The Jakarta Post, 4/14/2003 6:04:48 PM
Ambon mayor urges police to arrest residents who hoist
separatist flags
AMBON, Maluku (JP): Ambon Mayor M.J. Papilaya instructed the police on Monday
to arrest any resident seen hoisting the South Maluku Republic (RMS) separatist flag
here.
"Hoisting the separatist movement's flags is a menacing act that could result in
harming other Ambonese who want a peaceful life," Papilaya told the official Antara
news agency.
The mayor said he had also instructed all heads of villages and subdistricts around
the city to play an active role in encouraging people not to respond quickly to
provocations.
Security in Ambon and other parts of Maluku has gradually returned to normal
following the sectarian conflict that wracked the region from January 1999.
One of the root causes of the conflict, which has killed thousands of Muslims and
Christians, is the hoisting of the RMS flag by supporters of the separatist movement.
Earlier, The Indonesian Military (TNI) warned the separatist Maluku Sovereignity Front
(FKM) not to hoist the flag of the RMS to mark its anniversary on April 25.
"I will arrest those who hoist the RMS flag," chief of the Pattimura regional military
command, Maj. Gen. Agustadi SP.
FKM secretary-general Mozes Tuanakotta had recently said that he and 2,500
supporters of the RMS were ready to hoist the RMS flag on April 25.
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