Some 800 missing on Buru Island<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Amid reports of continuing conflict in Maluku,
\nat least 800 villagers from Wayula and Batlale in North Buru
\nsubdistrict are missing in forests on Buru Island after escaping
\nan attack from a rival group from Dec. 22 to 23.<\/p>\n
Maluku deputy governor Paula Renyaan said on Tuesday she had
\nrecently received a report from Buru Regent Dudy Sangadji on the
\nuncertain fate of the two villages' residents.<\/p>\n
\"The search (by security personnel) for the missing people is
\nstill ongoing,\" she told Antara in Maluku's capital Ambon.<\/p>\n
She said she had asked Maluku Military Command chief Brig.
\nGen. Max Tamaela to use a military helicopter to search for the
\nmissing people.<\/p>\n
Buru Island was formerly home to political prisoners sentenced
\nfor their involvement in the 1965 abortive coup attempt blamed on
\nthe now defunct Indonesian Communist Party.<\/p>\n
A search was also underway for residents of Tehoru village on
\nSeram Island, who were still missing after fleeing the recent
\nviolence on the island, Paula, also chairwoman of the
\ncoordinating board for humanitarian aid in Maluku, said.<\/p>\n
She said she had asked the military subdistrict in Masohi in
\nCentral Maluku regency to carry out the search.<\/p>\n
\"We have instructed Central Maluku Regent Rudolf Rukka not to
\nevacuate refugees in the regency to Ambon because of inadequate
\nspace to accommodate them,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Paula said around 2,750 villagers who also escaped the two-day
\nviolence on Buru Island had been accommodated in the province's
\nnaval base, churches and mosques.<\/p>\n
She added the provincial administration had supplied 15 tons
\nof rice and medicine in humanitarian aid to refugees across
\nMaluku.<\/p>\n
A semblance of calm enveloped Ambon on Tuesday as roadblocks
\nwere removed and business activities resumed. Security personnel
\nin armored vehicles were seen patrolling the city to anticipate
\nany disturbance.<\/p>\n
Ambon and its adjacent islands have witnessed intermittent
\nMuslim-Christian violence since Jan. 19 last year, which has left
\nmore than 1,000 dead, over 2,300 injured and more than 8,500
\nbuildings, including more than 122 places of worship, either
\ndamaged or burned.<\/p>\n
But there have been conflicting numbers of fatalities in the
\nyear-long turbulence.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, some 300 Muslim students in Ambon rallied in the
\nprovincial capital to protest the government's plan to replace
\nGovernor Saleh Latuconsina.<\/p>\n
The protesters, who claimed to represent three local Muslim
\norganizations, gathered in front of the Al-Fatah Mosque and tried
\nto march to a Christian area near the burned-down Silo church,
\nsome 300 meters apart, before being stopped by security
\npersonnel.<\/p>\n
They accused the central government of doing little to help
\nsolve the dispute in the restive province.<\/p>\n
The group waved a white banner which read \"Sister Mega,
\nteardrops alone won't solve Ambon conflicts\", referring to Vice
\nPresident Megawati Soekarnoputri, who has been assigned by
\nPresident Abdurrahman Wahid to cope with the bloodshed.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman said on Sunday he would replace Maluku military
\ncommander Brig. General Max Tamaela and Latuconsina, a Muslim of
\nAmbon descent, \"due to the fact that they are no longer wanted by
\nthe (Ambonese) people.\"<\/p>\n
In another development, visiting Indonesian Military Commander
\nAdm. Widodo A.S. said the presence of 15 battalions of troops in
\nMaluku was expected to ease the sectarian violence in Maluku and
\nNorth Maluku.<\/p>\n
\"The deployment of massive security personnel, warships and
\ncargo planes to the two provinces is expected to stop the
\nbloodshed in a short time,\" he said in Ternate.<\/p>\n
He renewed his order for security personnel on duty to be
\nneutral in the face of the conflicting groups and to strictly
\nenforce the law.<\/p>\n
However, North Muluku military chief Lt. Col. Slamet Riyadi
\nsaid he needed more reinforcement of the existing 2,000 troops to
\nprevent the violence from escalating in the new province.<\/p>\n
He said the situation in North Maluku remained tense.<\/p>\n
At least eight people were killed and dozens of others were
\ninjured in violence in Jailolo subdistrict on Monday, he said.<\/p>\n
A number of handmade bombs in Tobelo and Galela also exploded
\non Tuesday but no fatalities were reported.<\/p>\n
The National Social Welfare Agency (BKSN) has supplied food
\nand medicine in humanitarian relief for refugees in North Maluku.<\/p>\n
Jose Rizal, coordinator of the medical team for North Maluku,
\nsaid hundreds of deceased bodies remained sprawled about unburied
\nin the province.<\/p>\n
He said he had asked security personnel to help bury the
\ncorpses to avoid an outbreak of epidemic diseases. (48\/edt\/rms)<\/p>",
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