The Jakarta Post, May 01, 2004
Military hunts dreaded snipers in restive Ambon
M. Azis Tunny and Tiarma Siboro, Ambon/Jakarta
Religious clashes escalated again in Ambon, Maluku on Friday as arson, gunfire and
explosions rocked the battle-scarred city, injuring at least 19 people and paralyzing
the provincial administration.
In Jakarta, the Indonesian Military (TNI) said it was deploying more intelligence
officers and soldiers in coordination with police to hunt down snipers blamed for
fueling terror among civilians in Ambon.
Gunfire erupted in the hamlet of Waringin in Batugantung neighborhood, Nusaniwe
subdistrict, following the burning of houses from 1:15 a.m. to 4:30 a.m.
Most of the homes set ablaze were empty after their owners had fled when the
clashes began on Sunday as a reaction to the separatist Maluku Sovereignty Front
(FKM), who were parading through town to mark the 54th anniversary of the South
Maluku Republic (RMS).
The religiously divided city became increasingly tense after bomb explosions began
going off on Friday.
Seventeen people were rushed to Al-Fatah Hospital with burns and other wounds
caused by the bomb blasts, while two other victims were taken to Dr. Haulussy
Kudamati General Hospital with gunshot injuries.
In the Jl. Setiabudi area outside the Maluku health insurance office, residents found a
body of a man wrapped in a sack. It was not clear when the victim was killed.
It was the sixth straight day of fighting in Ambon, effectively decimating the 2002
peace accord signed by Muslim and Christian leaders. At least 37 people had been
killed in previous clashes that have raised fears the spice islands could plunge back
into a full-scale Muslim-Christian war as it did in 1999, resulting in the deaths of at
least 6,000 people.
As the provincial administration's activities came to a grinding halt on Friday, deputy
Maluku governor M. Latuconsina said Muslim civil servants would be allowed to work
at the local industry and trade office on Jl. Sangadji near Yos Sudarso Port, Ambon.
Christians would be asked to go to work at Maluku police headquarters building to
resume their state duties as Ambon again had become segregated along religious
lines, he added.
However, several schools remained open as did many shops across the city, but they
too were segregated.
Meanwhile, TNI spokesman Maj. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin said top military chief
Gen. Endriartono Sutarto ordered his personnel to shoot snipers on sight.
The snipers are apparently equipped with automatic rifles fabricated by arms
companies such as Bandung-based PT Pindad or others belonging to foreign
countries, Sjafrie said without elaborating further.
He said snipers may have used guns stolen from a police armory in Tantui on June,
21, 2000, where around 300 of the total 893 weapons and 800,000 bullets were taken
in an attack by unidentified people.
"The TNI is also prepared to guard areas outside Ambon to prevent more violence from
spreading, and has sent reinforcement troops from the 413rd Infantry Battalion based
in East Java along with four companies of paramilitary Mobile Brigade (Brimob)
police," he added.
Pattimura military chief Maj. Gen. Syarifudin and Maluku Police chief Brig, Gen.
Bambang Sutrisno vowed to take harsh action against their personnel found to be
involved in the renewed fighting.
Earlier, witnesses were quoted as saying they saw soldiers involved in the torching of
the Nazareth Church.
Bambang said the police would deploy Brimob officers to isolate the border area
between the hamlets of Waringin and Tanah Lapang Kecil (Talake), which are near
Kudamati, a stronghold of FKM separatists.
At the same time, a military and police force searched the home of FKM leader Alex
Manuputty in Kudamati, Nusaniwe subdistrict for weapons and activists. Manuputty
fled to the United States late last year.
The military also said it would stop Islamic militant fighters from traveling to Ambon as
they did in the previous conflict.
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