CRISIS CENTRE DIOCESE OF AMBOINA
Jalan Pattimura 32 – Ambon 97124 – Indonesia
Tel 0062 (0)911 342195 Fax 0062 (0)911 355337
E-mail: crisiscentre01@hotmail.com
Ambon, May 31, 2002
THE SITUATION IN AMBON / MOLUCCAS – Report No. 292
1. HANDOVER CEREMONY – Yesterday morning the handover ceremony of the
Military Chief Commander took place in Ambon. The outgoing chief is
Brigader-General Mustopo. He is being replaced by Major General Djoko Santoso,
who simultaneously will be the PANGKOOPSLIHKAM (Panglima Komando Operasi
Pemulihan Keamanan = Chief Commander of the Operation for Restoring Security).
KASAD (Kepala Staf Angkatan Darat = Army Chief of Staff) General Endriartono
Sutarto presided over the ceremony, which took place in the front yard of Kodam XVI
Pattimura HQ in Batugajah, Ambon.
In his function as the Chief Commander of the Operation for Restoring Security, Djoko
Santoso will be seconded by the Police Chief Commander in order to ensure proper
coordination between the two forces. A new Police Chief Commander for the
Moluccas will be appointed within short.
2. NO MILITARY EMERGENCY STATE – Not a few Moluccans fear that the
OPSLIHKAM (Operation for Restoring Security) will turn out to be or evolve into
martial law for the Moluccas. Countering this anxiety, several high authorities have
assured the people of the Moluccas that this certainly is not going to happen.
According to The Jakarta Post (May 29, 2002) Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno
asserted that the Chief of the OPSLIHKAM and his aides in the Moluccas had to
abide by the rules and commands issued by the Civil Emergency Administration, led
by the Governor of the Moluccas. Army Chief of Staff General Endriartono Sutarto told
likewise during the handover ceremony this morning.
3. TWENTY ADDITIONAL PROSECUTORS TO BE SENT TO THE MOLUCCAS –
The Attorney General's Office (AGO) will assign 20 prosecutors from various parts of
the country to handle cases in the Moluccas. There are only 15 prosecutors in the
Moluccas now. The lack of prosecutors was one of the reasons – apart from security
risks – to move the trials of FKM leaders Alex Manuputty and Semmy Waeleruny to
Jakarta. On local TV, the head of the provincial Counsel for the Prosecution, I Made
Sunetja SH, affirmed that he had asked for an additional 43 prosecutors for both the
Moluccas and the North Moluccas. These 20 are meant specifically for Ambon.
4. FKM ACCUSES THE GOVERNMENT – The FKM (Front Kedaulatan Maluku =
Moluccas Sovereignty Front) intends to file a suit against the government for branding
the Front as a separatist movement and associating it with RMS (Republik Maluku
Selatan = South Moluccas Republic), thus is reported in The Jakarta Post from May
29, 2002. It is further said that the FKM also objects to the government labeling its
members as troublemakers in the Moluccas and its efforts to outlaw the movement.
According to the head of FKM's team of lawyers, Christian Rahayaan, the
organization is suing President Megawati, Coordinating Minister for Politcal and
Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, as well as the head of the Moluccas
Civil Emergency, Governor Saleh Latuconsina.
"FKM cannot be associated with RMS, as FKM is an organization that only conveys
the aspirations of the Moluccas People and their dissatisfaction over the government's
incapability in solving the conflict in the area," Christian told reporters after visiting his
clients, FKM leaders Alexander Manuputty and Semmy Waeleruny, who are under
detention at the National Police HQ. "Unlike RMS, FKM has never declared itself an
independent sovereign country", he added. However, he did not say when exactly the
organization is going to file the lawsuit.
(We can't help that, learning this piece of information, the reader probably is left with
some questions…).
C.J.Böhm msc,
Crisis Centre Diocese of Amboina
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