Maluku rebel flag hoisted

AMBON, Maluku: Tension gripped the islands of Ambon on Wednesday following the hoisting of a separatist flag by the Maluku Sovereignty Front (FKM) earlier in the day.

A brief 10-minute flag-hoisting ceremony took place at the house of FKM leader Alex Manuputty in the Kudamati area of Nusaniwe district around 7 a.m. but shortly afterwards the flag was pulled down by police.

The red-white-blue-and-green FKM separatist flag was hoisted alongside the Indonesian National flag and a United Nations pennant.

Earlier in the morning, a crowd of some 100 FKM followers gathered at Alex's house, singing songs Hena Masawaya (Mother of Nation) and reading the 1950 declaration of South Maluku Republic (RMS).

Tension gripped Maluku, the capital of Ambon, as business and transportation were halted on Wednesday amid fear of chaos following the separatist flag-hoisting.

Civil Emergency chief Maluku Governor Saleh Latuconsina separately asserted on Wednesday that stern measures will be imposed to those who violate existing regulations.

"It is stipulated in the civil emergency decree and the Criminal Code that any separatist movement, including FKM and the display of separatist attributes are forbidden.

"So what he (Alex) did is a flagrant violation to the law and he knows the consequences," Latuconsina said in his office later in the day.

Governor Latuconsina further urged all Muslims and Christian camps to stay calm and to refrain from being provoked by the incident.

"It's clear that there are certain parties who still wish to stir chaos in Maluku. This (separatist flag-hoisting) incident is one of those such provoking actions." (49/edt)