Ambon remains tense after attacks
Ambon remains tense after attacks
Aziz Tunny, The Jakarta Post, Ambon, Maluku
After the signing of the Malino peace agreement nearly one year
ago, the situation in Ambon, capital of Maluku, remains tense
following a series of attacks this month.
The latest attack occurred early Friday when an unidentified
gunman attacked a Mitsubishi L-300 pickup in Galunggung, Batu
Merah area in the city, injuring one passenger.
Rudy Formes, 27, sustained a severe injury to his right hand
while the pickup driver, Ely Denmay, and another passenger, Yeri
Pelmelay, emerged unscathed.
Ely said they were attacked while on their way home to Passo
village, Baguala subdistrict, after delivering vegetables and
other goods to Ambon market.
He said the gunman, who wore a black jacket, opened fire on
their pickup on Jl. Sudirman and minutes later they heard more
gunfire in front of and behind them.
"We kept driving until we reached the police station in
Baguala to seek help," he said.
Ely also said they saw men in military uniform armed with M-
16s 30 meters from the shooting site but they did nothing.
Maluku Police chief Brig. Gen. Bambang Sutrisno said the
police kept the car, which had bullet holes front and back. The
police also collected several projectiles from the car for
further investigation.
"We have yet to identify the attacker, but we will question
military personnel who were on duty in a security post near the
shooting site during the attack," he said.
Bambang expressed deep concern over the uncertain situation in
the provincial capital, saying the series of attacks could
disrupt the province's development program and political agenda.
He said the city was rocked by a bomb blast on Jan. 14 that
was followed by the killing of Solifan Merthin, assistant to the
intelligence officer of the government prosecutor's office, and
the burning of a car belonging to the Amboina diocese in the
city.
"So far the police have arrested 20 suspects in the incident,"
he said.
Another bomb also exploded near the security post in Mardika
on Jan. 19 but caused no fatalities. City police arrested A.
Khalik Kiliobas under suspicion of planting the bomb.
A day later, a sniper shot dead a villager in Waimase,
Salahutu district. The police are still investigating the
incident.
Bambang declined to identify which groups should be held
responsible for the attacks, saying the police would tackle all
law violations to help restore security and order in the
province.
The central government has declined to lift the state of civil
emergency imposed last July because of continuing tension
following the signing on Feb. 11, 2002 of the Malino peace
agreement by the conflicting parties to end the three-year bloody
conflict that claimed more than 6,000 lives and displaced more
than 750,000 people.
The peace accord has been put at stake following conflicting
factions' reluctance to disband, a main point of the peace
accord. Despite decreasing in number, armed militiamen of the
Lasjkar Jihad are still in the province while the police and the
Indonesian Military have yet to control local personnel who were
allegedly involved in the conflict.