Another body found in shattered Ambon<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): One body was found on Monday as security
\npersonnel stepped up their search for weapons in the riot-torn
\nMaluku capital of Ambon, church sources and witnesses said.<\/p>\n
Semmy Waileruni, the coordinator of a team of lawyers from the
\nMaluku Protestant Church, told The Jakarta Post by phone from
\nAmbon the headless corpse was found by residents in the Amahusu
\narea on Monday morning.<\/p>\n
Neither the police nor the military could be reached to
\nconfirm the report.<\/p>\n
Witnesses said calm was slowly returning to the city after
\nweeks of clashes between Muslims and Christians. Some 200 people
\nhave been killed in the province since the violence first erupted
\nin mid-January.<\/p>\n
Reports also said the number of refugees sheltering in mosques
\nand churches as well as military installations was decreasing. In
\nJanuary, the number of refugees at Al Fatah Mosque in downtown
\nAmbon reached 8,000, while currently some 400 people are taking
\nrefuge in the mosque.<\/p>\n
\"The situation has been calming down in the past few days, but
\nthe attacks on a number of houses on Sunday night caused
\nuneasiness among residents,\" Semmy said.<\/p>\n
Antara reported that at least 15 houses in Soabali village
\nwere set on fire on Sunday night.<\/p>\n
Semmy also said that groups of people were seen turning over
\nknives, machetes and arrows to the authorities in Ambon during
\nthe day. According to reports, some 200 weapons were handed in to
\nauthorities in one day.<\/p>\n
\"A group of Muslims from Tulehu were seen turning over their
\nweapons to security personnel this morning,\" Semmy said.<\/p>\n
A staff member at the local military headquarters told the
\nPost that security personnel had stepped up their search for
\nweapons on Monday by setting up roadblocks.<\/p>\n
\"They check passersby, motorists and search vehicles as well,\"
\nsaid the staff member, who spoke on condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n
Local military chief Col. Karel Ralahalu said on Monday that
\nsecurity personnel released most of the 37 people arrested on
\nSaturday for carrying weapons and Molotov cocktails, adding that
\nthey could be summoned for further questioning.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Antara reported that security personnel were flown
\nby helicopter from Ambon to nearby Haruku Island to disperse
\ncombat-ready groups of Muslims and Christians on Monday morning.<\/p>\n
In Jakarta, Armed Forces (ABRI) Commander Gen. Wiranto said on
\nMonday he would look into a proposal to revive a military command
\narea for Maluku.<\/p>\n
\"I will give special attention to this request,\" Wiranto said
\nafter opening a new building of the National Resilience
\nInstitute.<\/p>\n
The provincial legislature last week proposed reviving a
\nseparate military command area for Maluku.<\/p>\n
The province is currently under the jurisdiction of the
\nTrikora Regional Military Command which also oversees Irian Jaya.
\nThe command's chief, Maj. Gen. Amir Sembiring, is based in the
\nIrian Jaya capital of Jayapura.<\/p>\n
Riot control in Maluku was handed over from the police to the
\nmilitary last Thursday after troops opened fire on warring
\nChristians and Muslims on Wednesday, killing nine people. The
\ndecision followed the replacement of Maluku Police chief Col.
\nKaryono with Maluku-born Col. Bugis Saman.<\/p>\n
Local officials said the handover was ordered by Wiranto at
\nthe request of Governor Saleh Latuconsina.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, protests against the violence in Ambon continued in
\nJava, Sulawesi and Kalimantan.<\/p>\n
In Surabaya, the capital of East Java, the Islamic Al Falah
\nSocial Foundation led by Bambang Junaidi and Muhammad Siroj told
\nAntara that more than 60,000 Muslims from Buton, Makasar and Java
\nhad fled Ambon.<\/p>\n
The foundation sent a fact-finding team to Ambon between March
\n2 and March 7. The team reported that 524 cars, 67 motorcycles,
\n1,862 pedicabs, 23 mosques, nine churches and 872 houses had been
\nburned down and 563 houses had been vandalized.<\/p>\n
Bambang also said that thousands of kindergarten, elementary
\nschool and secondary school students could no longer attend
\nclasses because their schools had been burned down or their
\nteachers had fled Ambon. Many of the students were also forced to
\nleave the city. (byg\/rms\/har\/27\/30\/44)<\/p>",
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