Calm returns to Maluku, claims government<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The government claimed on Thursday to have
\nrestored order in riot-torn Maluku and was now considering
\nreconstruction and reconciliation there.<\/p>\n
Coordinating Minister for Political Affairs and Security Gen.
\nWiranto said certain security measures, including an isolation of
\nthe sea surrounding the islands, remained in place to prevent a
\nnew outbreak of violence.<\/p>\n
\"The present situation out there is considered conducive to
\nstart rehabilitation and reconciliation, although physical and
\nnonphysical isolations are still needed,\" Wiranto said after a
\nmeeting on Maluku, which was presided over by Vice President
\nMegawati Soekarnoputri.<\/p>\n
A number of Cabinet ministers, Indonesian Military (TNI)
\nCommander Adm. Widodo Adisucipto, National Police chief Lt. Gen.
\nRoedihardjo and leaders of religious and social organizations
\nalso attended the meeting.<\/p>\n
Megawati has been assigned by President Abdurrahman Wahid to
\nseek a solution to the year-long sectarian clashes which have
\nraged across Maluku.<\/p>\n
Outside the vice presidential palace on Jl. Merdeka Selatan,
\nwhere the meeting was held, some 300 activists of the Defenders
\nof Islam (FPI) staged a fresh rally to demand the government
\nimmediately settle the Maluku upheaval and that Megawati return
\nto Maluku to initiate the efforts.<\/p>\n
Dozens of riot police kept the demonstrators from the vice
\npresidential office.<\/p>\n
Wiranto said reconstruction projects of mosques and churches,
\nwhich were either attacked or burned during the conflict, would
\ntop the priority of the rehabilitation program.<\/p>\n
\"There should be no more scenes of burned mosques and
\nchurches. It is sad to see that,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Wiranto said the situation in Maluku had gradually calmed,
\nthanks to the heavy presence of security personnel. A total of 15
\nbattalions of reinforcement military troops and two battalions of
\nthe National Police's Mobile Brigade have been sent to the
\nrestive territory to help the local security authorities stop the
\nviolence.<\/p>\n
Wiranto said order had returned, although not completely, to
\nTobelo and Galela in North Maluku, where hundreds were reportedly
\nkilled in a wave of clashes recently. The neighboring town of
\nJailolo remained tense, but Wiranto promised peace would be
\nrestored soon.<\/p>\n
He denied media reports that communal clashes had spread to
\nMorotai island, which abuts the Philippines.<\/p>\n
\"In fact there has been no conflict there. Everything is okay
\nbased on our field observations,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Wiranto said the government would seclude Maluku from the
\nmedia which was feared to fish in troubled waters for certain
\npolitical interests. He did not elaborate on whether a media
\nblackout would be imposed in Maluku.<\/p>\n
Earlier in the day, Widodo, fresh from his trip to Maluku,
\nadmitted that several minor clashes had occurred, despite the
\npresence of security troops.<\/p>\n
\"The neutral stance displayed by military personnel in the
\nfield has helped prevent further conflicts,\" Widodo said after an
\nIdul Fitri celebration at TNI Headquarters in East Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Tyasno Sudarto called on people in
\nMaluku to cooperate with the security personnel to cope with the
\nprotracted conflict.<\/p>\n
Also speaking during the occasion, chief of the Army's Special
\nForce (Kopassus) Maj. Gen. Syharir MS denied reports that his
\ntroops took part in the TNI operation in Maluku, let alone
\nmastermind the conflict there.<\/p>\n
\"Kopassus troops are all at their headquarters and they are
\nfocusing on how to improve their professionalism. But we are
\nready for any deployment to Maluku,\" Syahrir said.<\/p>\n
Separately, Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare and
\nPoverty Eradication Basri Hasanuddin announced an international
\nhumanitarian mission to Maluku which would be jointly organized
\nby his office and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).<\/p>\n
An initial meeting, which was attended by 23 donor countries,
\nseven UN agencies, the European Union, the International
\nCommittee of the Red Cross and the International Federation of
\nthe Red Cross, to discuss the aid arrangement was held on
\nThursday.<\/p>\n
Basri said a team would gather reports and information about
\nthe latest conditions in Maluku and North Maluku provinces to
\nassess the needs of people there. (01\/emf)<\/p>",
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