Military warns of dangers in Maluku

Military warns of dangers in Maluku

Azis Tunny, The Jakarta Post, Ambon, Maluku

With the military campaign to quell the separatist movement in
Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam showing no indications of coming to a
speedy end, one of the country's other trouble spots -- Maluku --
is facing a potential reemergence of armed conflict, a report
says.

Maluku's Pattimura Military Commander Maj. Gen. Agustadi
Sasongko Purnomo hinted on Thursday there were groups that were
interested in stirring up trouble and renewing the conflict in
the province.

"The first group which has an interest in this regard is the
South Maluku Republic (RMS) separatist movement and (its military
wing) the Maluku Liberation Front (FKM). Another is a group of
people who will take advantage from the instability," the
military chief said to reporters after attending the 42nd
anniversary celebration of the 733rd Infantry Battalion in
Masariku, Ambon.

He said the province still had to deal with the problems that
ensued following the 1999 religious unrest, and this would need
the full participation of all elements in society to prevent the
past conflicts from reemerging.

"Should the ideological, political, economic, social, cultural
and security problems remain unsolved, they will trigger new
conflicts here," Agustadi said.

Quoting intelligence reports, the two-star general said the
groups he was referring to included people who were behind the
latest acts of terror in the provincial capital.

Ambon has been coping with the possibility of renewed terror
following the recent findings of bombs in public places.

The latest incident was the finding of an armed bomb on Jl. DI
Panjaitan in the Mardika area. The bomb failed to explode as the
police bomb squad managed to deactivate it in time.

But the military chief said it was difficult to identify the
motives behind the latest bomb threats as they were different
from those of the RMS/FKM, which was obviously attempting to set
up a state separate from the Unitary Republic of Indonesia.

"We're hunting these people ... we, therefore, would ask for
public help and for them to contact us if they know the
whereabouts of the perpetrators," Agustadi said.

Maluku Police chief Brig. Gen. Bambang Sutrisno concurred with
Agustadi's view and offered help to the military in its attempt
to uncover the groups involved.

"The Maluku Police will help the Indonesian Military (TNI) in
tracking down the groups interested in maintaining the conflict
here," Bambang said.

The military chief also hinted at the existence of some 300
weapons -- both military standard-issue and homemade -- among the
opposing groups in Ambon.

"We'll conduct spot raids on suspected places to confiscate
these weapons," he said.

"I hope those possessing weapons will voluntarily hand them
over to us. And those who know that their neighbors have guns,
ammunition or explosives should also report them to the nearest
military/police post."

Serious sectarian violence broke out in Maluku in January
1999, which left more than 5,000 people dead and forced hundreds
of thousands to flee their homes. The central government in
February last year brokered a peace deal between the two warring
camps, but sporadic violence has continued in the province.

More than 80 percent of Indonesia's 212 million people are
Muslims, but in some eastern regions, including Maluku,
Christians make up about half the population, or are in the
majority.