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