Restoring peace in Maluku

Restoring peace in Maluku

Some two years ago, when the communal conflicts in Ambon and
Maluku seemed to continue unabated, many people became suspicious
of possible foul play. Several non-governmental organizations
raised suspicions that the conflicts were being deliberately
prolonged in order to achieve certain political goals.

One of the suspected scenarios is that a prolonged conflict
would demand a strong military presence in the area, which could
lead to the imposition of martial law in the troubled province.
This, some suspect, is part of a larger scheme by the antireform
group within the Indonesia Military (TNI) to maintain power in
the country against efforts to rein in the military under the
civilian leadership.

The TNI strongly denied the allegation, but nevertheless the
suspicions did not diminish. When violence flared up again with
the attack on the Christian village of Soya on April 28 following
a few weeks of peace, many saw it as an attempt to jeopardize the
Feb. 12, 2002 peace deal, signed in the South Sulawesi hill
resort of Malino.

The supporters of "the Army want to keep Maluku under its
control" theory seemed justified in their suspicions by last
week's appointment of Maj. Gen. Djoko Santoso as commander of the
newly named Security Restoration Operations Command and head of
the Pattimura Regional Military Command in the troubled province.
The appointment of a two-star general, the first after a couple
of years under the command of a one-star general, and possibly
the presence of more soldiers in the area, has sparked a wide
range of criticism.

Sociologist Tamrin Amal Tomagola of the University of
Indonesia, for example, says that Djoko's appointment indicated
that the TNI had managed to impose martial law by stealth. "The
TNI wanted to impose martial law, but because the Ambonese public
and most legislators rejected the idea, the TNI engineered the
situation in such a way that it instead set up a new security
command body. Even though Maluku is under a state of civilian
emergency, it is now, in effect, martial law", he said.

Similarly, human rights activist Munir said last week that the
formation of a new security command in Maluku went against all
prevailing regulations, including Law No. 23/1959 on a state of
emergency, which clearly stipulates that the police are the
front-line authority during a state of civil emergency.

Under a state of civil emergency, it is the Maluku governor, a
civilian, who is in charge. But, in the past, there was an
apparent reluctance on the part of the local military and police
command to fully obey the governor's instructions. On the other
hand, the governor also seemed hesitant in giving orders to the
military and police.

Understandably, the absence of a firm leadership caused
problems, including outbreaks of communal violence and repeated
clashes between police and Army personnel.

Suspicions aside, we have believed all along that the violence
in Maluku cannot be settled only by military action. To reach a
lasting peace, the political, social, economic, religious,
cultural and demographic factors in Maluku must also be taken
into consideration. Thus, stronger military action, which in the
near future might be taken by the newly established Security
Restoration Operations Command, is no guarantee that peace will
be restored in Maluku.

The large number of deserters from both the Army and the
police (who later joined the conflicting militias) is proof that
the loyalty of soldiers and police in the province is doubtful at
best. The fact certainly has been known for years and yet only
last week a top Army general, Army Strategic Reserves Command
(Kostrad) chief Lt. Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu, threatened to take
firm action.

If firm action also involves a total replacement of the
military and police forces in the province with fresh soldiers
from outside Maluku, indeed it would be a big and costly
operation. This would further fuel suspicion that the operation
is another scheme of the Army.

There is no doubt that the violence in Maluku, and in other
regions as well, must be immediately stopped. That the police are
incompetent in preserving law and order is just too obvious. That
we need a strong Army to maintain our national stability and
sovereignty is also beyond question. But if we let incompetence
reign for too long, and if we continue to tolerate certain
parties benefiting by capitalizing on the destabilization of our
nation, then we should forget our dream to build Indonesia anew.
And that also means that the police force must be revamped and
the TNI should show more commitment in reforming itself.