Govt not transparent on Maluku, Aceh issue

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

An alliance of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) criticized the government on Friday for its lack of transparency in implementing policies to end regional conflicts, especially those in Aceh and Maluku.

The NGOs said Jakarta had taken additional measures in the troubled provinces without giving an explanation to the public as to whether it had made any progress or not.

"Government policies on Aceh and Maluku are not based on a comprehensive analysis of the real condition in the provinces," said Ori Rachman, the coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras).

"The government always takes a security approach and never listens to the people," he said.

The NGOs, including Kontras, the Advocacy Team for the Resolution of the Ambon Case (Tapak Ambon), the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam) and the International Non- governmental Forum on Indonesia's Development (Infid) assessed on Friday the two-year-old state of civil emergency in Maluku.

The results of the evaluation will soon be released to the public.

Jakarta is considering imposing civil emergency status in Aceh to quell the separatist movement. It has also set up an independent team to investigate all violations of human rights and the law during the three-year Maluku conflict.

The conflict, which has claimed thousands of lives since clashes first broke out on Jan. 19, 1999, has been complicated by the presence of Java-based Laskar Jihad and the resurgence of the South Maluku Republic (RMS).

There are a total of 12 battalions of the Indonesian Military (TNI) and National Police deployed on the islands of Ambon, Seram and Buru.

Maj. Gen. Djoko Santoso, the chief of the Pattimura Military Command overseeing Maluku and North Maluku, said on Friday that although the situation in Maluku was calm, none of the troops would be withdrawn until the situation was fully under control.

Ori said the measures taken by the government in Maluku and North Maluku to end the conflict were incompatible with what the public urgently needed.

"The people of Maluku have stopped the communal clashes and are aware of the presence of outsiders who worsen the situation. They have also been able to maintain security and order by themselves."