Maluku rebel flag hoisted

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)