RMS and firm govt action

RMS and firm govt action

From Media Indonesia

When rioting in Ambon broke out in April, nearly all comments cited the failure of the security apparatus to maintain the peace that had already prevailed for some time in Maluku.

The incident appears to have occurred due to a lack of appreciation by the police that if a certain group, in this case the South Maluku Republic (FKM/RMS) movement, staged a public procession, those opposed to the separatist group would react against it.

As the group is the adversary of citizens favoring the Unitary Republic of Indonesia, the friction and clashes should have been predictable by the police because the citizens objected to the rebel group's attempts to undermine the integrity of the republic.

In the final analysis, it all boils down to a lack of firm action by the government in dealing with the FKM/RMS, which has clearly committed treason by demanding the separation of Maluku from the republic.

Instead of viewing the recent FKM/RMS activity as a form of freedom of expression and assembly in the current era of reform and democracy, the government should have declared such action a rebellion or treason, although unarmed.

In the absence of a clear-cut and appropriate legal umbrella, the way in which FKM/RMS maneuvers are dealt with will surely claim the lives of innocent people.

DEDY SETIAWAN Jakarta