Maluku conflict needs specific touch: Graito
BOGOR, West Java (JP): The widespread conflict in Maluku is "specific and needs significant handling" compared to unrest in Aceh and in Central Kalimantan, a military officer said.
"The case in Maluku is far different from those in other parts of the country since it involves religious matters," Indonesian Military (TNI) spokesman Air Rear Marshall Graito Usodo told a session on journalism in conflict areas here.
He also insisted that the demand for withdrawal of security forces from Maluku did not make any sense.
"The troops are badly needed since in many cases minority groups are prone to attack despite the presence of security guards. So we couldn't just leave them to be slain," he said.
"Imagine if public facilities such as ports and airports were also left unguarded. If rioters occupy those strategic places, the economy and other activities in Maluku would be paralyzed. So it's impossible to pull back all troops from the islands."
TNI troops have been gradually scaled down from the previous 17 battalions to only 12, Graito added.
He admitted there have been glitches in the security handling of the conflict in Maluku.
"The failure lies in the fact that we do not have sufficient resources and transportation for the soldiers to move faster in quelling the riots.
"We often have to charter speedboats from locals and this has certainly slowed down our movement. Can you imagine 12 troops facing 500 armed rioters?
"Another failure is that there are some troops roaming around and creating chaos outside the chain of command and some even joined the Laskar Jihad warriors," he asserted.
Some achievement, however, has been evident in the fact that there were only minor, sporadic conflicts in the islands and the situation has been relatively calm over the past couple of months due to fast and effective movement of crack troops, he said.
"Gun sweeping operations also started to bear fruit in our efforts to curb violence and disarm people," he said.
On the Wijaya II rogue shooting incident, Graito stressed that a joint battalion unit comprising three elite military units had complied with appropriate procedure in arresting 14 defiant officers at the Wijaya II hotel in Batu Merah area in down town Ambon on Jan. 21.
Twelve people were killed while 40 others were injured in the fray.
"We regret the civilian casualties in the incident and those (personnel) responsible for the action will be legally processed," he said.
The rogue shooting followed three days of violence marking the second anniversary of bloody riots in Maluku, which began on Jan. 19, 1999.
Also speaking at the session, chairman of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) Munir asserted that rivalry between police and military was evident in many conflicts across the country.
Munir cited the recent gunfights between police and military during a chaotic evacuation of refugees fleeing communal clashes in Sampit and Palangkaraya.
"Similar rivalry also took place in Aceh and Maluku. This kind of action must be stopped and I think it's a sign of transition towards the full separation of police and military.
"This matter must be solved at top rank level and not only rely on a resolution among troops," Munir stressed. (edt/49)