TEMPO, No. 40/II/June 11 - 17, 2002
Cover Story
Governor H.M. Saleh Latuconsina: "There are many things yet to
be disclosed"
THERE'S been a new kind of tension in Maluku over the past week-unrelated to the
security in the province administered by Governor H.M. Saleh Latuconsina. It's the
kind of tension that the governor enjoys watching on television: the World Cup
matches in South Korea and Japan. "It's entertainment for me," says Latuconsina.
Latuconsina, chief of the Maluku Civil Emergency Authority, deserves his
entertainment, after three years in charge of containing a sectarian conflict. Tensions
are now showing signs of easing, after the Malino II agreement and the appointment of
Major General Djoko Santoso as chief of the new Security Restoration Operation
Command (Pangkoopslihkam) in Maluku.
But will Djoko, who will take over command of the military and the police from
Latuconsina, be able to end the conflict in Maluku? Despite being optimistic,
Latuconsina says the task faced by Djoko is daunting. "There are many things that
are yet to be disclosed," he says. One of these-which requires will and courage to
disclose-is the desertion of military and police personnel, to either side in the conflict.
Dressed in brown batik shirt, black trousers and leather sandals, Latuconsina
received TEMPO's Tomi Lebang and Frits Kerlely for an interview at his residence in
the Mangga Dua area, on a rise overlooking the provincial capital of Ambon, on Friday
afternoon last week. Excerpts:
Will the appointment of the new Pangkoopslihkam, in command of the military and
police, do much good for the efforts at ending the conflict in Maluku?
Of course it will. The conflict widened because there were people who didn't like the
police, and others who didn't like the military. So they pitted one force against the
other. Now, with a single command, hopefully the conflict should end. Another thing
which [Djoko] should deal with is the conflict within the police and the military
themselves. The Tantui incident (military attack on police barracks), for instance, has
caused division even within the police command in Maluku. Now you have white
(pro-Muslim) and red (pro-Christian) police personnel. The same thing happened with
the military, although it was not as serious as with the police. It's only at the local
level units within Battalion 733-BS. The conflict is making the job of enforcing the law
even more difficult. For example, when I issued orders to take legal action against A
or B, they delayed carrying out the orders.
So it's true that your orders as Chief of the Civil Emergency Authority were frequently
ignored by the military and the police?
No, it's not like that. What I want to say is that the orders I gave could not be
implemented in full.
Why not?
Because of limited personnel. For instance, it was agreed we would break up a
gathering of more than 10 people. But when you have 100 or 200 people gathering,
you can't break it up without some of the people getting injured. The security
personnel here carry only battle gear, they don't have water cannons to break up a
crowd, nor tear gas nor rubber bullets.
Who are the deserters?
They are found on both sides. Some join the gangs of preman. In the past, two years
ago, they organized themselves along religious lines. Within the police force, most of
the Christian deserters are from the special police force (Brimob) and the Muslims
from the ordinary police (Perintis). These Christian deserters are known as kelelawar
(bats) and the Muslims as halilintar (thunderbolts) and Mr. X. Those with vested
interests in the conflict are using these deserters for their own purposes.
When were you first aware of the desertions?
In June... around about the month of June... when a state of civil emergency was
declared (in Maluku).
How many are there?
Not many, but they became quite a nuisance. Only between 10 and 20 people.
The police and military commands in Maluku claim only four from each have deserted
their units?
Some of the deserters are from units outside Maluku. I haven't received an official
report of it yet, but that's what I heard from the locals.
What action have yourself and the military and police commands taken against those
deserters from outside Maluku?
We identify them and arrest those we suspect of deserting. If proven to be in the
wrong, we will employ the legal process.
These deserters reportedly recruit young people to bomb buildings?
The young people recruited by the deserters are now in police detention. Some of
them are children paid Rp5,000 to burn buildings. I was told these children are
students of the State Junior High School No. 6 in Ambon, who were paid to burn their
own school. We have questioned them to find who paid them to do this.
Who do you think they are?
People who are trying to take advantage of the conflict for their own interests,
economic interests, for instance-people whose businesses are threatened if the
situation returns to normal.
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