THE STRAITS TIMES, Sunday May 12, 2002
V-P HAMZAH HAZ: Disband the Christians first
JAKARTA - A day after the government vowed to expel Muslim militants from
Indonesia's violence-wracked Maluku islands, Vice-President Hamzah Haz urged
security forces to first disband a small group of Christian separatists in the region.
'First of all, it must be clear that the Christian Front for Maluku Sovereignty (FKM) will
be disbanded, then Laskar Jihad must show their political will to leave,' Mr Hamzah
said yesterday.
On Friday, Jakarta also announced plans to disband the FKM. But Mr Hamzah's
comments sent mixed signals of Indonesia's willingness to crack down on Islamic
extremism in the world's most populous Muslim country.
The Laskar Jihad has considerable high-level support compared to the FKM. On
Tuesday, Mr Hamzah visited the militant Muslim group's leader, Jafaar Umar Thalib, in
jail, inviting criticism that he was trying to shore up Muslim support for the 2004
general election and affecting police investigation.
But the vice-president lashed out at his critics, calling them un-Islamic. --AP
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