mixed Muslim-Christian area facing Ambon
Bay in the city's southwest. Calm had been restored in the area by 8 p.m.
"The city is calm but also tense. It is like a ghost town," said Freddy Selano, an
official at the Oekumene Christian Crisis Center, as quoted by AFP.
Hospital data showed that 21 people had died and 93 injured people were being
treated at the Al Fatah Hospital, nine were being treated at the Al-Muqadam Hospital,
two had died and 13 were being treated at the Haulussy Hospital. Three people were
being treated at the Latumeten Hospital, 12 were being treated at the Maluku
Protestant Church Hospital (GPM), four died and 50 were still being treated at the
Bhakti Rahayu Hospital, while one had died and six were being treated at the Tantui
Police Hospital.
The increasing number of deaths and casualties had raised concern among health
officials as the province lacked both doctors and medicines. But relief arrived on
Tuesday in the form of 27 doctors and medical workers from various places in
Indonesia who also brought medical supplies.
Both the Muslim and Christian communities have also established health posts in
their respective areas to help treat the victims.
The renewed clashes in Ambon started on Sunday after the separatist Maluku
Sovereignty Front (FKM) held a rally to commemorate the 54th anniversary of the
proclamation of the South Maluku Republic (RMS). The members of the FKM are
mostly Christians.
The rally enraged a gang of Muslims, who also expressed anger that the police had
failed to prevent the rally from taking place. A brawl erupted, following heated
arguments. Christians have also lambasted the lack of firm measures by police. The
original conflict, which had been brewing for years, erupted in Ambon in 1999 following
a trivial argument between a public transportation driver and a passenger of different
faiths.
Thousands of Muslims and Christians were killed in the bloody conflict, which finally
subsided only in 2003.
Interim coordinating minister for political and security affairs Hari Sabarno said a team
of security and political ministers led by himself would fly to Ambon on Wednesday to
see at first hand the latest situation there.
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