Security forces fire warning shots in riot-torn Ambon

Security forces fire warning shots in riot-torn Ambon

JAKARTA (JP): Tensions again rose in the ravaged Maluku
capital of Ambon on Tuesday when a fire mysteriously broke out
and a security officer fired warning shots to disperse
spectators.

Triyono, a staff member at Al Fatah Mosque, told The Jakarta
Post by phone from Ambon the fire, which gutted nine houses,
occurred near the mosque.

"The fire broke out at around 3 p.m. in a Muslim area on Jl.
Baru and then a plainclothes security officer suddenly opened
fire to disperse the crowd," Triyono said, adding the officer was
later arrested.

He said the cause of the fire was not known but quoted
residents as saying they saw a man setting fire to one of the
houses. A number of other residents, however, said the fire was
caused by a short circuit.

"Rumors started circulating that the fire had been set by
agitators, so the residents became tense," he added.

Semmy Waileruny, the coordinator of a team of lawyers from
Maranatha Church, also said the cause of the fire was not known.

"Some residents said it was caused by an electrical short,
others said it was set deliberately," Semmy told the Post.

Antara reported that a plainclothes Army captain from the
local military headquarters fired warning shots as residents
attempted to put out the fire. The news agency reported that the
captain was arrested.

The news agency also reported the man was seen earlier
provoking Muslim residents in the area to attack Christians. The
captain allegedly told Muslims the fire was started by
Christians.

The news agency said that Maj. Gen. Suaidi Marasabessy, who
leads a special military task force of 19 locally born officers,
was seen on the streets soothing angry residents in the area.

Pattimura Regional Military Commander Col. Karel Ralahalu
warned earlier this week stern actions would be taken against
those who incited riots.

Meanwhile, the Asia director of Human Rights Watch, Sidney
Jones, called on the government to make public any hard evidence
of provocation, to investigate allegations of bias in the
behavior of security forces called in to quell the violence in
the province and to acknowledge the terrible losses Muslims and
Christians have suffered.

"Whether or not the violence in Ambon was provoked, communal
tensions there were explosive," Jones said in a report, a copy of
which was made available to the Post on Tuesday. (byg)