Separatists face up to 15 years in jail

Separatists face up to 15 years in jail

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Ambon

Prosecutors charged on Friday nine separatist in Maluku province
with treason for allegedly agitating and encouraging people to
establish a South Maluku emergency authority.

Speaking before the Ambon District Court, the prosecutors
demanded that the nine defendants from the secessionist South
Maluku Republic (RMS) movement be sentenced to between 13 and 15
years in prison.

Jhon Rea, who led the group, should be imprisoned for 15 years
imprisonment, Antara reported prosecutors as saying.

The eight others were identified as Pieter Rea, who is the RMS
regional leader overseeing the capital city of Ambon, Philipus
Nurlatu, Yoseph Lesnussa, Elisa Mathenahoruw, Sandi Lolupua,
Johanes Latuhihin, Jefry Soulisa and Reinhard Nanlohy.

Chief prosecutor A. Sopahelewakan was quoted as saying that
the defendants had held more than 10 "secret meetings" since
January last year to discuss the establishment of an RMS
emergency authority.

During the meetings, the group sought a way to revive Maluku
sovereignty.

Based on their indictment, the group also held correspondence
with a man named Gerritz Wattimena, who lives in Omega Plm in the
Netherlands, to inform him about the situation in Maluku when the
province was placed under a state of civilian emergency.

"The defendants' activities are categorized as a betrayal of
the Unitary Republic of Indonesia. Indeed, they could potentially
create political and security instability across the country,"
Sopahelewakan told the trial, presided over by judge Kharlison
Harianja.

"One thing that we must emphasize is that the province is
still prone to sectarian conflict following the prolonged clashes
between two communities here. The fragile peace should not be
affected by such activities like those committed by the
defendants," the prosecutor added.

"The defendants have continued claiming themselves to be RMS
nationals instead of Indonesian citizens. They have also failed
to respect the court during the trial. And we, the prosecutors,
consider it an incriminating factor," Sopahelewakan said.

Maluku and North Maluku provinces were hit by sectarian
conflict for about three years from 1999. Some 6,000 people were
killed in the fighting. Peace between the two warring factions
was largely restored after the government brokered a peace accord
in 2002.

During the trial, prosecutors also presented some evidence,
including guidelines on the organization's structure, 13 copies
of an independence proposal written in Dutch, and an RMS
provisional constitution.

Rea, along with his followers, was arrested by police in April
2003, when they held a secret meeting at a church.

The group, nevertheless, earlier denied being connected with
another secessionist group, the Maluku Sovereignty Front (FKM)
led by Alex Manuputty, who was sentenced by the North Jakarta
Court to three years in prison on Jan. 28, 2003, for plotting
rebellion.

An appeal court later increased his sentence to four years in
jail. Manuputty, however, remains free after he appealed the
verdict to the Supreme Court.

He is now reportedly in exile in the United States.

Vice President Hamzah Haz has said that the government would
pursue a diplomatic approach to the United States to extradite
Manuputty, who is believed to be seeking support for his Maluku
independence campaign.