Maluku separatist leaders defy state order, demand expenses

Aziz Tunny and Octovianus Pinontoan, The Jakarta Post, Ambon, Maluku

Maluku separatist leaders Alex Manuputty and Semmy Waeleruny have refused to return to Jakarta for their subversion trials unless the government pay them Rp 210 million for living expenses in the capital.

The North Jakarta Prosecutor's Office last week ordered the pair to leave their homes in Ambon and return to Jakarta by Jan. 25, two days before their next court appointment on Jan. 27.

The defendants, on trial for allegedly planning to hoist a separatist flag on the anniversary of the South Maluku Republic's (RMS) 52nd anniversary in April last year, skipped their latest date with the court on Jan. 13 after returning home two days earlier.

The pair, who face around 30 individual hearing days spread over at least three months, were released from detention at National Police Headquarters on Dec. 27.

Alex and Semmy said they would only attend the trial at the North Jakarta District Court if the government paid their living expenses and transportation costs to and from the capital.

"The trial is conducted by the state, so it must be responsible for our life in Jakarta. We will not return to Jakarta with our personal funds," Alex told The Jakarta Post in Ambon on Saturday.

Their return to Ambon should not cause anxiety among the public as locals knew about the defendants' whereabouts, he said.

"We returned to Ambon because it our home ... The government should understand this."

Earlier, acting Maluku Governor Sinyo Harry Sarundajang warned that the presence of Alex and Semmy in Ambon could spark renewed violence in the troubled province, where the latest bomb blast last week tested a peace deal to end four years of sectarian conflict.

The pair should not have returned home as it would have a negative impact on the local security situation and would cause anxiety, said Sinyo, who is also chief of the province's civil emergency authorities.

Alex said they had submitted their request for two-months worth of expenses to the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights and the North Jakarta District Court.

Copies of the letter were also presented to prosecutors handing their case, and the Maluku civil emergency authorities, he added.