Governor should resign, says legislator

AMBON, Maluku: The Maluku provincial legislative council has the right to ask the governor to step down if the latter fails to admit responsibility for the prolonged communal unrest in the province, a legislator said on Wednesday.

Zeth Christian Sahetapy of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) said here that the governor must be accountable for the continuous communal clashes.

"It is possible that the legislative council can issue a vote of no confidence, or we can ask him to step down if he fails to take responsibility for the prolonged rioting," Sahetapy said.

Interreligious clashes, which have claimed hundreds of lives, have flared in many parts of the province since early this year.

The government has failed to solve the conflicts.

Sahetapy said the clashes had crippled the province's social and economic life, therefore appropriate steps must be taken.

Separately, legislative speaker Ety Sahuburua said that the legislators were committed to dealing with the unrest.

Sahuburua said that a hearing with the Governor, Saleh Latuconsina, was scheduled for Thursday.

"The hearing should have taken place on Oct. 11. But due to the security situation it was delayed," he told The Jakarta Post.

A similar hearing was also planned with military and police chiefs, Sahuburua said. (48/sur)