Villagers return to Buru Island

JAKARTA (JP): At least 300 of some 800 villagers who were reportedly missing in forests on the Maluku island of Buru have turned up as calm gradually returned to the island.

Maluku deputy governor Paula Renyaan said in Ambon on Wednesday that the people, who escaped attacks from Dec. 22 to 23, appeared in their villages in Wayula and Batlale early on Wednesday.

"Security personnel and local volunteers are still searching for 500 other villagers who are believed to be hiding in forests on the island," Antara quoted Paula as saying.

She added that the Maluku Military Command had deployed a helicopter in the search operation.

Paula said the number of refugees in Namlea, North Maluku, had reached 1,300 while 2,750 others from the two conflicting groups in the new province had been evacuated to Ambon.

She said the provincial administration had also chartered a ship to evacuate thousands of refugees in Central Maluku to safe areas in the province.

She appealed to other refugees in Central and North Maluku not to force their way to Ambon because the provincial government lacked adequate places to accommodate them.

"Instead of heading for Ambon, they should seek help from the local administrations to locate safety areas," she said.

The Navy Eastern Fleet has deployed seven warships to evacuate more than 3,500 refugees from Tobelo -- where hundreds of villagers are believed to have been killed in clashes between the two conflicting groups in the subdistrict last week -- to safety areas in Bitung, North Sulawesi, and the neighboring island of Ternate.

Tension broke days of respite in Ambon on Wednesday when the two rival groups met head-to-head while scavenging in ruins and razed buildings in the downtown area.

Antara reported a man had pointed his gun at his rivals, before a joint reconciliatory team arrived to calm down the groups.

Governor Saleh Latuconsina called on Maluku Military chief Brig. Gen. Max Tamaela to search for people in possession of guns and disarm them.

"I also appeal to local and national press to play their role in encouraging peace and religious harmony here, so that the sectarian violence can stop immediately," he said.

An assistant to the military command chief on territorial affairs, Col. Budiatmo, said Tamaela had ordered security personnel, including the police, to disarm civilians.

North Maluku Governor Surasmin called for the government not to impose a curfew, despite the worsening security condition in several subdistricts in the new province.

He said order in the provincial capital of Ternate had been restored while thousands of refugees from the conflict-ravaged areas of Tobelo, Galela, Jailolo, Ibu, Sahu and Loloda had been evacuated.

"The people will be traumatized if a curfew is imposed in the province," he said.

In addition to humanitarian relief for refugees in Maluku, the government will send 50 young doctors to the volatile islands next week.

The health ministry's spokeswoman, Mariani Reksoprodjo, said the maiden batch of doctors would fly to Ambon on Tuesday. However, she was unable to confirm the exact date for the second sortie.

"The ministry guarantees the safety of the doctors as the team will join the Indonesian Military and National Police troops," Mariani said.

She said the doctors voluntarily signed up for the humanitarian mission in response to the ministry's announcement.

Those who wish to follow suit can register at the ministry's office on Jl. Rasuna Said, telephone 021-5223015, or by sending an e-mail to ropeg@depkes.go.id.

Some 10,000 Maluku descents who live in Greater Jakarta are expected to take part in a weekend gathering to promote harmony in their violence-ravaged home soil. Organizers of the event, scheduled for Saturday at the Senayan indoor stadium in Central Jakarta, have invited President Abdurrahman Wahid and Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri to attend.

Max Sopacua, secretary general of the joint team for Maluku's Reconciliation and Rehabilitation, said on Wednesday that Muslims of Maluku descent, as well as Christians, would say prayers together for peace and later read out a declaration.

"We will talk about peace, not politics. We, for example, won't issue a statement asking the Maluku governor, military commander or Megawati to step down," he said.

In Bandung, eight Christian churches and the Christian Institution in West Java called on the government to soon facilitate a meeting between the warring Maluku residents and community leaders in a bid to end the violence.

"The talks must be held in Jakarta as to avoid psychological tension between those leaders. The situation in Maluku is not conducive to hosting such a meeting," said Reverend Engkih Gandakusumah, reading the group's statement.

The prolonged conflict in Maluku could not be solved merely by a presidential visit, or the replacement of the governor or military commander, Ev. J.S. Timorason, the chief of West Java's Christian Communication Forum, said. (04/43/ivy/edt/rms)