Weapons turned over to Maluku police

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