Ja'far's arrest and Malino<\/p>\n
Days after the arrest in Surabaya of Ja'far Umar Thalib, the
\ncommander of the militant Islamic group Laskar Jihad, it is not
\nsurprising that skepticism is being voiced by the public over the
\neffectiveness of the measure. As was reported, police arrested
\nJa'far on Saturday on his arrival in Surabaya from Makasar on
\ncharges of inciting violence after mass prayers in Ambon two days
\nearlier. Police authorities, explaining the arrest to the media
\non Sunday, read out portions allegedly taken from Ja'far's
\nlecture on the occasion to prove the Laskar Jihad commander's
\nguilt.<\/p>\n
Observers, however, have questioned the effectiveness of the
\nmeasure. Thamrin Amal Tomagola, for example, a sociologist and
\nlecturer at the University of Indonesia who has made himself a
\nname in the past few years as a knowledgeable observer of the
\nMaluku conflagration, said the authorities should not stop at
\nJa'far's arrest but take other measures as well, including
\ninvestigating other parties who are known or suspected of keeping
\nthe discord alive.<\/p>\n
\"The authorities have to enforce the law consistently,\" he
\nsaid, referring to the points of a peace agreement agreed upon in
\nMalino, South Sulawesi, in February by the main parties in the
\nthree-year-old conflict. According to Thamrin, those suspects
\ninclude not only Laskar Jihad, but also other parties embroiled
\nin the incidents before and after the Malino agreement and the
\nSouth Maluku Republic (RMS) separatist movement.<\/p>\n
Although it has been said many times before, it still may do
\nsome good to say it again: The most important key to opening the
\ndoorway toward peace in Maluku is effective law enforcement. By
\nbringing together religious and community leaders of the parties
\nin the conflict, Malino II, as the agreement is known -- Malino I
\nrefers to a similar deal for Poso on the island of Sulawesi --
\nhas in fact effectively laid the groundwork for peace by
\nreopening the channels of communication among the parties in the
\nconflict in Maluku.<\/p>\n
In Malino, the leaders expressed what the population of Maluku
\nhave felt for a long time: They are sick and tired of three years
\nof violence and killings that has brought them nothing but
\nmisery. The people want peace brought back into their lives. But
\nto bring back peace to this once idyllic island paradise, the law
\n-- specifically the points agreed upon in Malino -- must be
\nstrictly upheld.<\/p>\n
This has not consistently been done and so a golden
\nopportunity to seize the momentum has been lost, for, surely,
\nthere can be no doubt that the longing for peace is alive and
\nwell among the grassroots population. If there is any doubt about
\nthis, one only has to recall the spontaneous peace parades in
\nwhich the people of Ambon marched shoulder-to-shoulder in
\ncomplete harmony through the streets, irrespective of race,
\nethnicity or religion. Neither were the people provoked into
\nreacting with violence when a bomb blast ripped through a crowd
\nnear a shopping mall, killing and wounding several, or when the
\ngovernor's office was burned down.<\/p>\n
It is in this context certainly worth noting that the people
\nof Ambon continued to demonstrate this kind of restraint in the
\nwake of the Soya killings last week, by far the most tragic
\nincident after the Malino II agreement that could easily have
\nturned the clock back and rekindled the conflagration in Maluku.<\/p>\n
As the situation stands at present, both Alex Manuputty,
\nleader of the proindependence Maluku Sovereignty Forum (FKM), and
\nJa'far Umar Thalib, the commander of the militant Laskar Jihad,
\nare in police detention. Ordinarily, this should satisfy, at
\nleast in part, those who are clamoring for action from the
\nauthorities. However, there are many who do not see this as being
\ndone in the context of consistent law enforcement in Maluku. On
\nthe contrary, it has tended to strengthen the suspicion that
\nother dirty hands -- hands of people who are not really party to
\nthe conflict -- may be meddling to take advantage of the conflict
\nfor motives of their own. No need to say, this is a damaging
\nassumption that the authorities would do well to dispel quickly.<\/p>\n
Be that as it may, it should be clear that declaring martial
\nlaw is not the answer to the problem of Maluku. On the contrary,
\nit would only confound an already complicated situation. The only
\nanswer is better law enforcement. Although one can understand the
\ndifficulties that stand in the way in a country where lawfulness
\ncannot be fully assured even on the national plane, it is a step
\nthat must be taken unless the government wants to see the
\nviolence and killing go on forever in the islands.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jafars-arrest-and-malino-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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