Maluku seeks Jakarta's help in expelling Jihad Force
AMBON, Maluku (JP): The executor of the civil emergency status in Maluku, Governor Saleh Latuconsina, called on Wednesday for support from the central government and related authorities in expelling the Jihad Force from the territory.
Latuconsina wants Jakarta, the military and the police to prevent members of the force from embarking on ships at ports in Surabaya and Makassar, the capitals of East Java and South Sulawesi, respectively, which in the past have served as the Jihad Force's gateway to Maluku.
"If the authorities, especially the military in charge in Surabaya and Makassar, fail to do so, the conflict in Maluku will be unresolved and leave us with piles of problems," the governor said.
He added that the total isolation of Maluku would be the last resort if members of the Jihad Force continued to violate the civil emergency status.
The Yogyakarta-based Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jamaah Forum Jihad Force said on Monday it would send 1,300 fighters to reinforce thousands of others who arrived in Maluku in May.
The group's leaders insisted they were easing the suffering of Muslims in the islands at the hands of what they called "a Christian conspiracy".
Maluku Police chief Brig. Gen. Firman Gani said he would send officers to neighboring Sulawesi's Makassar Port, the largest in eastern Indonesia and the main embarkation point for people bound for the Maluku islands.
"The officers will be deployed to check boats at that port. I have also worked with police chiefs at other departure points to prevent (the Jihad Force) from sailing to Maluku," he said.
He said there were approximately 2,000 members of the Jihad Force in Ambon. "I've tried to communicate with their commanders (about leaving the area) but to no avail."
Firman also said authorities were surveilling Muslim neighborhoods believed to be sheltering Jihad Force members, including the neighborhoods of Batu Merah, Waehaong and Galunggung.
Latuconsina also suggested troops in Maluku be rotated out every three to four months. "This is important to avoid partiality and possible involvement in the ongoing conflict."
Tension remained high in Ambon on Wednesday as heavily armed rioters shut down communications in Aster, Tantui district, by cutting power lines.
The action resulted in a communications blackout in the predominantly Christian villages of Hative Kecil and Galala, as well as in Halong, Lateri, Paso and the Halong Naval Base, Suara Maluku daily reported.
The city also is experiencing a shortage of food and medical supplies for the thousands of refugees in living in makeshift tents in the hills around Kayu Putih, Soya, Hatalae, Hukurila, Naku, Telaga Raja, Mahia and Kusu-Kusu, all in the eastern part of Jasirah Ambon.
Dozens of other people are taking refuge at the governor's residence in Mangga Dua Atas, Ambon.
Poso
Meanwhile in Poso, Central Sulawesi, security officials arrested on Tuesday an alleged mastermind of the violence that claimed hundreds of lives since first erupting on May 23.
The man, identified as Fabianus Tibo, 55, was arrested in Jamur Daya village, Lembo district, at about 6 a.m. on Tuesday, the chief of the Peace Task Force, Capt. Agus Firman Yusmono, said on Wednesday.
"Fabianus admitted to having killed at least 40 people during riots in the villages of Sepe Silanca in Lage district, and Moengko and Sayo in Poso Kota district. He is currently being questioned at the Tadulako Military Resort Command and will be handed over to the Central Sulawesi Police," Agus said.
Meanwhile, Poso Regent Abdul Muin estimated on Wednesday that the violence in Poso caused at least Rp 200 billion in losses.
"The losses were calculated from no less than 4,000 buildings destroyed in the violence," he said as quoted by Antara.
South Sulawesi Governor HZB Palaguna separately said he and other governors in Sulawesi had agreed to send the some 36,000 people who fled the violence in Poso back to their homes.
"We will start returning them after the overall arrangements and talks are completed in August," Palaguna said. (49/27/edt)