Govt to lift state of civil emergency in N. Maluku
Govt to lift state of civil emergency in N. Maluku
Oktavianus Pinontoan, The Jakarta Post, Ambon
The state of civil emergency in North
Maluku province and in parts of Maluku province will soon be
lifted, an official said on Wednesday.
Maluku civil emergency administrator, Governor Saleh
Latuconsina, revealed at his office on Wednesday that the
decision was made following a coordination meeting last week with
top Cabinet and security officials and evaluation of the
implementation of the state of emergency in both Maluku and North
Maluku provinces.
"One of the proposals after the evaluation is that the civil
emergency (which has been in force since June 27, 2000) in North
Maluku be totally lifted; while parts of Maluku province still
considered restive, such as the Ambon islands, will have the
civil emergency imposed for another six months," Latuconsina
said.
Latuconsina said there were still security threats in Maluku
province since many areas, such as the Ambon islands, were still
targeted by armed rioters.
"There are some parties and outsiders here (in the Ambon
islands) who do not wish peace to return," the governor added.
Last week's evaluation meeting -- conducted jointly by Maluku
and North Maluku administrations, Coordinating Minister for
Political and Security Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the Indonesian
Military (TNI) and National Police chiefs -- also concluded that
the North Maluku areas of Maluku Tenggara, Maluku Tenggara Barat,
Central Maluku and parts of Buru islands "are already in a
conducive situation".
Latuconsina further said that conflict resolution in Maluku
would be better conducted through dialog rather than repressive
measures.
"All groups involved in conflict in Maluku, including
outsiders like Lasykar Jihad and people affiliated to the South
Maluku Republic (RMS) separatists, as well as grassroots people
must be jointly united in dialog," the governor said.
In a bid to bring an end to the ongoing conflicts, a team of
top Cabinet ministers and security officials will visit Ambon on
Jan. 21 to Jan. 23. Among the entourage slated to attend the
meeting are all three coordinating ministers, the minister of
defense, the TNI commander and intelligence chiefs.
Maluku and North Maluku were previously one province -- Maluku
-- before the government split the area into two provinces in
1999 in a bid to curb the unrest and to obtain administrative and
security control over the vast island territory.
The ongoing unrest in Maluku first erupted on Jan. 19, 1999
when a petty dispute between a local and a migrant settler broke
out. It quickly degenerated into a full-scale riot, and escalated
into communal and religious conflict between Muslim and Christian
communities, killing more than 9,000 people and forcing at least
500,000 people out of their homes.
Observers claim that North Maluku province is relatively calm
since most of the Christian have either gone or have been killed
in unrest.