Police personnel told to return to units

AMBON, Maluku (JP): Provincial police personnel have been given a Jan. 20 deadline to return to their units or face dismissal, Maluku Police chief Brig. Gen. Firman Gani said.

"The deadline ... is Jan. 20, 2001. So far, there are 17 personnel who have not yet reported their status," Firman said on Tuesday.

"Those personnel who have not returned (to their units) by then will face dismissal," he said.

Firman said it was possible that some police officers who were still absent had either died or fled Maluku.

"We have coordinated with other provincial police headquarters, so if those officers report their whereabouts we can settle the matter according to the existing regulations," he said, adding that other personnel who have been transferred to police stations outside of Maluku must immediately leave the province.

The Jan. 20 deadline was set because many police officers have been separated from their units during the clashes between Christians and Muslims that have rocked the province since January 1999.

Many of the personnel have taken sides and have been seen among the ranks of the warring camps.

Other police personnel deserted their posts and fled to other islands following the violence, which in two years has left at least 5,000 people dead and created more than 500,000 refugees.

"There will be no compromise. Whatever the ranks (of the AWOL officers), firm sanctions will be given," Firman added.

The sectarian violence first broke out in the provincial capital Ambon on Jan. 19, 1999, when a trivial dispute between a Christian and a Muslim degenerated into violence between the two communities. The violence quickly spread to other islands in the Malukus.

Meanwhile, the police chief also said that around 1,000 children from both Muslim and Christian camps would attend the "Maluku Prayer" gathering at the Merdeka park in Ambon on Wednesday.

"We hope that all community and religious leaders will attend the ceremony and use the gathering as a medium to introspect on our mistakes and maintain peace," Firman said.

The 15,000-square-meter Merdeka park is part of the Victoria fortress complex in downtown Ambon. It was laid out during the Dutch colonial era, and is next to the monument of national hero Thomas Matulessy, alias "Captain Pattimura".

The park, considered by locals as "neutral turf", is located across from the gubernatorial office and is ringed by military installations, such as the headquarters of the 733 Masariku Infantry Battalion.

Sporadic violence, however, continued to take place in the islands. Four homemade bombs exploded in Wahai district, North Seram island, Central Maluku, in the early hours of Monday.

"The bombs exploded at the district chief's office, the phone office, a plantation and a small hotel. But no casualties were reported and the incident has been settled by local leaders," Firman said.

Another bomb, however, exploded later on Monday in the grounds of the SMU 1 Wahai high school at around 10:30 a.m. local time.

"The pupils panicked but fortunately no one was injured," Rev. Y. Putirulan of the Protestant church in Wahai said.

"There were only a few members of the security forces in the area and we had to sweep the road ourselves. We managed to find seven unexploded bombs and get rid of them," Putirulan added. (49/edt)