VP tells Maluku authorities to work together
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
In the wake of the recent sniping among Maluku authorities, Vice President Hamzah Haz told all officials in charge of the state of civil emergency in the province to work together in dealing with the prolonged conflict there.
The Vice President also urged the authorities to take action against any parties making trouble in the province, including the South Maluku Republic (RMS) secessionist movement.
"It is of the utmost importance that the governor, the military command chief and the chief of the provincial police are solid and united in handling the situation there. None of them should be going in their own direction," Hamzah said after performing the Friday prayer at the Baitul Faidzin Mosque in Bogor, West Java.
Authorities in Maluku took turns criticizing each other on Thursday over the recent surge in violence in the province, with the deadliest incident being an attack on the Christian village of Soya in Ambon, and the absence of stern action against lawbreakers, two points that have undermined the Malino II peace agreement signed in February.
Discussing the attack on Soya, Hamzah said it would take the security authorities more time to investigate the incident, which left at least 14 people dead.
"The police nowadays cannot unilaterally arrest someone for alleged wrongdoing as in the past, when the anti-subversion law existed. Now, they must have accurate data to prove the allegations and arrest someone," he said.
In Ambon, political observers and religious leaders called on the central government to establish an independent commission of inquiry, as required by the Malino peace deal, to investigate all acts of violence that have occurred since the Maluku conflict began on Jan. 19, 1999.
They argued that investigating the violence, the RMS, Laskar Jihad and other lawbreakers would ensure justice for the people, and prevent any further badmouthing and finger-pointing among officials and conflicting parties.
Meanwhile, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Endriartono Sutarto said his officers had strong grounds not to carry out the Maluku governor's instructions in dealing with the religious conflict in the province.
"I know that the chief of the Pattimura Military Command asked the governor to postpone his instructions until a more strategic time. The immediate implementation of the instructions would have only had a negative impact on the situation in the province," Endriartono said after leading a ceremony marking the retirement of Army Deputy Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Kiki Syahnakri.
"At the time, the military commander asked to wait for an appropriate time to execute the governor's instructions. That is not disobeying orders," he said.
Asked about a videotape allegedly showing the commander of the Laskar Jihad, Ahlussunah wal Jamaah Jafar Umar Thalib, addressing a gathering in Maluku last Friday, in which he vows to kill all of the relatives of former president Sukarno, including current President Megawati Soekarnoputri, Endriartono said the case must be prosecuted.
"Any threat against the President is against the law. The security authorities should take action ... they should arrest him," he said.
In related development, hundreds of Laskar Jihad supporters rallied in the West Java capital of Bandung and the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar to warn the authorities against arresting Jafar.
The protesters said that any attempt to arrest Jafar would be regarded as an insult to Muslims, because no action was taken against RMS and its supporters.