Ambon separatist arrested for treason<\/p>\n
M. Azis Tunny, The Jakarta Post\/Ambon<\/p>\n
Alleged separatist Semmy Waeleruny was arrested on Friday on
\ntreason charges, only a day after arriving in Ambon from Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"We have named him a suspect because there is enough evidence
\nsuggesting that he has been involved in subversive activities,\"
\nsaid Ambon and Lease Islands Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Leonidas
\nBraksan.<\/p>\n
Semmy, an alleged executive of the Maluku Sovereignty Front
\n(FKM), was detained by police upon his arrival at the Ambon
\nairport on Thursday morning. Officers took the suspect to police
\nheadquarters, where Semmy was questioned until Friday.<\/p>\n
Police searched Semmy's house in Ambon after the arrest and
\nuncovered documents allegedly linking him to the separatist group
\nFKM, which has for years sought to establish an independent South
\nMaluku Republic (RMS).<\/p>\n
Among the documents reportedly seized from the suspect's house
\nwas a speech written by self-exiled FKM leader Alex Manuputty,
\nwhich was supposed to be distributed to FKM members during the
\n54th anniversary of the self-proclaimed RMS on April 25 last
\nyear. Other uncovered documents included a thesis arguing that
\nRMS is a legal state, an RMS proclamation and several pictures on
\nFKM's activities.<\/p>\n
Police also found an SMS on Semmy's cellular phone that had
\nbeen sent to alleged FKM member Izack Sapulette, stating that
\nSemmy would lead a flag-raising ceremony to commemorate the 55th
\nanniversary of the self-proclaimed RMS on April 25.<\/p>\n
In the SMS, Semmy, who was in Jakarta at the time the message
\nwas sent, also told Izack, who was in Ambon, that the anniversary
\ncelebration should be delayed if it was impossible to hold on
\nApril 25.<\/p>\n
\"In the SMS, Semmy asked Izack to invite foreign journalists
\nto cover the RMS anniversary celebration,\" said Leonidas.<\/p>\n
Another SMS reportedly revealed that Semmy led an FKM meeting
\nin Makassar on April 13. In the meeting, Semmy told Izack to
\nprepare three locations in Ambon where FKM members could
\ncelebrate the RMS anniversary.<\/p>\n
Izack is reportedly a bodyguard for Holly Manuputty, the wife
\nof Alex Manuputty, who is currently living in the U.S. Izack was
\narrested in Ambon last week on charges of subversive activity.<\/p>\n
He was one of some 50 suspected FKM members arrested for
\nsubversion since early this year.<\/p>\n
Semmy's wife, Else Titaley, denied her husband was guilty of
\ntreason.<\/p>\n
She said the documents found by police in her house on
\nThursday were old documents that Semmy already had been jailed
\nfor, and had nothing to do with the criminal charge that Semmy
\nwas involved in the RMS anniversary celebration this year.<\/p>\n
Two years ago, Semmy, along with Alex Manuputty, was sentenced
\nto three years in prison by a Jakarta court for treason.<\/p>\n
Semmy was recently released after receiving a sentence
\nreduction. According to Else, Semmy returned to Ambon on Thursday
\nto visit his three daughters.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ambon-separatist-arrested-for-treason-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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