LAKSAMANA.Net, April 27, 2004 11:44 AM
Ambon Death Toll Hits 23, More Troops Sent
Laksamana.Net - The military has sent reinforcements to Ambon city, Maluku
province, after clashes between Muslims and Christians left 23 people dead and 148
injured, reports said Tuesday (27/4/04).
The fighting started on Sunday after Christian separatists from the Maluku Sovereignty
Front (FKM) staged a parade to celebrate the 54th anniversary of the outlawed South
Maluku Republic (RMS).
Mostly Muslim supporters of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI)
hurled stones and verbal abuse at the separatists, sparking deadly clashes between
the two groups. Dozens of buildings were set alight as the violence intensified and
security forces fired shots in an effort to disperse the fighters. There were also reports
of unidentified gunmen firing from tall buildings in the city.
The clashes and arson attacks continued on Monday but security forces were
reported to have largely restored order late in the day. Most shops and businesses
were closed and there were few vehicles on the streets.
Acting Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Hari Sabarno said 200
homes had been set ablaze. Agence France-Presse reported that other buildings hit
by arsonists included the United Nations mission, a hotel, a church, a Christian
university and a Muslim high school.
Hundreds of Muslims and Christians fled their neighborhoods, while others armed
themselves with machetes and sticks to protect their streets.
It was the worst violence in the Maluku islands since a peace pact was signed in
February 2002, ending three years of religious unrest in which about 6,000 people
were killed.
Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) commander General Endriartono Sutarto on Monday
deployed a battalion of troops from Central Java's Diponegoro Regional Military
Command to Ambon to reinforce local security forces.
Meanwhile, National Police chief General Dai Bachtiar said he had sent two
companies of anti-riot police to the province by air. He also said police had arrested
eight suspects, all of them FKM members.
Parliament's Commission I on defense, security and foreign affairs said it would
probably summon Sutarto and Bachtiar to explain the reasons behind the violence
and to outline measures being taken to restore peace.
"The commission is likely to summon the National Police chief and TNI commander in
connection with the bloody riots and we will ask them to soon localize the riots,
preventing the unrest from spreading to other areas," commission chairman Ibrahim
Ambong was quoted as saying by state news agency Antara.
Separately, Maluku Governor Karel Albert Ralahalu denied the conflict was sparked
by animosity between Muslims and Christians. "This conflict was in fact caused by
the FKM's effort to fight for a return of the RMS by seceding from the Unitary State of
the Republic of Indonesia, whereas the result that we witnessed and felt was the
suffering of the people," he was quoted as saying by the Media Indonesia daily.
Social Affairs Minister Bachtiar Chamsyah said the government would be "cautious" in
handling the violence in the former spice islands.
"Despite the fact that similar conflicts in a number of areas across the country have
been overcome, the clash that again erupted in Ambon should be handled carefully,"
he said.
The Health Ministry on Monday sent 16 doctors and medical supplies to Ambon to
treat those wounded in the violence. "The team consists of 10 specialists from Jakarta
and 6 doctors from South Sulawesi," Health Minister Achmad Sujudi was quoted as
saying by Antara.
"The medical assistance is badly needed because the central government stopped
sending medical teams to Maluku in mid-2003," he added.
Director of the city's Al-Fatah Hospital Dr Rivai Ambon said his hospital lacked space
and supplies to treat the wounded, so many of them – including some suffering
gunshot wounds – were sent to an Islamic center.
The government lifted a state of civil emergency in Maluku last September following a
significant decline in the level of violence in the province.
The US State Department responded to the latest violence by urging American
citizens to defer all travel to Ambon until the situation improves, while those residing
in the city were advised to consider leaving.
Analysts blamed much of the 1999-2002 sectarian violence in the Malukus on
provocateurs, including military officers loyal to ex-president Suharto and the now
defunct radical Islamic group Laskar Jihad.
The Indonesian military has a history of using civilian groups to combat separatists
and provoke violence.
The return to violence in Ambon comes just two months before Indonesians are due to
go to the polls in the country's first ever direct presidential election. Among the
leading contenders for the presidency are two retired generals: former armed forces
commander Wiranto and former chief security minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Singapore's The Straits Times on Tuesday said Wiranto could benefit from the latest
Ambon violence, while Yudhoyono could suffer damage to his reputation.
Wiranto has promised to deal firmly with security issues, whereas Yudhoyono and his
running mate, forming welfare minister Yusuf Kalla, played a key role in drafting the
2002 Maluku peace accord. Yudhoyono and Kalla also designed a peace accord that
helped to significantly curb religious violence in Central Sulawesi province.
In his 2003 memoir Witness in the Storm, Wiranto devotes only a couple of pages to
the Ambon carnage, even though he was armed forces commander when much of the
mayhem took place. He attributed to the violence to "misunderstandings blown out of
proportion by third party adventurists to incite war among people from different
religions" but did not name any of the masterminds.
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