Death toll in Banda, Hatta violence increases to six

Death toll in Banda, Hatta violence increases to six

AMBON, Maluku (JP): The Banda Islands in Central Maluku were
reportedly calm on Thursday after being hit by violent communal
clashes on Tuesday.

But Maluku Police chief Col. Bugis M. Saman said the number of
casualties had risen to six from the four reported earlier.

The first casualty was identified as Dade Umar, 27, of Hatta
Island.

The other five -- including two girls, 8 and 14 -- were
members of the Van de Brook family from the main island of
Bandaneira's Walang village (not Walang island as earlier
reported), the police said.

All were killed in two separate clashes that first started in
Hatta, then erupted in Neira, the predominantly Muslim capital
town of the Banda group.

Several people were also injured in the clashes and a number
of houses were set on fire, Bugis said.

Neira is about 300 kilometers to the southeast of here. Hatta
Island is an hour away by motorboat.

Maluku Police spokesman Maj. Philip Jekriel said more than 100
people were still taking refuge in the Neira police station.

He also said that about 350 Hatta residents would be moved for
their protection to Central Maluku's capital of Masohi, on Seram
Island.

It was still unclear how the violence developed on Tuesday on
the two islands.

However, Bugis said: "The violence in Banda was the 'excess'
from the riots in Ambon."

He was referring to the clashes of Muslim and Christian
communities in the provincial capital which erupted on the first
day of the Idul Fitri Islamic holiday in mid-January. At least
200 deaths resulted from the senseless orgy of killing
perpetrated by both sides.

Neira residents told The Jakarta Post by phone on Wednesday
the clashes there erupted following an attack on a Muslim farmer
on Hatta on Tuesday morning.

"The clashes then spread to other nearby islands including
Neira later in the day," Abdullah, a telephone operator working
for state-owned PT Telkom, said.

Bugis said at least 80 houses had been set on fire or damaged
in the riots in Neira and Hatta.

He said the police arrested about 40 people on Bandaneira on
Wednesday and Thursday for allegedly trying to incite violence.

No details were given.

Bugis said the security authority had the situation under
control as about 100 military and police personnel from Ambon
arrived in the area on Wednesday.

Governor Saleh Latuconsina and Maluku Military Commander Col.
Karel Ralahalu also flew to Tual on Thursday morning to calm down
the residents, Bugis said.

The Southeast Maluku capital of Tual, about 500 kilometers
southeast of here, was also shaken by communal clashes in late
March. Bugis said at least 130 people were killed in the violence
there.

"We have hundreds of islands in Maluku province and we need
some time to reach those islands if riots break out there.
Moreover, it is not easy to get the transportation to send troops
to those islands," Bugis said.

He said at least one Navy ship and a military helicopter had
been stationed in Tual to support two battalions of reinforcement
troops that arrived last week.

Meanwhile in Jakarta on Thursday, the Australian Embassy
announced that its government had provided A$266,000 (about
US$167,000) in humanitarian assistance to the 30,000 displaced
people in Ambon and other Maluku islands.

The assistance would be provided through international NGO
Action against Hunger in coordination with provincial crisis
centers and the Indonesian Red Cross, the embassy said. (byg)