Kostrad soldier killed in riot-hit Ambon

JAKARTA (JP): A mob attacked and stabbed to death a soldier from the Army's Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) in riot-torn Ambon on Saturday, the Armed Forces said on Sunday.

The authorities have arrested 50 alleged instigators of the communal clashes, which have left more than 50 dead in the Maluku provincial capital since Tuesday.

Spokesman for the Armed Forces Maj. Gen. Syamsul Ma'arif confirmed on Sunday in Jakarta the death of the soldier, killed during a patrol to disarm marauding bands of armed residents on Saturday afternoon.

I Gusti Ngurah Hartawan, 28, was buried at Kapahaha Heroes Cemetery in a ceremony presided over by his commander, Maj. Zaiful, Antara reported on Sunday.

He was presented posthumously with the rank of chief private.

Hartawan was part of troop reinforcements dispatched to the city from Ujungpandang, South Sulawesi.

The soldier "was mobbed and stabbed to death by a group of armed people", Mohammad Kasubah of the Ambon chapter of the Justice Party told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

The agency said Hartawan was a member of the Kostrad unit in Jember, East Java. He was reportedly assigned to the Benteng area in Ambon. He was slashed in the face and stabbed in the stomach.

The death toll had reached 52 as of Saturday, but it could not be confirmed if Hartawan was included in the tally.

At least 100 others have been injured.

Thousands of troops and Mobile Brigade personnel have been flown in since Wednesday to try to restore order.

Trikora Military Commander Maj. Gen. Amir Sembiring, who oversees Maluku and Irian Jaya, has ordered troops to shoot anyone who resists being disarmed.

Amir was quoted by Antara as saying on Sunday that 50 alleged instigators were arrested.

Two were reportedly named suspects and were undergoing questioning at local military and police headquarters.

Religious services proceeded peacefully on Sunday although the turnout was low.

The news agency said there was no disruption of mass held in Amboina diocese, Maranatha, Bethlehem and Bethania churches.

Calm also prevailed at Silo church near the Trikora monument, the center of rioting, and at Bethel church in the vicinity of Mardika village where violence first erupted on Tuesday.

But many edgy residents preferred to stay in their homes instead of venturing outside.

Antara also reported the Air Force dropped thousands of leaflets over Ambon on Sunday, appealing for peace and for the public not to be provoked by rumors.

People began to leave their homes to buy food and other basic commodities, with long lines forming at the few open shops. Purchases were rationed.

"Supplies in those shops are very limited so there is a limit on the purchase of the goods," Kasubah said.

The violence was reportedly sparked by a fight between a Muslim migrant and a local Christian public transportation driver on Tuesday. The incident quickly degenerated into full-scale riots involving members of both religions.

Maluku Police chief Col. Karyono has warned that the death toll will rise as rescue workers sift through the rubble of burned buildings.

The Ambon chapter of the Justice Party said in a report made available to Post on Sunday that at least 50 people died and 130 sustained either serious or minor injuries.

It also said 15 mosques and six churches were either set on fire or damaged by rioters and about 27,000 locals had taken refuge in military complexes, mosques, churches and other buildings.

Antara also reported that Maluku Governor Saleh Latuconsina rejected as unnecessary an activist's plan to dispatch about 1,000 Ambonese youth activists from Jakarta.

"I appreciate their goodwill to make peace here and prevent riots from spreading to other areas, but security personnel here have been able to restore order," Saleh was quoted as saying on Sunday.

He was responding to the statement by former political prisoner Nuku Soleiman, who is Ambonese.

Saleh also feared the move would only incite further unrest between the religious communities. (byg)