Soldiers told to remain impartial in troubled Maluku

Soldiers told to remain impartial in troubled Maluku

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Admiral Widodo
A.S. on a brief visit to Ambon told soldiers to remain impartial
and act professionally during their mission in strife-torn
Maluku.

In his address to troops at Ambon Bay, the admiral also
ordered them to safeguard vital public utilities, mosques,
churches and other sensitive areas.

"All TNI and police personnel who are assigned to handle riots
here must be able to act professionally and impartially," Widodo
said as quoted by Antara.

The role of the military and police in Maluku has been under
close scrutiny as many have accused them of being impartial in
handling the unrest and at times even helping to escalate the
violence.

Resentment toward the military was quickly evident as dozens
of protesters greeted the military chief with jeers.

The protesters attempted to stop Widodo's convoy, which
included newly-installed National Police chief Lt. Gen.
Rusdihardjo, but could not break through the tight security ring.

Pattimura Military Commander Brig. Gen. Max Tamaela had
deployed layers of troops and armored vehicles along the route
from Pattimura Airport to the city center to secure his
commander's arrival.

Several helicopters and a Navy warship were also on standby.

Apart from Ambon, Widodo also visited Ternate, North Maluku,
where the violence has now extended to.

The turbulence initially began in the greater Ambon area, but
soon spread to become a religious conflict which has enveloped
almost the whole of Maluku.

Task Force

Meanwhile, a group of Christian Protestant church leaders from
North Maluku met with President Abdurrahman Wahid in Jakarta and
urged him to impose stricter security arrangements to halt the
bloodshed.

"I think we all support a tighter security structure to
accelerate a settlement of the unrest," head of the Indonesian
Synod of Bible Churches in Halmahera island A.N. Aesh said after
meeting with the President at the Bina Graha presidential office
on Monday.

The task force, set up by Maluku Governor Saleh Latuconsina to
solve the crisis, also urged Abdurrahman to facilitate
negotiations between Maluku community leaders and government
representatives.

Separately, the chairman of the Indonesian Communion of
Churches (PGI), Sularso Sopater, said sectarian clashes in the
last six months has claimed 3,027 lives in North Maluku alone.

PGI claimed it had gathered information from a number of Alert
Posts across North Maluku.

He refused to say whether they had identified the religions of
those who had died. "Humans of any religion or race are equally
valuable and important".

He said PGI and several other religious groups had also formed
a reconciliation team as a complementary effort to solve the
year-long riots.

"The team consists of 12 non-Ambonese from PGI, the Indonesian
Ulema's Council (MUI) and the Indonesian Bishops Conference
(KWI)," he said.

Senior MUI official Umar Shihab separately told The Jakarta
Post that the council would support efforts for reconciliation,
but so far he had no direct knowledge of the council's
involvement in the PGI reconciliation team.

In Surakarta, Central Java, House of Representatives Speaker
Akbar Tandjung reiterated that the government must take firm
action in resolving the Maluku riots.

Akbar further asserted that it was impossible for the clashes
to be resolved by the people alone without the government's
intervention.

"Our society is still in a transition period from the New
Order regime to the reform era. People badly need guidance here,"
he said.

Abdurrahman during a visit to Ambon in December said the
people of Maluku themselves had to resolve their bloody dispute.

According to Akbar, the House would further consult on the
matter with the government in a meeting slated for Jan. 27.

Separately, in Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi,
students and youths grouped under the North Maluku Forum staged a
protest in front of the state-owned shipping company PT Pelni,
demanding the company reopen its services to Maluku.

"Such action is inhumane. Think about the people who are being
trapped on the islands," shouted the protesters.

The group threatened to hijack PT Pelni ships if services were
not reopened.

PT Pelni halted services to Ternate and other destinations in
Maluku after one of their ships was recently hijacked.
(48/har/27/04/edt/prb)