AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, Wednesday May 15, 2002 12:33 PM
Soldiers, police scuffle over suspect in Indonesia's riot-hit
Ambon
Two Indonesian policemen and two special forces soldiers have been injured in a
clash in the riot-torn eastern Indonesian city of Ambon.
The policemen were trying to arrest a suspect on Tuesday when they clashed with
plainclothes Kopassus soldiers and were injured in an exchange of fire, the Koran
Tempo newspaper said.
The soldiers were arrested and taken to the local police post where they were
allegedly beaten up, the daily said.
The police were trying to arrest the leader of a local gang, Berty Loupatti, whom they
believe was involved in attacks in the city in recent weeks.
The local military spokesman, Major Heri Suhardi, was quoted by Koran Tempo as
saying that the two Kopassus members were in the area to seek information from
Loupatti on the activities of the outlawed Christian separatist Maluku Sovereignty
Front.
Maluku military and police spokesmen could not be reached for comment. National
police spokesman Inspector General Saleh Saaf confirmed that a dispute had taken
place in Ambon between police and Kopassus members because of a
"misunderstanding" but had no details.
Conflicts, often involving shootouts, between members of the armed forces and the
police have occurred in the past in the Maluku islands, of which Ambon is the capital.
The police and the army have been accused of taking sides in the conflict that has
pitted Muslims and Christians against each other since early 1999. More than 5,000
people have been killed and more than 500,000 made homeless.
A government-brokered peace pact in February this year brought a brief calm but has
been undermined by a series of violent incidents since early April -- notably the April
28 massacre of 13 Christian villagers.
Last week the government ordered the disbanding of the Maluku Sovereignty Front
and the expulsion of a Java-based Islamic militia, the Laskar Jihad. No timetable has
been set.
Copyright © 2001 AFP. All rights reserved.
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