REUTERS, Mon Apr 29, 2002 4:55 AM ET
Indonesia Military Seeks Martial Law in Moluccas
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia's military said on Monday it wants martial law
imposed on the Moluccan islands after at least 12 people were killed in weekend
attacks that raised fresh doubts about a fragile peace pact in the troubled region.
The killings came after several days of unrest in Ambon city, the capital of the
Moluccas islands and scene of religious clashes that have claimed thousands of lives
in the last three years.
"Give us the legal umbrella. If this nation sees the situation can only be dealt with by
martial law, let us act accordingly through (a legal way)," army chief General
Endriartono Sutarto told a news conference in Jakarta.
"So, if we take steps in order to secure the safety of the people, we won't become
victims," he added.
Indonesian troops have in the past been accused of quashing unrest in the sometimes
fractious country without regard to laws or human rights -- charges the military denies.
Extra troops and police patrolled the streets of Ambon on Monday and some
residents reported hearing a few explosions overnight.
SOME EXPLOSIONS
"There were still some explosions...in Mardika and Karangpanjang but today it is
more calm though still tense," resident Lies Atapari told Reuters by phone, referring to
areas of the city.
"Traffic is as usual, some businesses are open but there are more troops and police
on the streets," she added.
Indonesian Vice President Hamzah Haz, speaking in Jakarta, said stern measures
were needed to stop the recurring violence in the island chain but refused to be drawn
on the need for martial law.
"There needs tough action, otherwise there will be more trouble," Haz told reporters.
But in Ambon city, a leading Christian leader said any further military powers at this
time would only inflame the situation and lead to more violence.
"I think it's enough to be under civil emergency, I am afraid the apparatus will be
harsher under martial law and it is still difficult to control the troops," Frans Lutherman
from the Moluccas Advent Church told Reuters.
FEBRUARY PEACE DEAL
Parts of the Moluccas, including Ambon, are still under a civil emergency, one level
down from martial law, although apart from the past week's unrest the region has been
calm since Christians and Muslims signed a peace deal in February.
Unidentified attackers raided a Christian neighborhood in the capital early Sunday and
a local journalist said residents blamed Muslims for the attack, saying some of them
had military weapons and wore uniforms.
Military chief Admiral Widodo A.S. has repeated earlier denials that the military was
involved, but said he was concerned about the number of weapons in the region.
Indonesia has suffered from a series of religious, ethnic and separatist conflicts since
the autocratic Suharto (news - web sites) resigned from the presidency in 1998,
bringing tensions to the surface that were largely restrained under his iron rule.
Over the past three years, at least 5,000 people have been killed in religious clashes
in Ambon, some 1,400 miles east of Jakarta, and in the Moluccan island chain of
which it is the hub.
Some of the violence has involved para-military units affiliated with various Muslim and
Christian groups. But critics also accuse many soldiers of taking sides and extorting
protection money.
More than 85 percent of Indonesia's 210 million people are Muslim, but Christians
comprise half the population in some eastern areas, such as the Moluccas.
Copyright © 2001 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
|
