ASSOCIATED PRESS, Wednesday April 24, 2002
Maluku capital calm on eve of anniversary of separatist group
JAKARTA, April 24 (AFP) - Ambon, the capital of Indonesia's riot-prone Maluku
province, was calm Wednesday, despite fears of unrest as independence supporters
planned a ceremony to mark an important anniversary, residents said.
"The city appears normal today and there has been no incident reported so far. The
market was busy this morning and people were on the streets as usual," said Father
Jonas, from the Roman Catholic church in Ambon.
He also reported no apparent reinforced security presence on the streets in the limited
area in the city he had seen earlier on Wednesday.
Supporters of the Republic of South Maluku (RMS), an unrecognised state declared in
1950 by people loyal to Dutch colonial rule, on Thursday planned to mark the 52nd
anniversary of its declaration by hoisting the RMS flag at the home of the movement's
now detained leader, Alex Manuputty.
Authorities have warned they will not allow the flag raising.
In 1950, RMS supporters staged a revolt against newly-independent Indonesia, but the
rebellion was quashed and the movement has since been active mostly abroad.
RMS activities in Maluku only resurged after widespread sectarian unrest broke out in
Ambon in January 1999.
Top security minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono warned that authorities will not
hesitate to take firm action against the RMS's activities, the Antara news agency
reported.
"If there is no firm action, similar problems will break out everywhere else,"
Yudhoyono said.
National Police Chief General Da'i Bachtiar, meanwhile, said there will be no police or
military reinforcements deployed in Ambon ahead of the April 25 anniversary.
"The strength of the force will be composed of optimal local police and military
forces," Bachtiar was quoted as saying by Antara.
He warned that police will take preventive measures against separatist activities, but
did not elaborate.
On Wednesday, Maluku Governor Saleh Latuconsina Saleh Latuconsina, issued a
ban on entering or using houses and their gardens in a residential area around
Manuputty's residence.
The ban, effective on Wednesday and to expire on Saturday was taken "in the
framework of anticipating the hoisting of the separatist flag of the South Maluku
Republic on April 25."
The governor has already put in place a series of measures to prevent the RMS from
upsetting a fragile state-brokered peace agreement reached between warring Muslim
and Christian camps in February.
Latuconsina, who heads the civil emergency authority set up in Maluku in September
2000, has extended a nightly curfew by three hours, closed the province to foreigners
and non-governmental organizations and imposed a news blackout on RMS activities
for 20 days as of April 10.
Muslims have accused the predominantly Christian RMS of fanning sectarian violence
that has ravaged Maluku since January 1999, killing over 5,000 people, displacing
more than 500,000 others, and leaving a swathe of destruction.
Christians say Laskar Jihad, a Java-based militia group which has sent thousands of
Muslim fighters to the eastern islands since May 2000, has played a major part in
fanning the violence.
Police on April 17 arrested Manuputty and are planning to charge him with subversion,
a charge that carries up to life imprisonment.
Since his arrest, some 200 Manuputty supporters have held daily protests outside
police headquarters in Ambon to demand his release. They have also said they plan
to go ahead with the flag-raising ceremony.
Copyright © 2002 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
|
