Muhammad Nafik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The planned visit by Vice President Hamzah Haz to troubled
Maluku province on Tuesday will benefit no one but the Vice
President's personal political interests, analysts said on Sunday.
"The trip is actually not necessary. It will only serve
Hamzah's own political benefits," sociologist Thamrin Amal
Tomagola of the University of Indonesia, told The Jakarta Post.
He said the Vice President was likely to try to
"expiate" a blunder he made when visiting the detained
leader of the militant Laskar Jihad group, Ja'far Umar Thalib,
early last month.
Hamzah's meeting with Ja'far, who was being detained by the
National Police in Jakarta, sparked criticism from legislators and
politicians.
The move was rumored to have shattered relations between the
Vice President and President Megawati Soekarnoputri.
During the visit, Hamzah is expected to launch an economic
recovery program for the restive islands during his one-day visit
to the Maluku capital of Ambon.
He will meet with Muslim and Christian leaders in Ambon, as
well as local government and military leaders. He will also visit
the Christian village of Soya, some five kilometers away from
Ambon, which was attacked by a group of identified gunmen on April
28, 2002. At least 12 people died in the attack.
The violence erupted one day after Ja'far addressed Laskar
Jihad members at a mosque in Ambon. Ja'far was arrested last month
for allegedly stirring unrest.
It will be the first visit by the nation's second highest
ranking official after a peace deal was signed by both camps on
Feb. 12, 2002. In April 2000, Megawati visited Ambon in her
capacity as vice president.
Thamrin added that Hamzah's visit had nothing to do with the
settlement of the "core problem" in Maluku, where some
6,000 people have been killed in three years of sectarian conflict
since January 1999.
The sociologist said that as Muslim and Christian leaders had
signed the historic peace pact, deserting troops should be blamed
for a series of fresh violent incidents there.
"The problem with deserters could have been resolved if
the security authorities had enforced the law consistently,"
he said.
Another sociologist Imam Prasodjo commented, "the visit by
Hamzah Haz will merely be a ritual".
But, he doubted that the Vice President's trip would be a
success.
Thamrin said the visit would only be useful to help restore
peace if Hamzah was "willing to convince Laskar Jihad members
to leave Ambon".
Yet, he doubted the Vice President would do so during the
visit, considering his close ties with leaders of the group.