Instability in Ambon prompts govt to prolong emergency state

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The central government looked set to maintain the two-year-old state of civil emergency in Maluku due to the unstable situation in Ambon, the province's capital, and surrounding areas.

Maj. Gen. Djoko Santoso, chief of the Pattimura Military Command overseeing Maluku and North Maluku, insisted that the power to lift the emergency was in the hands of the central government, and would depend on the order and security situation in the province.

He admitted that the situation in certain parts of the province was already normal, while that in other parts was gradually returning into normal.

"But the situation in Ambon City and on Ambon Island remains tense while security personnel from the military and the police are still on alert for possible disturbances," he said after a closed-door meeting with the provincial legislative council to evaluate the situation in the province.

The government imposed the civilian emergency state on July 22, 2001 because of the mounting situation in the province.

Ambon Mayor Jopie Papilaya urged the central government over the weekend to lift the emergency in light of what he saw as a more "conducive" situation in the province.

But Maluku Governor Saleh Latuconsina said the time was not yet right, warning that all components of society, including locally recruited police and military personnel, were involved in the conflict.

Under Law No. 23/1959, the president has the power to lift the emergency following consultation with the provincial administration and legislative council if the situation in the conflict-torn province has returned to normal.

Djoko, who is also the commander of the security restoration operation in the province, said he would continue to work hard with the police and the provincial administration to restore security and order, and with law enforcers, including the special investigative team, so as to bring all legal violations that occurred during the conflict before the courts.

"The provincial police chief and I will continue to work together with the government so as to restore security so that all the people can live their lives without fear of violence," he said.

Meanwhile, the deputy chairman of the legislative council, John Mailoa, said an evaluation of the situation was being undertaken following the extension by the home minister of Governor Saleh Latuconsina's tenure for one month until Dec. 11, 2002.

Home minister Hari Sabarno extended Latuconsina's term to give him time to appoint a caretaker to prepare for the election of a definitive governor for the 2002-2007 period.

The government has decided to delay the gubernatorial election following a series of violent incidents in the province over the past six months.

In another development, the chief of the local office of the social affairs ministry, Ishak Umarella, said the provincial administration had established a task force to repatriate all displaced persons, now living outside Ambon, to their home villages in the province.

"The task force will directly coordinate with the governor in handling the refugee problem so that it can be resolved in 2003. The refugees in Ambon will be dealt with by a special team," he said.

The provincial administration has decided to provide financial assistance for refugees who want to return home so as to allow them to survive for at least three months and construct simple homes.

The conflict, which erupted on Jan. 19, 1999, had at one stage displaced around 750,000 people, although some of them have since returned home at their own initiative or with the local administration's assistance.