Ambon remains tense after attacks<\/p>\n
Aziz Tunny, The Jakarta Post, Ambon, Maluku<\/p>\n
After the signing of the Malino peace agreement nearly one year
\nago, the situation in Ambon, capital of Maluku, remains tense
\nfollowing a series of attacks this month.<\/p>\n
The latest attack occurred early Friday when an unidentified
\ngunman attacked a Mitsubishi L-300 pickup in Galunggung, Batu
\nMerah area in the city, injuring one passenger.<\/p>\n
Rudy Formes, 27, sustained a severe injury to his right hand
\nwhile the pickup driver, Ely Denmay, and another passenger, Yeri
\nPelmelay, emerged unscathed.<\/p>\n
Ely said they were attacked while on their way home to Passo
\nvillage, Baguala subdistrict, after delivering vegetables and
\nother goods to Ambon market.<\/p>\n
He said the gunman, who wore a black jacket, opened fire on
\ntheir pickup on Jl. Sudirman and minutes later they heard more
\ngunfire in front of and behind them.<\/p>\n
\"We kept driving until we reached the police station in
\nBaguala to seek help,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Ely also said they saw men in military uniform armed with M-
\n16s 30 meters from the shooting site but they did nothing.<\/p>\n
Maluku Police chief Brig. Gen. Bambang Sutrisno said the
\npolice kept the car, which had bullet holes front and back. The
\npolice also collected several projectiles from the car for
\nfurther investigation.<\/p>\n
\"We have yet to identify the attacker, but we will question
\nmilitary personnel who were on duty in a security post near the
\nshooting site during the attack,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Bambang expressed deep concern over the uncertain situation in
\nthe provincial capital, saying the series of attacks could
\ndisrupt the province's development program and political agenda.<\/p>\n
He said the city was rocked by a bomb blast on Jan. 14 that
\nwas followed by the killing of Solifan Merthin, assistant to the
\nintelligence officer of the government prosecutor's office, and
\nthe burning of a car belonging to the Amboina diocese in the
\ncity.<\/p>\n
\"So far the police have arrested 20 suspects in the incident,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
Another bomb also exploded near the security post in Mardika
\non Jan. 19 but caused no fatalities. City police arrested A.
\nKhalik Kiliobas under suspicion of planting the bomb.<\/p>\n
A day later, a sniper shot dead a villager in Waimase,
\nSalahutu district. The police are still investigating the
\nincident.<\/p>\n
Bambang declined to identify which groups should be held
\nresponsible for the attacks, saying the police would tackle all
\nlaw violations to help restore security and order in the
\nprovince.<\/p>\n
The central government has declined to lift the state of civil
\nemergency imposed last July because of continuing tension
\nfollowing the signing on Feb. 11, 2002 of the Malino peace
\nagreement by the conflicting parties to end the three-year bloody
\nconflict that claimed more than 6,000 lives and displaced more
\nthan 750,000 people.<\/p>\n
The peace accord has been put at stake following conflicting
\nfactions' reluctance to disband, a main point of the peace
\naccord. Despite decreasing in number, armed militiamen of the
\nLasjkar Jihad are still in the province while the police and the
\nIndonesian Military have yet to control local personnel who were
\nallegedly involved in the conflict.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ambon-remains-tense-after-attacks-1447893297",
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