Joint civilian, military team to investigate Buru violence

AMBON, Maluku (JP): A joint civilian and military team was dispatched to Kase village on Buru island on Monday to investigate an overnight attack that left three people dead and four others missing.

Pattimura Military Command chief of staff Col. Syarifuddin Sumah said the main assignment of the team, comprising officials from the Maluku civil emergency executor and a platoon of troops from the 623rd Infantry Battalion, was to protect the villagers from further attacks.

"The situation in Kase village is under control. The team will investigate the attack and find the assailants in this case," Syarifuddin said after a ceremony held in Batu Gajah, Ambon, to mark the promotion of several middle-ranking officers.

A group of some 30 heavily armed people attacked Kase village, located on the southern part of the island, at about 11 a.m. on Sunday.

Syarifuddin also said the joint team would search for the four missing people. The four were identified as Theresa Dias Leksona, 37, her two sons, 3-year-old Yongky Leksona and 5-year-old Alvin Leksona, and Yusuf Lesnussa, 23.

The three people killed in the attack were buried in the town of Leksula, Buru Selatan district, on Sunday.

The chief of the district, D. Tasane, said the attack lasted for about one hour and the attackers then fled to the southern part of the island.

Tasane demanded that the four missing residents be found, dead or alive. "We hope they come back. If they are dead, we want them to be given proper burials. We do not want this incident to trigger further attacks."

The village was also attacked in the middle of last year, with several houses being burned down in the incident.

Separately, Maluku Governor Saleh Latuconsina said at his office on Monday he had ordered a thorough investigation of the attack. The governor also appealed for calm.

Meanwhile, Pattimura Military Command acting spokesman Maj. Herry Suhardi said Pvt. Bambang Mulyono of the 407/Diponegoro Infantry Battalion was stabbed by a group of men on Jl. Baru in Ambon on Sunday afternoon.

"The officer is being treated at Dr. Latumeten General Hospital in Mangga Dua. The case is being handled by the military police," Herry said after the ceremony on Monday.

Security personnel also are investigating the death of Dutch national Yan D.W. Schart, 62, who was mobbed to death by a group of unidentified people in Liang village on Saturday afternoon.

"We cannot say much about the incident. It is being investigated," Governor Latuconsina said.

Security patrols in the area have been increased following the weekend incidents.

In an address read by Col. Syarifuddin, Pattimura Military Commander Brig. Gen. I Made Yasa said the Indonesian Military would continue to take stern action to quell violence, and would remain neutral in handling the long-standing conflict in Maluku. (49/edt)