Some 800 missing on Buru Island

Some 800 missing on Buru Island

JAKARTA (JP): Amid reports of continuing conflict in Maluku,
at least 800 villagers from Wayula and Batlale in North Buru
subdistrict are missing in forests on Buru Island after escaping
an attack from a rival group from Dec. 22 to 23.

Maluku deputy governor Paula Renyaan said on Tuesday she had
recently received a report from Buru Regent Dudy Sangadji on the
uncertain fate of the two villages' residents.

"The search (by security personnel) for the missing people is
still ongoing," she told Antara in Maluku's capital Ambon.

She said she had asked Maluku Military Command chief Brig.
Gen. Max Tamaela to use a military helicopter to search for the
missing people.

Buru Island was formerly home to political prisoners sentenced
for their involvement in the 1965 abortive coup attempt blamed on
the now defunct Indonesian Communist Party.

A search was also underway for residents of Tehoru village on
Seram Island, who were still missing after fleeing the recent
violence on the island, Paula, also chairwoman of the
coordinating board for humanitarian aid in Maluku, said.

She said she had asked the military subdistrict in Masohi in
Central Maluku regency to carry out the search.

"We have instructed Central Maluku Regent Rudolf Rukka not to
evacuate refugees in the regency to Ambon because of inadequate
space to accommodate them," she said.

Paula said around 2,750 villagers who also escaped the two-day
violence on Buru Island had been accommodated in the province's
naval base, churches and mosques.

She added the provincial administration had supplied 15 tons
of rice and medicine in humanitarian aid to refugees across
Maluku.

A semblance of calm enveloped Ambon on Tuesday as roadblocks
were removed and business activities resumed. Security personnel
in armored vehicles were seen patrolling the city to anticipate
any disturbance.

Ambon and its adjacent islands have witnessed intermittent
Muslim-Christian violence since Jan. 19 last year, which has left
more than 1,000 dead, over 2,300 injured and more than 8,500
buildings, including more than 122 places of worship, either
damaged or burned.

But there have been conflicting numbers of fatalities in the
year-long turbulence.

Meanwhile, some 300 Muslim students in Ambon rallied in the
provincial capital to protest the government's plan to replace
Governor Saleh Latuconsina.

The protesters, who claimed to represent three local Muslim
organizations, gathered in front of the Al-Fatah Mosque and tried
to march to a Christian area near the burned-down Silo church,
some 300 meters apart, before being stopped by security
personnel.

They accused the central government of doing little to help
solve the dispute in the restive province.

The group waved a white banner which read "Sister Mega,
teardrops alone won't solve Ambon conflicts", referring to Vice
President Megawati Soekarnoputri, who has been assigned by
President Abdurrahman Wahid to cope with the bloodshed.

Abdurrahman said on Sunday he would replace Maluku military
commander Brig. General Max Tamaela and Latuconsina, a Muslim of
Ambon descent, "due to the fact that they are no longer wanted by
the (Ambonese) people."

In another development, visiting Indonesian Military Commander
Adm. Widodo A.S. said the presence of 15 battalions of troops in
Maluku was expected to ease the sectarian violence in Maluku and
North Maluku.

"The deployment of massive security personnel, warships and
cargo planes to the two provinces is expected to stop the
bloodshed in a short time," he said in Ternate.

He renewed his order for security personnel on duty to be
neutral in the face of the conflicting groups and to strictly
enforce the law.

However, North Muluku military chief Lt. Col. Slamet Riyadi
said he needed more reinforcement of the existing 2,000 troops to
prevent the violence from escalating in the new province.

He said the situation in North Maluku remained tense.

At least eight people were killed and dozens of others were
injured in violence in Jailolo subdistrict on Monday, he said.

A number of handmade bombs in Tobelo and Galela also exploded
on Tuesday but no fatalities were reported.

The National Social Welfare Agency (BKSN) has supplied food
and medicine in humanitarian relief for refugees in North Maluku.

Jose Rizal, coordinator of the medical team for North Maluku,
said hundreds of deceased bodies remained sprawled about unburied
in the province.

He said he had asked security personnel to help bury the
corpses to avoid an outbreak of epidemic diseases. (48/edt/rms)