Expelling militant groups from Maluku 'is not solution'

Expelling militant groups from Maluku 'is not solution'

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The expulsion of violent militant organizations from Maluku
was easier said than done and did not serve as an initial step to
restoring peace in the troubled province, observers said on
Sunday.

Sociologist Imam B. Prasodjo from the University of Indonesia
said the government's latest directive on expelling the militant
groups -- Muslim militant group Laskar Jihad and Christian
militant group Laskar Kristus -- did not guarantee that security
would improve.

"When it does not guarantee security, expelling those groups
will not bring a major positive impact to Maluku. The forming of
Laskar Jihad and Laskar Kristus itself, was because Muslim and
Christian communities in Maluku severely lacked any sense of
security... there was always a sense of paranoia between both
communities," Imam told The Jakarta Post in the South Sulawesi
capital of Makassar.

He said that if expelling the groups was necessary, the
government should make itself aware of the possible grievous
consequences of its actions, and should therefore guarantee the
security of the communities with the formation of a strong
security force team.

"This team should include the military, the police and members
of the general public," Imam said.

State Ministry of Research and Technology staff member Thamrin
Amal Tomagola earlier said that elite security forces from
outside of Maluku, known as the Joint Battalion of selected elite
security forces, needed to be deployed in Maluku to keep the
peace, since local security forces were themselves vulnerable to
partisan involvement.

"The deployment of ordinary military and police officers,
especially local ones, needs to be minimized or even gradually
phased out, since they are caught up with their own religious and
economic concerns ... they demand a security fee of sometimes up
to Rp 300,000 (US$30) just to escort people to the market, for
example. They also fail to do much about armed militias,"
Thamrin, also a sociologist, said.

Not a single person has been sentenced to jail during the
course of the three-year sectarian conflict, which has reportedly
claimed over 6,000 lives.

Maluku's Pattimura Military Commander Brig. Gen. Mustopo said
on Saturday that he was ready to carry out the five points
ordered by the government to restore security in the province.
"As part of the civil authorities, I'm ready to carry out the
government's order. For us (the military), obeying an order is
easy as long as it's in line with existing regulations," Mustopo
said as quoted by Antara.

As part of the efforts to put a stop to the renewed violence
in Maluku, the government has issued a directive ordering the
dissolution of the pro-independence Maluku Sovereignty Forum
(FKM), and the expulsion of reputed troublemakers Laskar Jihad
and Laskar Kristus, from Maluku.

The directive which took effect on May 8 this year also
requires that security forces launch door-to-door raids to disarm
militias and their supporters, and for law enforcers to
investigate all violations of the law that have occurred during
the three-year conflict.

Ibrahim Ambong, chairman of the House of Representatives'
Commission I for political and security affairs, said that the
dissolution of FKM, as well as the expulsion of Laskar Jihad and
Laskar Kristus, were necessary so that "there will be no excuse
for local authorities, when they fail to stop violence there."

"All warring groups must be pulled out as many say that these
groups are creating conflicts there. Local authorities need to
investigate these groups as many also say that some use military
weapons," Ibrahim told the Post on Saturday.

Fresh violence erupted at the bordering Mangga Dua-Diponegoro
area on Sunday afternoon. A soldier, identified as Pvt. Erdiyanto
of the 741 Infantry Battalion, was injured by a bomb, apparently
lobbed during a firefight with alleged militant Muslims.