Govenment denies plans to lift Maluku civil emergency status

JAKARTA (JP): The government denied on Thursday having made plans to lift the civil emergency status in the conflict-ridden Maluku and North Maluku provinces, despite its failure to bring peace and order in the territories.

"There is no plan to lift the civil emergency status in Maluku," Cabinet Secretary Marsilam Simandjuntak said after a Cabinet meeting at the Bina Graha presidential office.

Before the Cabinet session, Coordinating Minister for Political, Social and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, however, hinted that the government was considering lifting the civil emergency status in both provinces.

The state of civil emergency in Maluku and North Maluku has been imposed since June 27 this year as part of the efforts to put an end to the prolonged sectarian and communal clashes in both provinces.

As the Cabinet was deciding not to lift the status, fresh unrest broke out in four villages in Sirimau and in Teluk Ambon Baguala districts in Ambon on Thursday morning.

Hundreds of armed men from Tantui and Galunggung areas initiated the attack with mortar fire and sporadic small-arms fire.

Security personnel responded and three soldiers were seriously injured and rushed to the Naval hospital. Five attackers were reportedly killed and 14 others were wounded and were taken to a clinic at Al-Fatah mosque compound.

Dozens of empty houses, evacuated after previous attacks, were burned.

Separately, Maluku Governor Saleh Latuconsina said on Thursday that a persuasive approach would not end the violence and the civil emergency leaders had to resort to repressive approaches, including to shoot-on-site belligerents breaking the peace.

Later in the afternoon, a Jakarta-based European Union delegation with members from Germany, France, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Belgian, Swedia, Portugal and Greece arrived at Pattimura airport, Ambon.

The delegation met with Latuconsina, deputy for public welfare affairs, Paula Renyaan, Ambon Mayor Chris Tanasale and staff of the civil emergency at the Gubernatorial office in Ambon.

The delegation was escorted by one truckload of military personnel and was forced to use sea transportation to reach the city because belligerents had launched fresh attacks at nearby villages.

In the meeting, the delegation asked about the implementation of the state of civil emergency, the latest incidents, the handling of refugees, as well as the presence of Yogyakarta-based Jihad Force and their ammunition supplies.

The EU delegation will also meet Pattimura Military Commander Brig. Gen. I Made Yasa, Maluku Police chief Brig. Gen. Firman Gani, the Maluku office of Indonesian Council of Ulemas and the Maluku Protestant Church before leaving for Ternate, the capital city of North Maluku. (49/lup/imn)