Arms raids planned in Ambon as tension rises again
Arms raids planned in Ambon as tension rises again
Agencies
Jakarta
Tension rose again in the country's eastern city of Ambon, Maluku
province, on Monday, with residents reestablishing roadblocks
after bombs wounded five people, while police are planning to
launch raids in search of weapons.
Barricades, made of tires, rocks, bamboo, wood and hawker
wagons, blocked several main streets in both the Christian and
Muslim sectors early on Monday.
But by noon armed police and troops cleared most of them, AFP
reported.
On Sunday, two bombs exploded in Ambon in what a police
officer described as "efforts to provoke the population".
Five people were injured in a blast in the mainly Christian
village of Halong Baru and two of them were still in hospital on
Monday, medical staff said.
The second bomb in a Muslim area caused no injuries.
Ambon is still recovering from an outbreak of Muslim-Christian
violence that began on April 25 and killed 38 people.
Ambon was ravaged by three years of Muslim-Christian clashes
which killed more than 5,000 people before a February 2002 peace
pact came into force.
The latest violence broke out on April 25 after a banned
procession by members of a mainly Christian separatist group, the
Maluku Sovereignty Front (FKM). Muslims saw the procession as an
act of provocation.
Police said on Monday they had arrested six more suspected FKM
members and have flown them to Jakarta for further questioning at
the National Police Headquarters.
Maluku Police spokesman Hendro Prasetyo said four of the six
had escaped from police cells earlier this month. They were
recaptured after a tipoff from residents.
He said 38 other suspected independence supporters are under
detention in the province.
President Megawati Soekarnoputri paid a brief visit to the
city on Saturday and ordered the weeding-out of separatist
supporters.
In Jakarta, National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said
security personnel would launch raids on arms across Ambon to
stop more violence in the riot-hit town following Sunday's bomb
blasts.
"The important thing is that we must search local people for
firearms and other sharp weapons," he was quoted by Antara as
saying after attending the National Awakening Day commemoration
in Jakarta.
Da'i lamented the bombing incidents in Ambon, saying it was
aimed at provoking local people to renew fighting after a peace
deal signed in February 2002 by Muslim and Christian leaders.
"We strongly condemn such attempts at provoking the people.
But praise be to God that people were not provoked," he said.
The general urged Ambonese residents to remain on alert in
case of further provocation.
"Give the responsibility to the law enforcement agencies to
find those behind the bomb explosions. Therefore, we want people
to provide us with information," Da'i said.