Govt forms independent probe team for Maluku
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Oktavianus Pinontoan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The government has established an independent team to ensure an impartial investigation into the three years of sectarian conflict in Maluku.
According to the decree on the inquiry team signed by President Megawati Soekarnoputri on June 6, the team is tasked with investigating at least nine major cases, ranging from a clash between a resident and a public transportation driver on Jan. 19, 1999 -- which sparked the long-standing conflict between Christian and Muslim communities in the province -- to a separatism movement allegedly waged by groups linked to the South Maluku Republic.
Decree No.38/2002 was made public only on Thursday by the State Secretariat, while the President is away on a two-week European visit. Megawati left on Saturday, two days after she signed the decree.
Several parties, including a cross-religion group spearheaded by, among others, Nahdlatul Ulama chairman Hasyim Muzadi, had been demanding since March that an investigative team be established.
The team is made up of 14 people of various backgrounds, including government officials, human rights activists, religious figures and politicians. Deputy to the Coordinating Minister for Security and Political Affairs I Wayan Karya was named the team leader, with Bambang W. Suharto of the National Commission on Human Rights the deputy.
Other prominent members include sociologist Paulus Wirotom of the University of Indonesia and criminologist Roni Nitibaskara, who teaches at the National Resilience Institute.
The team will also focus on the presence of the hard-line Laskar Jihad group fighting for Muslims in the province and the alleged separatist movement waged by the Maluku Sovereignty Forum (FKM).
The Maluku conflict has claimed over 6,000 lives and displaced hundreds thousands of people.
The government has repeatedly tried to restore peace, including by imposing a state of civil emergency that has been effective since mid-2000.
Jakarta last facilitated peace talks in Malino in February 2002, which resulted in an agreement to end the conflict.
However, the fragile peace in the province after the signing of the Malino agreement has been disrupted by a series of violence, including an attack on the Christian village of Soya which left 12 people dead late in April.
Analysts have repeatedly said that the main problem in Maluku is poor law enforcement, which they say provides loopholes for certain groups to continue inciting unrest between Christians and Muslims in the province.
The decree also requires that the team cooperate with the local administration in Maluku, and report the result of its investigation to the President twice a month.
The State Secretariat will finance the activities of the independent team.
Meanwhile in Ambon, a battalion of Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) has changed its duty from a rapid-reaction force to regular troops.
Pattimura Military Commander Maj. Gen. Djoko Santoso said on Thursday that the troops had been placed under his authority and would serve as reserves.
Separately, Maluku Police chief Brig. Gen. Soenarko DA said the police had wrapped up the file on the arson attack on the Ambon governor's office in March, with three suspects named.
The police have also completed dossiers on four men accused of hoisting the RMS separatist flag and will submit the case to the local prosecutor's office as soon as possible.
Cases to be investigated: the Jan. 19, 1999 incident, the South Maluku Republic (RMS) issue, the Christian RMS issue, the Laskar Kristus issue, the Maluku Sovereignty Forum, the Laskar Jihad issue, reports of forced conversion of religion, reports of human rights violations and other crimes related to the Maluku conflict.