AGO to send more prosecutors to Maluku in a bid to end strife<\/p>\n
Kurniawan Hari and Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Law enforcement, the Achilles heel in the painstaking efforts
\nto restore peace in Maluku, looks set to receive a further boost
\nafter the Attorney General's Office revealed a plan to send more
\nprosecutors to the restive province.<\/p>\n
The office's spokesman, Barman Zahir, said on Wednesday that
\nAttorney General M.A. Rachman instructed on May 19 a dispatch of
\n20 prosecutors from various regions in the country to enable
\nprosecution in Maluku, which has been racked by violence since
\nJanuary 1999.<\/p>\n
Barman, however, failed to reveal when the reinforcement of
\nprosecutors could start working in Maluku. Normally it takes a
\njudge or prosecutor some three months to prepare themselves for
\nnew assignments.<\/p>\n
The Supreme Court had previously assigned 22 senior judges to
\nserve district courts and the high court of the troubled
\nprovince.<\/p>\n
Barman said the prosecutors would soon be flown to Maluku and
\nwould serve at the prosecutor's office, moving from their
\noriginal posts in East Java, Jakarta, Aceh, South Sulawesi,
\nCentral Java, Riau, Lampung and South Sumatra.<\/p>\n
Currently, there are only 15 prosecutors left in Maluku, far
\nbelow the ideal number of 43 prosecutors and 47 administrative
\nstaff.<\/p>\n
The lack of prosecutors, in addition to security problems, was
\nthe reason why the Maluku prosecutor's office shifted its
\nprosecution of the leaders of the Maluku Sovereign Front (FKM),
\nwhich includes Alex Manuputty, and the commander of Laskar Jihad,
\nJa'far Umar Thalib, to Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The sending of judges and prosecutors is stipulated in the
\nMalino II peace deal between the warring groups in Maluku and is
\na necessity to strengthen the civil emergency administration.<\/p>\n
The government has also strengthened security forces there by
\nestablishing the Security Restoration Operations Command led by
\nMaj. Gen. Djoko Santoso, who is also entrusted to head Pattimura
\nMilitary Command, replacing Brig. Gen. Moestopo.<\/p>\n
Many have raised their eyebrows in response to the decision to
\nlaunch a military-led operation, saying that teamwork between the
\ncivilian administration and the security forces is the key to
\nrestoring peace in the province.<\/p>\n
Chairman of the largest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama
\n(NU), Hasyim Muzadi, said the replacement of military or police
\nchiefs in Maluku was not the answer to the prolonged sectarian
\nconflict in the province.<\/p>\n
\"The key word is coordination between the military and the
\npolice,\" he told reporters, after visiting his predecessor
\nAbdurrahman \"Gus Dur\" Wahid, who is currently in hospital being
\ntreated for a blood vessel problem.<\/p>\n
Hasyim, who led a mission of religious leaders to Maluku
\nrecently, said the people of Maluku were sick and tired of
\nfighting each other and were aware that they must stick together.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute Foundation
\n(YLBHI) pointed out that the establishment of the operations
\ncommand proves that the concept of territorial command had failed
\nto restore security in the country, as the Maluku military
\ncommand has been considered ineffective in overcoming the
\nsectarian conflict.<\/p>\n
YLBHI's civil and political division head, Munarman, told a
\nmedia briefing that the promotion of Djoko Santoso to head both
\nthe operations command and the military command in Maluku
\nsignaled the military's attempt to achieve political power as
\nwell as to provide key posts for their two-star generals.<\/p>\n
\"The government should dissolve territorial command while the
\nPeople's Consultative Assembly should ask the President to
\naccount for the running of the civil emergency state in Maluku
\nbefore the government endorses other measures there,\" Munarman
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
However, People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Amien
\nRais supported the new security operation, saying the nation had
\nbeen longing to see security and order restored in Maluku for
\nyears.<\/p>\n
\"If it is for the sake of security and conflict resolution, I
\nagree. I hope the military will not use weapons and kill people
\nwho stage demonstrations,\" he told the press here on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\"I think it is worth a try. Let's give them a chance.\"<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ago-to-send-more-prosecutors-to-maluku-in-a-bid-to-end-strife-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }