Paramedic team cancels Ambon trip
UJUNGPANDANG, South Sulawesi (JP): Dozens of paramedics have canceled a planned trip to the riot-torn Maluku capital of Ambon due to continued clashes, which have so far killed at least 16 people, an official said.
The coordinator of the medical team from Wahidin Sudirohusodo Hospital in the capital of South Sulawesi, Razak Thaha, told The Jakarta Post on Monday, that at least 10 surgeons and anesthetists had been ready to replace four paramedics dispatched to Ambon in January.
"The doctors are reluctant (to go to Ambon) as the military cannot guarantee their personal safety," Razak said.
Renewed clashes between Muslims and Christians broke out on Feb. 23 in the downtown Batu Merah village, after at least two houses owned by Christians were set on fire by Molotov cocktails thrown by Muslims from an overlooking hill.
Paramedics in Ambon told Razak that they were having difficulties, as they, too, were sometimes threatened by various groups of people.
The paramedics are now concentrated in a military hospital and a number of refuge centers.
The medical team who were due to leave for Ambon were discouraged by accounts of clashes in the riot-torn city.
"A doctor who has just returned from Ambon is still disturbed by what he saw in the city," Razak said.
He described how his colleague, Nur Alim, who has had 20 years experience as a surgeon, had the grisly task of dealing with two headless bodies.
Meanwhile, the head of the Maluku office of the health ministry, Sayuti, said on Monday that a number of doctors in Ambon have either taken refuge in military facilities or have left the city fearing further unrest.
Thousands of people have taken refuge in mosques, churches and military facilities since the violence broke out in mid-January. Thousands of others have fled the city on ships for their hometowns in Southeast Sulawesi and South Sulawesi.
In Jakarta, Minister of Health Farid A. Moeloek said he has requested Minister of Defense and Security/Armed Forces (ABRI) Commander Gen. Wiranto to deploy more doctors at military hospitals in Maluku.
Authorities said more than 150 people had been killed and more than 350 injured since the Muslim-Christian clashes erupted in the province in mid-January.
Unrest has also been flaring up in various regions including West Kalimantan. In a related development, National Police chief Gen. Roesmanhadi said here on Monday that eight police chiefs in West Kalimantan were replaced last month because they were not "firm" in handling unrest.
Roesmanhadi said he had replaced chief of West Kalimantan police Col. Darsono, Pontianak police chief Lt. Col. Octovianus Farfar and six other chiefs of local sub-precincts.
"(The dismissals) show we're not fooling around with our commands," he said.
Various factors, such as the geographical terrain and the kind of unrest that occurred, were taken into consideration.
"In areas where is no geographical hindrance but where police officers continue to fail (in law and order requirements), substitutions should be made," he said. (27/byg/prb/emf)