The Jakarta Post, May 20, 2005
Policeman involved in Seram attack: Chief
M. Azis Tunny and Wahyoe Boediwardhana, The Jakarta Post, Ambon/Denpasar
Two of the eight people who attacked a police post on Monday on Seram island were
active police personnel, a top officer in Maluku said on Thursday. Seven people,
including five police officers and one of the attackers, died in the incident.
One of the officers suspected of involvement in the attack has been arrested, while the
other officer is still at large, said Maluku Police chief Brig. Gen. Adityawarman.
"There were eight perpetrators in the attack. One was shot dead and two others have
been arrested, namely a police officer and another suspect, N, a member of a
hard-line Muslim group in Ambon," said Adityawarman during a press conference in
the Maluku capital of Ambon.
According to Adityawarman, police are currently searching for five other suspects in
the attack, including a police officer. Adityawarman said the attack was led by
Dahlan, alias Asep, who was arrested by the police a few hours after the incident in
Batumerah subdistrict, Ambon city.
He said Dahlan and N were believed to have received military-style training in Moro,
the Philippines, where Muslim fighters have been fighting for independence for years.
According to Adityawarman, the police post that was attacked in West Seram
regency was located on the border between Muslim and Christian subdistrict, but
added that it was premature to conclude the attack was religiously motivated.
He said the two suspects in custody had confessed to attacking the police post
because officers there were protecting the Christian subdistrict rather than the Muslim
one, but investigators were still looking into the motive behind the attack. "Some
residents told police investigators that when the attack took place, the attackers
ordered residents in the Christian subdistrict to stay at home to prevent fatalities,"
said Adityawarman.
He said that from statements given by residents, it appeared the attackers were only
targeting police personnel at the post, leading investigators to question whether the
violence was religiously motivated.
The arrest of two suspects in the Seram attack has helped shed light on a string of
recent armed attacks in the province of Maluku. The suspects have told investigators
that the same people behind the Seram incident were responsible for the earlier
attacks in Maluku.
A group of armed men launched an assault in Wamkana subdistrict on Buru island
last year that killed three people. In separate incidents in February, groups of
attackers fired on the a ship near Buru and the Villa cafe in Hative Besar, Ambon city,
killing four people. Police have arrested six people in connection with these attacks
and are still searching for additional suspects.
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