Military assumes security control in Maluku province
JAKARTA (JP): In the wake of heightened violence in Maluku, the military on Monday said it had taken over security command from the police and deployed another 1,100 soldiers to the riot- torn province.
"Security control is now under the Pattimura Military Command," military spokesman Maj. Gen. Sudrajat said here.
An additional 500 soldiers from the 303 Army's Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) from Bandung arrived in Ambon on Monday, raising the number of soldiers in the province to 2,000.
They were bolstered with the arrival of two armored vehicles and 17 transport trucks.
"The status of soldiers being sent to Ambon is as military assistance for the local security personnel," Sudrajat explained.
Spokesman for the Pattimura Military Command Lt. Col. Iwa Budiman said in Ambon that more reinforcements were on the way.
He said there was another detachment of about 100 soldiers from the Army's Cavalry and 500 marines were scheduled to arrive in the near future.
About 40 people have been killed in an upsurge of sectarian clashes since Friday. Communal clashes have racked the province, leaving over 550 dead since January.
Despite the reinforcements, some have doubted the ability of the military to quell the violence. There are accusations that the military personnel stationed in the province have been involved in aggravating the violence.
Maluku Military Commander Brig. Gen. Max Tamaela conceded on Sunday that "certain irresponsible elements of the Indonesian Military or police" may have been involved in the unrest.
He said he ordered the military police to investigate the accusations, but they had yet to find any evidence.
Tense
The situation in Ambon remained tense on Monday after the latest bloody incident.
Tension escalated amid rumors the Maluku provincial council speaker, Z. Sahuburua, who is currently in Jakarta, had suggested the government impose a military operation status (DOM) in Ambon.
A non-governmental group, the Maluku Humanitarian Care Movement, strongly protested the purported proposal.
"A DOM status will not solve the problems here. It will only raise new problems. We should learn from Aceh. Without DOM, we have already suffered many victims, what would happen if DOM is really imposed here," the group's leader, Yosiah Polnaya, said.
In Jakarta, Sahuburua said his presence here was to raise awareness and seek a solution to the crisis in the province.
During his discussion with reporters, he did not mention the issue of imposing the military operation status.
Sahuburua stressed the need for Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri to visit Ambon as she was instructed by President Abdurrahman Wahid to help resolve the crisis.
"Megawati's presence can heal the suffering of the Ambonese. They feel that they are being neglected by the government," he said as quoted by Antara.
Military spokesman Sudrajat argued that Megawati's presence, or even that of Abdurrahman, in Maluku would do little to stop the clashes.
He called for a comprehensive solution whereby clashes should be halted and then reconciliation forged among the hostile groups.
He advocated the need for territorial separation between rival factions in Ambon in order to prevent a further escalation of problems.
"But all elements, judicative, legislative and the executive, should take part in the process of finding a solution," the two- star general said, without mentioning the role of the military. (48/emf)