One officer killed as rioters run rampant in Ambon

AMBON, Maluku (JP): Violence dragged on here over the weekend as armed rioters ransacked and burned the remaining houses in the Diponegoro Atas subdistrict.

A police officer was reportedly shot dead by a sniper during the incident on Sunday and another was injured on Saturday in downtown Ambon, Maluku Police chief Brig. Gen. Firman Gani said.

"Details of the incidents have not yet been completed and we are continuing a gun sweep and search for the alleged snipers across the city," Firman said, adding that gunfire and explosions were still being heard in some parts of town.

Some reports said an official of the Pattimura Military Command, Lt. Col. Hery Suhada, was severely wounded after he was shot nearby his office in the Batu Gajah area on Saturday afternoon. Military and hospital staff refused to confirm the report.

The killing of the police officer brings the death toll to over 110 since the government imposed a state of civil emergency in the provinces of Maluku and North Maluku on June 27.

Witnesses said at least five abandoned houses in Urimesing area in Diponegoro Atas were set on fire by rioters after they looted the buildings on Sunday morning.

"We recognized some of the attackers as plainclothes security personnel," a local journalist said, adding that the rioters tried to occupy the southern part of Ambon, which has long been known as an area which links downtown with a predominantly Christian area in the southwest.

Roadblocks have been set up almost everywhere in downtown Ambon, where residents are facing food and fuel shortages.

"Most (fuel) depots lie in Muslim-controlled territories. Gasoline here is sold for Rp 3,500 and kerosene for Rp 2,000," the reporter said.

The normal price for fuel is Rp 1,000 per liter, while kerosene is Rp 500.

In Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi, the chairman of the Crescent Star Party (PBB), Yusril Ihza Mahendra, suggested that the government ask for help from other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to settle the Maluku dispute.

"ASEAN can provide social and economic assistance as we share solidarity values as well as regional stability. That way we can avoid possible international intervention," Yusril said on the sidelines of the party's function on Sunday.

Back in Ambon, Governor Saleh Latuconsina suggested on Friday the possibility of totally isolating the disputed province in a bid to block alleged rioters from entering and instigating further unrest.

"We started with controlling the entry of certain people -- especially unwanted outsiders -- which was conducted by the security forces.

"But the key to intercepting intruders lies with the troops' effective security, such as the Navy blockade at sea. If that fails, we have no choice but to totally isolate the islands, starting with the ports," Latuconsina said.

Elsewhere in North Maluku, security officers seized more than 1,000 sticks of explosives in the early hours of Saturday from an interisland ferry, the KM Ciremai, bound for Ternate from Bitung Port in North Sulawesi, Antara reported. (49/edt)