Govt urged to solve Maluku clashes

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.
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