Government to lift emergency in North Maluku
JAKARTA (JP): The government will lift the civil state of emergency in North Maluku in December, but in the neighboring province of Maluku it will be maintained, pending the restoration of law and order there.
"The state of emergency in North Maluku would be revoked at the end of the year after all refugees who had fled the than strife-torn province had returned safely to their homes," Coordinating Minister for Political, Social, and Security Affairs Agum Gumelar told a media conference.
"We are, however, contemplating whether to lift the state of emergency in Maluku as the security situation there has not yet been stable."
North Maluku is preparing for a gubernatorial election, which is scheduled to take place later this month.
The government imposed on the civil emergency status in the Malukus in July last year, following months of clashes between Muslims and Christians that first erupted in January 1999.
Sparked by a trivial dispute, open hostility between members of the two communities quickly spread to other islands in Maluku.
More than 5,000 people have been killed so far in violence that has also left more than half-a-million refugees and widespread destruction.
Agum led a ministerial meeting on Tuesday on political, social, and security affairs, which also discussed the latest development in Aceh and Irian Jaya.
He said the decision on Maluku was taken despite a request from the province's governor and civilian emergency ruler Saleh Latuconsina that the government partially lift the status for regencies in Southeast Maluku and West Maluku, where peace had been restored.
The government, Agum added, will take all necessary measures to reestablish security in Maluku, including regular checks on incoming people and searches for illegal weapons possessed by any groups.
"Security personnel in Maluku will continue the sweeping of armed civilians from any groups involved in the conflict," Agum said.
In the latest burst of violence in Maluku, at least 20 people, including an Army Special Force (Kopassus) soldier, were killed when an Army joint-battalion clashed with armed civilians between June 12 and June 14 in Galunggung and Kebon Cengkih in Ambon.
Chief of Pattimura Military Command overseeing Maluku, Brig. Gen. I Made Putu Yasa, was replaced by Brig. Gen. Mustopo following the incident.
Both the National Commission on Human Rights and the Indonesian Military (TNI) have formed their own fact-finding team to investigate possible crimes against humanity in the clash, following reports that security troops had attacked a medical clinic belonging to Laskar Jihad Muslim group.
Kopassus chief Maj. Gen. Amirul Isnaeni defended the attack, saying that it was targeting armed rioters who were believed to use the clinic as their hideout.
"They use clinics or even mosques as their shelters after mounting attacks on our troops. In such an unconventional war, the military are allowed to raid those places," Amirul said. (tso)