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.