Army set to send more troops to troubled Maluku

Army set to send more troops to troubled Maluku

SEMARANG (JP): The Army is set to send more reinforcement
troops to the war-torn Maluku Islands, including Ambon, if the
situation remains out of hand, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Tyasno
Sudarto said here on Monday.

"We are preparing additional troops. If the clashes continue,
the Indonesian Military (TNI) Headquarters will probably order
the sending of fresh troops, especially from the Army," said
Tyasno after attending the leadership transfer of the Diponegoro
Military Command overseeing Central Java from Maj. Gen. Bibit
Waluyo to Maj. Gen. Soemarsono.

In Pontianak, West Kalimantan, TNI Chief of General Affairs
Lt. Gen. Djamari Chaniago inspected on Monday the readiness of
the Ambon-bound Tanjungpura Military Command troops.

Tyasno said there are four battalions of stand-by soldiers,
two battalions of which are ready for rapid deployment.

Two battalions of troops from the Army's Strategic Reserves
Command (Kostrad) and the Diponegoro Military Command were
reportedly dispatched to Maluku on Thursday.

So far at least 8,000 Army troops and 400 Mobile Brigade
Police personnel have been posted in the restive Maluku and North
Maluku provinces.

The prolonged sectarian clashes between Muslims and Christians
have claimed over 3,000 lives since they first broke out in mid-
January 1999.

Efforts, including the imposition of a civil emergency status,
have been made to curb the situation but the bombings, shootings
and killings continue.

Governor Saleh Latuconsina, in his capacity as civil emergency
ruler, declared on Saturday a limited isolation of the area in a
bid to prevent the smuggling of arms and ammunition.

Many, however, are skeptical that the limited isolation will
work given that the violence remains unabated.

On Sunday two people were killed after a speed boat carrying
12 passengers was shot on its way to the Seram Island from
Saparua. The casualties were identified as Kace Salawane, the
boat driver, and Yosevita Watimena, a woman passenger.

A survivor, Leo Tuarisa, said that about 25 minutes after
leaving Saparua, a red speed boat with its cap painted white
appeared.

"I saw a stand gun on the roof of the boat, but I didn't see
any body shooting my boat. I just heard the bullets against my
boat and saw the driver fall with gunshot wound," Leo said.

He said the passengers were all Tihulale people who had just
sold their crop in Saparua.

On Monday commander of the Pattimura Airport Lt. Col. DA
Tambunan said in Laha, some 40 kilometers north of Ambon, that
snipers roaming the province have frustrated both the military
and civilians.

Tambunan also said that both warring groups were equipped with
automatic guns. "So we must be extra careful when facing them.
They usually outnumber security officers and have more modern
weaponry."

"Airport security is now concentrating on safeguarding the
airport zone," said DA Tambunan.

Residents in Ambon have also been scared by the circulation
of maps indicating some local areas prone to attack. "The maps
are mostly accurate. They contain the date of the attack on the
areas," a local said, who asked for anonymity.

"Once Pattimura Military commander Brig. Gen. I Made Yasa was
upset and claimed that reporters would try to play him against
the governor when we showed him copies of the map. Yet he (the
commander) had asked reporters to report to him what we saw and
what we got in an effort to curb the situation," a reporter said.

The inability of security authorities to immediately put an
end to the prolonged violence has raised demands for
international intervention, which Jakarta has ruled out.

Political expert Rubiyanto Misman of Purwokerto, from the
Central Java-based Jenderal Soedirman University, supported the
government's stand, but urged security authorities to implement
stricter measures to restore order.

"I can understand that they demand international intervention
out of frustration. But instead of solving the problem, it will
only damage our credibility and in turn play havoc to our
economic recovery program," Rubiyanto said. (27/45/49/sur)