Military authorized to restore peace in Maluku

Military authorized to restore peace in Maluku

AMBON, Maluku (JP): Maluku Governor Saleh Latuconsina
confirmed on Tuesday that he had given the military the authority
to take the necessary action to restore peace and order in the
riot-torn province.

"I have ordered the Pattimura Military Commander to take the
necessary action as security commander," Governor Latuconsina
said after a media briefing on the investigation into last year's
Kesui incident.

A combined battalion comprising personnel from three elite
military units, namely the Navy's Marines, Air Force's Paskhas
and Army's Kopassus, has been placed directly under the command
of the Pattimura Military Commander Brig. Gen. I Made Yasa for
the purpose of establishing peace and order in the province.

The combined force conducted a predawn raid on the Hotel
Wijaya II on Jan. 22 and apprehended 14 police and military
personnel for their alleged involvement in a massive mob attack
on a security post near the border of Batu Merah - Mardika in
Ambon.

No less than 10 people died in four days of fighting that
started on Jan. 19, on the anniversary of the two-year conflict
in Maluku which has claimed at least 6,000 lives.

The arrested military personnel allegedly shot at troops who
were busy fighting rioters in the Batu Merah - Mardika area.

"I called the governor to coordinate with him about the
chaotic situation that erupted on Jan. 19 and he ordered me to
take any necessary measures to restore order," Made Yasa said
separately in Ambon on Tuesday.

He said that he was in the field in the Batu Merah - Mardika
area on Monday (Jan. 22) morning to get first-hand knowledge of
the situation.

"I was riding in a bullet-proof Range Rover and the rioters
sprayed bullets at my car. So, do not tell me that I've been
partial in handling the matter. We'll deal with all rioters,
regardless of their religion or background," he said.

Made Yasa said the combined force consisted of crack riot
troops to replace the existing joint military-police battalions
in Maluku which will be scaled down from 17 to only four by
February.

The combined force also seized two SS-1 rifles, four Ruger
handguns, an FN pistol, four Colt handguns, a rocket launcher, a
combat knife, six magazines for SS-1 rifles, two homemade bombs
and two grams of shabu-shabu (crystal methamphetamine) from the
14 officers.

The arrest of the 14 alleged rogue personnel, however, has
drawn controversy with the Muslim side in Ambon as represented by
Laskar Jihad Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jamaah, who said that the raid was
illegal and that General Made Yasa had breached the authority
given to him since "Maluku is under a state of civilian
emergency".

"Many civilians became victims during the blitz conducted by
the combined force in Batu Merah," Laskar Jihad commander Ja'far
Umar Thalib said at a media briefing in Jakarta on Tuesday.

The group demanded that the combined force be pulled out of
Maluku and that the Pattimura Military Commander be tried by a
military court.

"We also believe that President Abdurrahman Wahid has agreed
to the demands of the Christian separatist movement in Maluku and
that the government only pretends not to know how to solve the
Maluku problem," Ja'far said, adding that currently there were
around 3,000 Laskar Jihad members in Maluku and that "they will
be withdrawn only when Maluku becomes safe for Muslims."

Back in Ambon, grassroots leaders Agus Wattimena and Herman
Nikijuluw issued a statement supporting the neutrality and
firmness shown by the combined force in Maluku.

"Why is TNI headquarters only investigating the Batu Merah
case? Actually lots of major cases, such as the burning down of
three villages in Poka Rumah Tiga, and Pattimura University on
July 4, 1999, also involved rogue security forces personnel,"
Agus said.

In the latest developments, two men identified as Novembri
Tuarisa, 26, and Rafael Ferdinandus, 40, were killed by armed
mobs in the early hours of Tuesday after disembarking from the KM
Lambelu vessel in Yos Sudarso Port in Ambon.

In Hatualang village, Piru district, Seram island, Central
Maluku regency, the combined force has seized 620 assembled
bombs, 400 rounds of AK ammunition and five bombs of 15
centimeters in diameter, and arrested three alleged raiders and
provocateurs from Java. (edt/49)