ASSOCIATED PRESS, Saturday May 11, 2002 6:00 AM ET
Indonesian leader calls for disbandment of Christian group
before expulsion of Muslim militants from Malukus
JAKARTA, Indonesia - A day after the government vowed to expel Muslim militants
from Indonesia's religious violence-wracked Maluku islands, Vice President Hamzah
Haz Saturday urged security forces to first disband a small group of Christian
separatists in the region.
Two more bombs went off Saturday near the Maluku provincial capital, Ambon, but
there were no reports of casualties. It was unclear who was responsible for the blasts.
Top security minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono Friday issued an order to expel the
militant Muslim group, Laskar Jihad, following the arrest of its leader Jaffar Umar
Thalib over an attack that killed 13 Christians last month.
"First of all, it must be clear that (Christian Maluku Sovereignty Front) will be
disbanded then Laskar Jihad must show their political will to (leave)," said Haz,
speaking from Batam, Indonesia's closest island to Singapore, where he was visiting.
Haz's comments sends mixed signals of Indonesia's willingness to crack down on
Islamic extremism in the world's most populous Muslim country.
The Christian Maluku Sovereignty Front gained prominence last month when its leader
was arrested over plans to hoist banned separatist flags. Analysts say that the
political movement has small support in the region.
Laskar Jihad has considerable high-level support in Indonesia. On Tuesday, Haz
visited Thalib in jail, as dozens of other Muslim leaders have done.
Some analysts have accused Laskar Jihad of having links to Osama bin Laden (news
- web sites)'s al-Qaida network, something tthat it and Indonesian officials deny.
The United States and regional governments have urged Indonesia to take measures
against the suspected militants.
Up to 9,000 people have been killed in three years of fighting between Christians and
Muslims in the Maluku islands, 2,600 kilometers (1,600 miles) east of Jakarta. The
fighting worsened when an estimated 3,000 Laskar Jihad fighters arrived from
Indonesia's main island of Java in 2000.
Copyright © 2002 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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