Police put Ambon city on top alert

Police put Ambon city on top alert

M. Azis Tunny, The Jakarta Post, Ambon

Bracing for the self-proclaimed South Maluku Republic (RMS)'s
55th anniversary on Monday, security has been tightened in Ambon,
and the police have declared an alert to anticipate any
disturbances in the city.

"We're now on top alert and we've posted police personnel to
conflict-prone areas," Ambon and Lease Islands Police chief Adj.
Sr. Comr. Leonidas Braksan told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

Some 745 police personnel have been deployed in Ambon and the
Lease islands as well as two antiterror police units and Mobile
Brigade (Brimob) troopers.

The police are also conducting helicopter patrols, especially in
the Kudamati area, one of the RMS strongholds in Nusaniwe district.

Leonidas said the air patrols were necessary since based on
last year's experience, RMS flags might be raised in more remote
areas.

"In order to avoid a repeat of last year's events, we are
setting up posts in areas where flags might be hoisted. And the
air patrols will help as the officers on the ground will not be
able to cover everywhere," he said.

At least 38 people died and hundreds were injured in four-days
of communal clashes in Ambon last year, allegedly triggered by a
rally held by members of the separatist Maluku Sovereignty Front
(FKM), who are mostly Christians, to mark the RMS anniversary.

The clashes last year were the worst since the inking of the
Malino II Peace Pact in 2002, which was signed after Ambon was
rocked by major sectarian clashes in 1999, in which thousands of
people were killed and hundreds of thousands of others were
forced to flee their homes.

This time around, the police have even occupied the houses of
RMS leaders, such as Alex Manuputty, who is in exile in the
United States, to prevent any incidents.

Maluku Police chief Brig. Gen. (Pol.) Adityawaman requested
people to trust the police and military to provide security,
while Maluku Governor Karel Albert Ralahalu asked government and
private sector offices to continue working as usual on Monday.

On Saturday, two bomb scares occurred in the city at different
places and time. The first one took place at the Ambon Plaza
shopping center at 2 p.m. local time, or 12 noon Jakarta time,
and the second took place at a Bank Central Asia branch at 7:30
p.m. local time.

After conducting searches, the police bomb squad found
nothing.

Leonidas said the shopping center received an anonymous phone
call saying a bomb had been planted there, while in the case of
the bank, a suspicious cardboard box had been left on the
sidewalk in front of the bank. "Residents were suspicious and
reported the box to the police. It turned out the box contained a
dead cat," he said.

The police also arrested suspected RMS supporters in the
Batumeja area on Saturday, confiscating a number of pieces of
evidence, including two RMS flags, a documentary film on the
April 25 riots last year, and another on the group's activities
in Europe.

A married couple, Johny Rijoli and Rosanna, was also arrested
on the same day. The suspected RMS supporters were taken into
police custody for allegedly possessing a schedule of Alex
Manuputty's activities the day before he left for the United
States.

On Sunday, most people in the city appeared to be going about
their normal activities, including attending morning church
services.