Maluku separatist leaders defy state order, demand expenses

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.