Maluku killing prompts warning from government

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The central government pledged on Sunday to deploy reinforcement troops and take firmer action in order to restore peace in Maluku, following renewed violence that left at least 12 people dead and dozens of others injured earlier in the day.

In the worst violence since a peace deal was signed by warring Christian and Muslim groups on Feb. 12, a gang of masked people stormed the mountainous Christian village of Soya, some five kilometers from the Maluku capital of Ambon, and killed 12 people.

At least 24 houses and a church dating back to 1876 were also set ablaze by the attackers.

"The government will be harsher and firmer in dealing with the (violence)," said Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Jusuf Kalla, who brokered the peace accord signed in the South Sulawesi resort of Malino.

Speaking in his hometown of Makassar on Sunday evening, the minister declined to go into the details of the new tougher measures for those involved in or organizing violence.

He also refused to comment on who may have been behind this latest attack and the possible motive for the violence, which poses a severe threat to the Malino agreement.

In Jakarta, National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar deplored the attack, admitting that it was a setback for the Malino peace deal.

More reinforcements will be deployed to beef up security in the strife-ridden eastern islands following Sunday's violence, he said.

"It's a pity that despite the Malino agreement, the conflict is continuing in such a bloody manner," Da'i told journalists in Jakarta.

The National Police sent 200 officers to Ambon last week ahead of last Thursday's anniversary of the South Maluku Republic (RMS) secessionist movement. During the anniversary, separatist flags were raised in the city.

The killings on Sunday came two days after the Laskar Jihad militant group staged a rally against the Malino peace pact, which was signed after three years of fighting between Muslims and Christians that left some 6,000 dead.

"It may be the end of the peace deal," Christian pastor Cornelius Bohm told AP in Ambon.

"There is no doubt that it was Laskar Jihad who launched the attack in Soya, Sirimau subdistrict," he said.

Eye witnesses said the attackers wore black masks and military uniforms, and were equipped with military-standard M-16 rifles and bayonets, swords, daggers and homemade bombs.

Some of the witness said the attackers appeared to have military training.

Local security forces arrived in Soya after the attackers had departed. Their late arrival was blamed by some for the deaths of many of the victims, who included a seven-month-old baby, Agnesia Souhoka, and his mother Mevita Souhoka. The two were found dead with several stab wounds.

The bodies of some of the 12 victims were found inside their burned out homes.

Prior to the attack, electricity to the village was cut at about 4 a.m., followed by at least 50 bomb and grenade explosions which could be heard in Ambon.

Many villagers escaped the mayhem by plunging into a nearby ravine, but others were unable to flee when the attackers blocked off all escape routes.

Fearing additional attacks, residents of the village took refuge in the neighboring villages of Kayu Putih and Hatalai, while the wounded were taken to several hospitals in Ambon for treatment.

Also on Sunday, a group of people launched an attack at 9 a.m. along the Mardika-Batumerah border in Ambon, where they burned a house and detonated a bomb.

No casualties were reported in the incident, which occurred as Christians were attending a service at the nearby GPM Bethel Church.

A number of people took advantage of the tense situation in Ambon to float four of the separatist flags of the South Maluku Republic over the city tied to helium balloons.

However, security forces shot down the balloons. They also fired warning shots to disperse a crowd of about a dozen Muslims.

On Thursday and Saturday of last week, RMS activists flew their flags over Ambon tied to balloons, to mark the movement's 52nd anniversary.

The move angered many Muslims, who took to the streets to demand that security personnel take firm action against RMS backers and prevent further attempts to raise the separatist flag.

Dozens of people have been arrested in Ambon in a number of separate incidents since Thursday.

Ambon was tense on Sunday, with security personnel deployed on many of the city's street corners. Security authorities were also conducting sweeps across the city for sharp weapons.