Weapons turned over to Maluku police

AMBON, Maluku: Hundreds of weapons surrendered to the police during a four-year sectarian conflict in Maluku province have been turned over to the provincial police chief.

The weapons, which included guns, homemade bazookas and grenades, were handed over by the Saparua Police to Maluku Police chief Brig. Gen. Bambang Sutrisno in a ceremony held here on Wednesday.

People surrendered the weapons to the Saparua Police in stages following the dissemination of the Malino peace agreement signed in February 2002 by warring parties to end the bloodshed in the famed Spice Islands.

The government lifted on Sept. 15 the state of civil emergency in Ambon, after it had been imposed on June 27, 2000.

The protracted sectarian conflict killed some 6,000 people and displaced more than 350,000 others, who fled to refugee camps across the province.

To date, more than 202,000 people, or 39,000 families, are still stranded in refugee camps without any prospect of speedy repatriation. --Antara