LAKSAMANA.Net, April 30, 2004 09:03 PM
Wiranto Denies Role in Ambon Conflict
Laksamana.Net - Presidential aspirant/former military commander Wiranto has
strongly denied rumors the deadly religious conflict in Ambon, Maluku province, was
masterminded by one of the contestants in the upcoming July 5 presidential election.
"These rumors are very dangerous, even more so given the current conditions in
Ambon city, which could easily cause people to jump to conclusions," the retired
general was quoted as saying Friday (30/4/04) by detikcom online news portal.
At least 37 people have been killed in clashes between Muslims and Christians in
Ambon since April 25, sparking fears of a return to sectarian violence that left about
6,000 people dead in the Maluku islands between 1999-2002.
Analysts blamed much of the past carnage in the Malukus on provocateurs, including
radical Islamic group Laskar Jihad and military officers loyal to ex-president Suharto.
Wiranto, who was earlier this month selected as Golkar Party's candidate for the July
presidential election, has promised to deal firmly with security issues.
Analysts say the latest Ambon violence could further Wiranto's popularity, while
reducing support for his rival presidential candidate, former chief security
minister/retired general Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Yudhoyono and his running mate, former welfare minister Yusuf Kalla, played a key
role in drafting a 2002 Maluku peace accord. The two also designed a peace treaty
that helped to significantly curb religious violence in Central Sulawesi province.
Wiranto, speaking to reporters after a meeting with Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Muslim
organization leader Hasyim Muzadi, said the rumors that rivalry between presidential
candidates had sparked the Ambon riots were false and must be stopped.
"No one with a conscience could have carried out such engineering to damage the
peace of Ambon," he said.
"All parties should not blow such rumors out of proportion to discredit a presidential
candidate, whoever the candidate may be. This must not become a polemic that
leads to slander, especially when the law enforcement situation remains weak," he
added.
Bishop Blames Elite
Bishop Petrus Canisius Mandagi, head of the Catholic Church in Ambon, made the
allegation that political rivalries in Jakarta may have sparked the Maluku unrest.
The bishop on Friday said he believed one of the presidential candidates might have
masterminded the conflict as a strategy to boost his popularity.
"It's possible he had the desire to look for popularity by using the Maluku conflict as
his strategy," he was quoted as saying by detikcom.
He said the mastermind had used extremely violent methods to strike fear into the
hearts of the people, which would prompt them to choose a presidential candidate
deemed strong and capable of restoring peace.
"I had predicted things would be like this," said the bishop, who has also blamed the
1999-2002 Maluku carnage on a "diabolical conspiracy" by elements of the
government and military.
Mandagi declined to name the alleged mastermind of the latest violence, saying he
had no hard legal evidence and did not want to make the public become prejudiced
against presidential candidates from the military.
The bishop also said he was unwilling to create a dichotomy between the military and
the public. "I do not want to create such a condition," he stressed.
However, he said "proof" of the conspiracy was that a certain presidential candidate's
"accomplices" had recently flown to Maluku.
Separatists
The Ambon violence started on April 25 after Christian separatists from the Maluku
Sovereignty Front (FKM) staged a parade to celebrate the 54th anniversary of the
outlawed South Maluku Republic (RMS).
A crowd of Muslim nationalists responded to the parade by hurling stones and verbal
abuse at the separatists, sparking deadly clashes between the two religious
communities. Hundreds of buildings have since been torched and unidentified snipers
on tall buildings have killed several people.
Mandagi urged the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) and National Police to take harsh
action against the FKM/RMS separatists in line with the law. "They must be dealt
with in line with prevailing laws, otherwise there will be no respect for the law in
Indonesia," he said.
Sjafrie Sjamsuddin
TNI spokesman Sjafrie Sjamsuddin on Friday declined to comment on the rumors that
a presidential candidate with a military background had engineered the Ambon unrest.
"TNI will not respond to that because TNI is an instrument of the state. We do not
want to enter the political arena or TNI could be destroyed," he told reporters at
military headquarters in Cilangkap, East Jakarta.
"We do not engage in politics, so the military cannot respond to the matter of rumors
about the involvement of an ex-military presidential candidate," he said.
Sjafrie further pointed out that TNI's leadership is only responsible for serving officers,
not for those who have retired and become civilians.
Military Denies Fanning Unrest
TNI on Thursday dismissed allegations that troops were involved in an arson attack on
a church in Ambon.
Reports said soldiers from the Army's Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad) had on
Tuesday night warned residents to evacuate the Nazareth Christian church in
Ambon's Karang Panjang neighborhood, just moments before the building was set
ablaze by unidentified assailants.
Responding to the reports, Ambon's military commander Colonel Tony Husodo said:
"Soldiers were in no way involved in that attack."
"There are no TNI traitors. There was nothing. We did the investigation on the day it
happened," he was quoted as saying in a report by The Australian daily.
The report cited an unnamed witness as saying soldiers from Kostrad 413 had initially
promised to protect the church but then asked everyone sheltering inside to leave.
Husodo said the allegation was baseless because it had not been proved in a court.
"If we want to think rationally, why would TNI come here just to destroy churches and
houses of religion? We were not indoctrinated, trained and educated for that."
Asked why civilians would lie about such a matter, Husodo said it was because they
were poorly educated.
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