Megawati, TNI urged to withdraw military from Maluku, North Maluku
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Lawyers from Maluku and North Maluku are urging President Megawati Soekarnoputri and the Indonesian Military (TNI) to immediately withdraw military personnel from the two conflict- torn provinces to aid reconciliation between the warring parties there.
"Communal clashes have long stopped in Maluku and the military presence in the province has only triggered and worsened the conflict there," the coordinator of lawyers in Maluku, Munir Kairotty, told The Jakarta Post here on Wednesday.
Currently, there are between 9,000 and 11,000 TNI personnel in both Maluku and North Maluku, almost half of which are reinforcement troops from South Sulawesi and East Java.
Thirty lawyers from Maluku and North Maluku, grouped under the BakuBaeMaluku (Reconcile Maluku) movement are currently in Jakarta to attend a workshop, scheduled from Jan. 19 to Jan. 23, organized to find the best legal solution to the conflict in the two provinces. The lawyers comprise 15 Christians and 15 Muslims.
The movement was established in April 2000 and aims at stopping violence by involving all parties in promoting reconciliation.
Religious conflict has gripped the province since January 1999 and led to the loss of nearly 10,000 lives.
Munir said the situation in the two provinces has improved significantly following the withdrawal of some battalions at the end of last year.
"We want the government to withdraw the remaining battalions and to entrust the police with security," Kairotty said, at the sidelines of a meeting at the office of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute Foundation (YLBHI).
BakuBaeMaluku facilitator Ichsan Malik, who was also attending the meeting, told the Post that they were reaching the final stage of their negotiations and were looking forward to the gathering of Maluku people scheduled in April, which is set to discuss solutions without government interference.
"It's up to the people themselves to find the best solution to the conflict. The solution should not be imposed by Jakarta," Ichsan said.
The call for the withdrawal of military personnel from Maluku, according to Kairotty, would be included in the lawyers' declaration, to be issued at the end of the workshop, which will focus on assessing the implementation of law in the provinces.
Munir said there were still small outbursts in areas close to the sea, but that did not involve retaliatory action by warring parties.
"We have been informed that it is the military who have instigated the recent spate of violence," he said.
The BakuBaeMaluku Movement has held several discussions involving warring groups, academics, activists and humanitarian workers.
Meanwhile, Coordinating Minister for Social Welfare Jusuf Kalla is scheduled to visit Maluku at the end of this month to discuss possible solutions to the conflict there.