Tension grips Ambon after shooting<\/p>\n
M. Aziz Tunny, Ambon<\/p>\n
A volley of gunfire shattered the calm in Ambon on Sunday night,
\ninstilling fear once again in residents of the beleaguered city.<\/p>\n
The incident seriously wounded Raymond Kaya and a nine-year-
\nold boy, Henry Pentury. The shooting was the most serious
\nincident since disturbances in April killed dozens of Ambon
\nresidents and left hundreds of others wounded.<\/p>\n
Sources say that Sunday's incident began when police Mobile
\nBrigade personnel were searching for Raymond Kaya. The police
\nfinally located Raymond at 9.30 p.m on Sunday in the Tanah Lapang
\nKecil area, Nusaniwe district. The police say that they were
\nforced to open fire on Raymond as he attempted to evade arrest.<\/p>\n
Raymond was shot in the chest, but one of the bullets fired by
\nthe police accidentally hit Henry Pentury in the head. Both
\nvictims are now being treated at the Dr. Haulussy Hospital in
\nAmbon.<\/p>\n
Local residents rushed home early and locked their doors
\nfollowing the incident for fear that there would be a repeat of
\nthe April disturbances. By Monday morning, however, the situation
\nhad returned to normal.<\/p>\n
Ambon and Lease Islands Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Leonidas
\nBraksan was not available for comment on Monday.<\/p>\n
Similarly, Maluku Provincial Police spokesman Comr. Endro
\nPrasetyo refused to comment on the incident.<\/p>\n
\"I can't comment yet as I've received no reports so far on
\nwhat actually happened,\" said Endro.<\/p>\n
In April, dozens of people were killed and hundreds of others
\nwere badly injured following the celebration of the 54th
\nanniversary of the proclamation of the South Maluku Republic
\n(RMS). The Tanah Lapang Kecil area in Nusaniwe district bore the
\nbrunt of the unrest at that time.<\/p>\n
April's disturbances began on April 25 when a rally by the
\nseparatist group, the Maluku Sovereignty Front (FKM), whose
\nmembers are mostly Christians, enraged a mob of Muslims, who
\ncomplained that the police had failed to prevent the separatist
\nrally from taking place. A brawl erupted following heated
\nargument.<\/p>\n
The incident provoked several days' unrest in some parts of
\nAmbon. While most of the dead and injured were the victims of
\nstabbings, many people, including police personnel, died after
\nthey were shot by \"mysterious\" snipers whom the authorities have
\nso far failed to identify.<\/p>\n
The April unrest was the worst since the original conflict
\nerupted in Ambon in 1999. The ostensible cause of the conflict
\nwas a trivial argument between a public transportation driver and
\na passenger of different faiths. However, in reality the conflict
\nhad been brewing for decades. Thousands of Muslims and Christians
\nwere killed in the disturbances, which finally subsided only in
\n2003.<\/p>\n
Separately, an Ambon court resumed on Monday the trial of
\ndefendants Moses Tuanakotta, the secretary-general of the FKM,
\nand Holly Manuputty, the wife of the FKM's fugitive leader,
\nAlexander Manuputty. The two, who are being tried separately by
\nAmbon District Court, have been charged with treason.<\/p>\n
In the Moses Tuanakotta trial, a prosecutor told the packed
\ncourtroom that the charges against the defendant were based on
\nstrong evidence so that the defendant should be sent to jail.
\nMeanwhile, in the Holly Manuputty trial, the judicial panel heard
\nwitness testimony regarding Holly's role in the FKM.<\/p>",
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