ABC AUSTRALIA, 4/04/2005 11:00:49 PM AEST
Jailed Maluku rebel leader moved to avoid 'independence day'
chaos
Indonesian authorities in the eastern Maluku islands have moved a detained rebel
leader out of the area fearing he will incite unrest ahead of a separatist anniversary.
Moses Tuanakotta, the secretary-general of the pro-independence Maluku Sovereignty
Front, was last week moved from the Maluku islands to a jail on Java island.
He is serving a 12-year jail term for subversion.
The Maluku police chief, Adityawarman, was quoted in the Jakarta Post as saying in
order to prevent unwanted chaos, especially on April 25, Tuanakotta had been
transferred from Ambon jail to another prison.
April 25 is the anniversary of the proclamation of the now outlawed South Maluku
Republic in 1950.
It has been marked in the past by the illegal flying of rebel flags, but last year's
protest erupted into deadly violence, which left at least 38 people dead and more than
100 injured.
©2005 ABC
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