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Christian separatist leader threatens to raise independence flags in Maluku


ASSOCIATED PRESS, Fri Apr 5, 2002 2:47 AM ET

Christian separatist leader threatens to raise independence flags in Maluku

By CHRIS BRUMMITT, Associated Press Writer

AMBON, Indonesia - A Christian separatist group in Indonesia's Maluku islands, an area torn by religious violence, vowed Friday to raise hundreds of banned flags later this month to mark a failed independence bid 52 years ago.

"We will raise flags throughout the province on April 21," said Alex Manuputty, leader of the Maluku Sovereignty Front. "No one is brave enough to stop us."

The small separatist group has been banned by Indonesian authorities for its aggressive campaign to make the southern part of the Maluku archipelago an independent nation.

The front wants the Indonesia to allow a referendum on self-determination in the province. It insists that the islands, 2,600 kilometers (1,600 miles) east of Jakarta, never belonged to Indonesia.

The flag-raising ceremonies will test the strength of a recent peace deal, which ended a three-year conflict between Muslims and Christians in which up to 9,000 people died.

Security forces and anti-independence Muslim militants say they will use force to stop any attempt to mark the proclamation of the Republic of South Malukus in 1950. Indonesia is predominantly Muslim.

The Maluku Sovereignty Front claims widespread support among Christians in the Malukus. Analysts say, however, that the group is far weaker than other separatist groups in Indonesia, such as those fighting for independence in Aceh and Papua provinces.

Meanwhile, police announced the arrest of three local residents suspected of involvement in a bombing Wednesday that killed seven people and injured 50 in a Christian section of the embattled provincial capital of Ambon. Authorities are searching for two alleged ringleaders, police said.

No one has claimed responsibility for Wednesday's blast. But many Christians suspect the radical Laskar Jihad paramilitary group, whose leaders vehemently oppose the peace deal. (cb/mc/sl/dc/dv)

Copyright © 2002 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
 


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