Human rights body starts inquiry into Maluku strife<\/p>\n
AMBON, Maluku (JP): A National Commission on Human Rights
\nfact-finding team started on Friday their inquiry into the year-
\nlong sectarian violence across Maluku.<\/p>\n
The team of four, comprising Bambang W. Suharto, Maj. Gen.
\n(ret) Syamsuddin, BN Marbun and Soegiri, held a closed-door
\nmeeting with 24 representatives of Muslim and Christian
\ncommunities, locally called Tim Peduli Maluku.<\/p>\n
No details were available on the content of the first of a
\nseries of meetings arranged by the inquiry team.<\/p>\n
Spokesman for the Muslim group Amir Latuconsina and his
\nChristian counterpart Jack Manuputty told reporters afterward
\nthat they believed the prolonged riot was orchestrated by a
\npolitical conspiracy.<\/p>\n
The team demanded that the government be transparent in
\nuncovering the cause of the bloodshed as well as who masterminded
\nthe unrest.<\/p>\n
\"We want the conspiracy to be revealed to the public,\" Amir
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Commission members met with Maluku Military Commander Brig.
\nGen. Max Tamaela, Maluku Police chief Brig. Gen. I Dewa Astika
\nand Governor Saleh Latuconsina on Thursday evening at the
\nlatter's residence.<\/p>\n
Tamaela said he took the inquiry team through riot-hit areas
\non their 40-kilometer trip from Pattimura Airport to Ambon.<\/p>\n
\"I made them take a close look at the recent situation in
\nAmbon. They told me they were surprised to find no signs of
\nchaos,\" Tamaela said.<\/p>\n
Tamaela said Bambang was complaining about the way media in
\nJakarta had covered the communal clashes.<\/p>\n
Another fact-finding team comprising House of Representatives
\nlegislators is expected to arrive here on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Despite Tamaela's claim that the situation in Ambon was now
\nunder control, fresh violence erupted on Thursday when a mob
\nkilled a man for unknown reasons on Jl. Sultan Hairun.<\/p>\n
Reliable sources said that the victim was identified as
\nMuchtar Adam, alias Abutar, 42.<\/p>\n
Military troops blocked the road following the killing as
\npeople were seen gathering in groups. Bomb blasts and gunshots
\nwere heard around the nearby Waihaong area, a resident said.<\/p>\n
Tamaela said on Friday three people were detained in
\nconnection to the fatal assault.<\/p>\n
Minor clashes were also reported in the North Maluku districts
\nof Sosopu and Jailolo on Ternate island on Friday. Local
\nDefenders of Islam (FPI) leader, Wahdah Zainal Iman, said 15
\npeople were injured by shots from arrows and homemade rifles in
\nthe fray in Sosopu that erupted just after dusk.<\/p>\n
Prior to the arrival of Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri
\nin Ternate on Monday, calm had apparently returned to the
\npredominantly Muslim island, which has now become a safe haven
\nfor Muslim refugees from neighboring areas. The refugees are
\ntaking shelter in vacant houses deserted by Christians, while
\nsome are staying in government offices and even a movie theater.<\/p>\n
Shops along the main thoroughfare of the small town have also
\nresumed business.<\/p>\n
Provocateurs<\/p>\n
In Jakarta, a Maluku reconciliatory team member, Tamrin Amla
\nTomagola, dropped his allegations that youth activist Yorris
\nRaweyai and a former government official in Jayapura, Buce
\nSarpara, masterminded the year-long conflict.<\/p>\n
Tamrin admitted that he implicated the two people without
\nchecking the validity of the information he received from \"the
\nnumber two person in Maluku\".<\/p>\n
\"I've called Buce, he is in Jakarta now, and asked for
\nforgiveness,\" he told journalists at the Commission for Missing
\nPersons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) office.<\/p>\n
Tamrin, a sociologist who was raised in Halmahera, accused the
\ntwo, along with the Sultan of Ternate and former Ambon mayor Col.
\nDicky Wattimena, of fomenting the bloodshed.<\/p>\n
Yorris has planned to file a lawsuit against Tamrin, and so
\nhas Sultan of Ternate Mudaffar Syah.<\/p>\n
\"I regret the way the media published the accusation without
\ncontacting me for confirmation. I will cooperate with Yorris in
\nsuing Thamrin,\" Mudaffar said in Jakarta on Friday.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile in Semarang, Central Java Police chief Maj. Gen.
\nNurfaizi said the security forces would not hesitate to shoot
\nrioters or anyone who wished to cause unrest in the province.<\/p>\n
In another related development, Muslims in Central Java called
\nfor unity and peace among people. In a statement signed by noted
\nMuslim organizations here, including the Nahdlatul Ulama, the
\nIndonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) and Muhammadiyah, the group
\nsupported stern actions against provocateurs and rioters.<\/p>\n
In Surabaya, Maluku Muslims and Christian community leaders
\nrallied on Friday, demanding the government to announce soon the
\nnames of provocateurs in the protracted communal conflict, which
\nhas claimed over 2,000 lives.<\/p>\n
\"We also support the military and police in taking firm
\nmeasures against any attempted unrest,\" Sam Abede Pareno, the
\ngroup spokesman, said in a meeting with East Java Governor Imam
\nUtomo.<\/p>\n
In Yogyakarta, more than 3,000 Muslims gathered on Friday in a
\nmass Tablig Akbar prayer, which was called to express deep
\nconcern over the ongoing sectarian conflict in Maluku.<\/p>\n
The Jihad Registration post here has so far registered over
\n2,000 local Muslims who declared themselves ready to go to Maluku
\nfor a jihad. It has also collected about Rp 21 million, of which
\nRp 14 million has been sent to help refugees in Ternate.
\n(01\/04\/49\/sur\/har\/nur\/swa\/edt\/emf)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/human-rights-body-starts-inquiry-into-maluku-strife-1447893297",
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