Kostrad soldier killed in riot-hit Ambon
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)