Governor should resign, says legislator

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)