Susilo says government serious in Maluku

AMBON, Maluku (JP): Coordinating Minister for Political, Social and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono dismissed on Tuesday the allegations that the government had not been serious in handling the sectarian violence in the Maluku and North Maluku provinces.

He said Jakarta had deployed 13,000 soldiers to the territory to help restore peace and order.

"It (the figure) represents 65 percent of the total 50 military battalions being dispatched to various riot-prone areas across the country," Susilo told reporters during a one-day visit by Cabinet ministers to the riot-torn province.

Each military battalion consists of 400 soldiers.

"The figure doesn't include police reinforcements," he said.

The ministerial delegation included Minister of Defense Mahfud M.D., Minister of Settlement and Regional Infrastructure Erna Witoelar, Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Alhilal Hamdi, Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Adm. Widodo AS, Junior Minister for the Acceleration of Development in Indonesia's Eastern Regions Manuel Kaisiepo and several high ranking military officers.

Susilo also called on the two warring communities to end the violence to create a conducive climate for reconciliation.

The central government has failed to stop the violent clashes in the territory since they first erupted in January last year. The clashes have claimed at least 3,000 lives, and have forced 240,000 residents to flee their villages and take shelter at safer locations.

The number of refugees in the province is the second largest after the East Timorese refugees in Atambua, East Nusa Tenggara. (49/lup)