13 more RMS supporters arrested on treason charge
13 more RMS supporters arrested on treason charge
M. Azis Tunny, The Jakarta Post, Ambon
Maluku Police say they have arrested 13 people for allegedly
hoisting flags bearing the symbol of the separatist South Maluku
Republic (RMS) on Friday.
The two flags were raised separately in the Hative Besar and
Kudamati subdistricts in Ambon, as 299 German tourists on board
the MV. C. Columbus cruise ship arrived in the city.
The 13 were detained in connection with the flag raising in
Hative Besar. Police are still searching for the perpetrators of
the Kudamati incident.
Ambon Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Leonidas Braksan said on
Tuesday they had confiscated several items as evidence.
"We did not only seize the flags that the people were flying
on Friday, we also confiscated other flags found in their
houses," Leonidas said.
Police raided a house of one of the suspects, Abraham
Talahaturuson, and confiscated 10 pendants measuring 1.5 by 1.5
meters each, he said.
Leonidas said 65-year-old Abraham was the leader of the group.
Two of the detainees, Saleh Siatau and Tomas M, were arrested for
hoisting the flag, while eight others -- Yosy Espesy, Carlos
Siatau, Joris Talahaturuson, Teky L, Dedy de Fretes, Ivan
Sapulete, Markus Lelapary and Deny Renferu -- are being charged
with possession of the illegal flags. Police did not name the two
people who they said produced the flags.
All were being held in Ambon's Baguala precinct for further
questioning, he said.
The 13 people would be charged for committing treason,
Leonidas said. If they were convicted, they could be jailed for
life.
In a separate case, two students from the Indonesian Christian
University in Ambon were convicted for treason on Tuesday and
sentenced two years' jail.
An Ambon court judge found the students guilty of raising a
RMS flag in Bailoe Siwalima, Ambon, last year.
The students -- Novy Jemi Tapilatu and Ade Chandra Lattan --
were known to have attended separatist meetings held in a house
belonging to South Maluku independence leader Alex Manuputty in
Kudamati, the judge said.
Manuputty is now living in exile in the United States.