Govt urged to solve Maluku clashes

JAKARTA (JP): The House of Representatives rebuked the government on Tuesday for failing to take concrete measures to stop violence in Maluku, which it says seems to be taking a backseat to a resolution of separatist sentiments in Aceh.

House Speaker Akbar Tandjung in particularly referred to Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri, whose responsibility is to resolve communal clashes in Maluku and human rights problems in the easternmost province of Irian Jaya.

"We call on Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri, whose responsibilities are to solve problems in Irian Jaya and Ambon, to seriously handle them," he said, adding that the problems get worse by the day.

"So far the House has not seen any measure taken by the government", Akbar told journalists after a meeting with House deputy speakers.

He said the government must be responsive in resolving the problems and that Megawati's plan to visit Ambon must be carried out as soon as possible.

Over 500 people have died in Maluku this year due to ethnic and religious clashes which have spread throughout the province. Security officers have been inexplicably helpless in many cases, raising concerns that they may be taking sides in some incidents.

Both Akbar and Deputy Speaker A.M. Fatwa both lamented that issues such as Maluku and Irian Jaya seemed to be taking a backseat to Aceh.

Thus Megawati's visit to the restive province of Maluku must coincide with President Abdurrahman's trip to Aceh.

"Megawati's visit to Ambon should be conducted at the same time as Gus Dur's (President Abdurrahman's nickname) plan to visit Aceh to listen to people's aspirations to avoid any assumptions that Ambon's clashes are secondary to Aceh's", Akbar asserted.

While no fixed date has been set for Abdurrahman's visit, he is expected to go to Aceh in the middle of next week.

"The government should have a sense of crisis and a sense of urgency," the House speaker charged. "Both problems, Aceh and Ambon, need urgent attention."

After meeting with 13 members of the Coordinating Forum of Refugee Victims of the Ambon Clashes (FKPKKA), A.M. Fatwa said here on Tuesday that the government was slow in handling the Ambon case.

"The clashes were temporarily forgotten due to the Aceh case, which was considered more urgent," he said while noting that as attention focused on Aceh, communal clashes spread to the areas of Tual and North Maluku.

He lamented the wide impact of the clashes affecting all sectors of life in many parts of Indonesia's eastern half.

"Ambonese refugees on Buton island, Southeast Sulawesi, alone have reached over 82,000 with no sufficient food supply and housing facilities," Fatwa said.

He decried the government's failure to provide basic services from the Ministry of Social Affairs as could be seen in the cut in food aid to several refugee camps.

Fatwa also called on the government to take stern measures to overcome the security problems.

"The government has to supervise the military and security personnel believed to be taking sides in the clashes," he added. (02)