Wiranto asked for account of Maluku unrest

JAKARTA (JP): Calls are mounting for Minister of Defense/Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto to take responsibility for continued religious conflicts in Maluku, as well as to apply concrete measures to end the violence.

Parties, non-governmental organizations, legislators and experts separately issued on Tuesday strong messages over the reported shooting of Muslims at dawn prayers in a mosque in Ahuru village in the Maluku capital of Ambon on Monday, allegedly by people in police uniform. The police have denied involvement, and said the fatalities occurred in a communal clash taking place outside the mosque.

The commentators also expressed concern over the apparent inability of the security forces to restore order and peace in the area.

"We condemn the incident..it was tragic and damaging to national unity," Hamzah Haz, chairman of the United Development Party (PPP), said in a media briefing Tuesday.

"The security forces and the government have no choice but to clearly investigate the case and take firm action against the culprits," Hamzah insisted.

He noted that Wiranto, as the senior national security leader, must be held responsible for the incident.

The PPP also called for calm and for members of the public to strengthen religious unity.

"Many will try to manipulate the situation. So we call for Muslims with their families in Ambon to hang in there because even if worse came to worst.. Ambon is still a part of this nation," he said.

He also called on Muslims to pray for the victims of the Ahuru incident.

The same call was made by the Crescent Star Party (PBB), saying the problem has occurred as the result of the Armed Forces' failure to handle the conflict.

"Leaders of ABRI have not taken the Ambon riots as a serious threat to national unity... other unrest throughout the country is similarly not being handled well," chairman Yusril Ihza Mahendra said in a press statement.

Alwi Shihab of the National Awakening Party (PKB) expressed a similar concern, urging the government to stop using the security approach and start a process of reconciliation among informal and religious leaders there.

"Start approaching them peacefully and talk the problems out. Do not use a formalistic approach.. the conditions are getting worse there. Please, stop the violence," Alwi said in an interview with the SCTV television station.

Legislator Ekky Syahruddin of Golkar faction slammed ABRI over its handling of the violence that has so far killed around 150 people in Maluku. He appealed for the security forces to be pulled out of Ambon.

"There's no use having them there as they have failed to restore normal conditions. The core problem is conflicts arising from social, economic and cultural gaps. That we have to work on. A security approach would only lead to more violence," Ekky said on Tuesday.

"If I were Wiranto, I would resign. The same thing goes for government leaders there, such as the governor and the local military commander," Ekky said on the sidelines of a session in the House of Representatives.

The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) and the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (ELSAM) in their respective press releases also called on Armed Forces leaders, especially Wiranto, to use a "participatory approach" among people in Ambon to solve the matter.

A member of the National Commission on Human Rights, Koesparmono Irsan, called for a thorough investigation into whoever had done the shooting even if they were policemen.

"The shooting is wrong. Whoever misused their guns by firing on people must be probed, police or no police," said the former National Police Operations chief.

Separately in Yogyakarta, Central Java, the Kesatuan Aksi Mahasiswa Muslim Indonesia (KAMMI) called on the military to take concrete measures.

"They have to guarantee the safety of the people. If they fail to do so, we call on Wiranto to resign."

Meanwhile, political analyst Cornelis Lay said the planned visit of PDI Perjuangan's chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri to try to promote peace in Ambon would only result in damage to her political image if she failed. (edt/23/44)