Tension down; Ambon still fears snipers<\/p>\n
Azis Tunny and Slamet Susanto, Ambon\/Yogyakarta<\/p>\n
A high-powered government team arrived in Ambon on Wednesday, as
\npeople from the provincial capital of Maluku again became
\nsegregated along religious lines.<\/p>\n
The visiting government team -- coordinating minister for
\npolitical and security affairs ad interim Hari Sabarno,
\nIndonesian Military (TNI) Commander Gen. Endriartono Sutarto and
\nNational Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar -- met dozens of local
\nleaders during the one-day visit, to seek an end to renewed
\nviolence that has caused the death of more than 30 people since
\nSunday.<\/p>\n
After the meeting, Hari promised that the government would
\ncontinue its policy of quelling the separatist movement in the
\nspice islands. The South Maluku Republic (RMS) movement has been
\nblamed for inciting unrest by holding a ceremony and rally to
\nmark its 54th anniversary on Sunday, but residents and religious
\nleaders have also criticized the police for failing effectively
\nto prevent the annual commemoration.<\/p>\n
The government team stayed for only a few hours at the airport
\nand flew back again to Jakarta, raising concern that it might not
\nhave obtained first-hand information on what was really going on
\nin the coastal town.<\/p>\n
Police had arrested 32 members of the separatist Maluku
\nSovereignty Front (FKM) as of Wednesday, but they have yet to
\nexplain why they allowed the rally to occur. The sight of RMS
\nsupporters guarded by police angered bystanders, which led to
\nstone-throwing and arson before victims fell, many of them with
\ngunshot wounds.<\/p>\n
However, data from sources compiled by the Jakarta-based
\nIndonesian Communion of Churches (PGI) Crisis Center is that the
\nrally was not planned, but that a few hundred RMS supporters, who
\ncarried flags, followed police who were escorting FKM secretary-
\ngeneral Moses Tuanakotta to the police station, thereby creating
\nthe impression of a rally.<\/p>\n
By Wednesday the violence had subsided but many were still
\nafraid to venture out for fear of snipers, who had even targeted
\ntwo police officers on Monday. Police say they are investigating
\nthe information on the existence of unidentified snipers.<\/p>\n
While Muslims and Christians rubbed shoulders in public again
\nafter 2002, since Sunday the divisions became clear again. The
\nwebsite of Maluku Media Center, an information center in Ambon
\nrun by the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), reported on
\nWednesday that markets were again segregated, similar to the
\nsituation that followed the original bloodshed in 1999 that left
\nthousands dead.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of traders in Mardika market, considered a neutral
\narea, have moved to other markets in their communities: Muslim
\ntraders moved to Batumerah, while Christian traders shifted their
\nactivities to Batu Meja market.<\/p>\n
There was fighting of a much lesser scale in a number of
\nareas. A Nazareth church and a dwelling were burned down in
\nKarangpanjang.<\/p>\n
Two more fatalities were reported on Wednesday, bringing the
\ndeath toll to 32. Meanwhile, 16 more people were injured,
\nbringing the number of people injured as of Wednesday to 202.
\nPolice, however, listed 36 people as dead, including two of their
\nown officers.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a Maluku provincial government spokeswoman claimed
\nthat more than 1,000 Christians protested at police headquarters
\nto demand that soldiers from outside Ambon be withdrawn.<\/p>\n
\"They say witnesses saw members of the TNI (armed forces) were
\ninvolved in the torching of the Nazareth church,\" the spokeswoman
\nwas quoted as saying by AFP.<\/p>\n
Separately, in Yogyakarta, hundreds of Muslim students from
\nMaluku slammed the RMS for provoking the riots.<\/p>\n
The students demanded firm action against RMS members and
\ndemanded that Maluku Police chief Brig.Gen. Bambang Sutrisno
\nacknowledge responsibility for what occurred.<\/p>\n
The government lifted the state of civil emergency in Maluku
\nlast year, but it has yet to resolve the issue of thousands of
\nrefugees who remain homeless and unemployed, factors that
\nobservers have said are potential sources of trouble.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/tension-down-ambon-still-fears-snipers-1447893297",
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