Instability in Ambon prompts govt to prolong emergency state
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.