THERE'S been a new kind of tension in Maluku over the
past week-unrelated to the security in the province
administered by Governor H.M. Saleh Latuconsina. It's
the kind of tension that the governor enjoys watching
on television: the World Cup matches in South Korea
and Japan. "It's entertainment for me," says
Latuconsina.
Latuconsina, chief of the Maluku Civil Emergency
Authority, deserves his entertainment, after three
years in charge of containing a sectarian conflict.
Tensions are now showing signs of easing, after the
Malino II agreement and the appointment of Major
General Djoko Santoso as chief of the new Security
Restoration Operation Command (Pangkoopslihkam) in
Maluku.
But will Djoko, who will take over command of the
military and the police from Latuconsina, be able to
end the conflict in Maluku? Despite being optimistic,
Latuconsina says the task faced by Djoko is daunting.
"There are many things that are yet to be disclosed,
he says. One of these-which requires will and courage
to disclose-is the desertion of military and police
personnel, to either side in the conflict.
Dressed in brown batik shirt, black trousers and
leather sandals, Latuconsina received TEMPO's Tomi
Lebang and Frits Kerlely for an interview at his
residence in the Mangga Dua area, on a rise
overlooking the provincial capital of Ambon, on Friday
afternoon last week. Excerpts:
Will the appointment of the new Pangkoopslihkam, in
command of the military and police, do much good for
the efforts at ending the conflict in Maluku?
Of course it will. The conflict widened because there
were people who didn't like the police, and others who
didn't like the military. So they pitted one force
against the other. Now, with a single command,
hopefully the conflict should end. Another thing which
[Djoko] should deal with is the conflict within the
police and the military themselves. The Tantui
incident (military attack on police barracks), for
instance, has caused division even within the police
command in Maluku. Now you have white (pro-Muslim) and
red (pro-Christian) police personnel. The same thing
happened with the military, although it was not as
serious as with the police. It's only at the local
level units within Battalion 733-BS. The conflict is
making the job of enforcing the law even more
difficult. For example, when I issued orders to take
legal action against A or B, they delayed carrying out
the orders.
So it's true that your orders as Chief of the Civil
Emergency Authority were frequently ignored by the
military and the police?
No, it's not like that. What I want to say is that the
orders I gave could not be implemented in full.
Why not?
Because of limited personnel. For instance, it was
agreed we would break up a gathering of more than 10
people. But when you have 100 or 200 people gathering,
you can't break it up without some of the people
getting injured.
The security personnel here carry only battle gear,
they don't have water cannons to break up a crowd, nor
tear gas nor rubber bullets.
Who are the deserters?
They are found on both sides. Some join the gangs of
preman. In the past, two years ago, they organized
themselves along religious lines. Within the police
force, most of the Christian deserters are from the
special police force (Brimob) and the Muslims from the
ordinary police (Perintis).
These Christian deserters are known as kelelawar
(bats) and the Muslims as halilintar (thunderbolts)
and Mr. X. Those with vested interests in the conflict
are using these deserters for their own purposes.
When were you first aware of the desertions?
In June... around about the month of June... when a
state of civil emergency was declared (in Maluku).
How many are there?
Not many, but they became quite a nuisance. Only
between 10 and 20 people.
The police and military commands in Maluku claim only
four from each have deserted their units?
Some of the deserters are from units outside Maluku. I
haven't received an official report of it yet, but
that's what I heard from the locals.
What action have yourself and the military and police
commands taken against those deserters from outside
Maluku?
We identify them and arrest those we suspect of
deserting. If proven to be in the wrong, we will
employ the legal process.
These deserters reportedly recruit young people to
bomb buildings?
The young people recruited by the deserters are now in
police detention. Some of them are children paid
Rp5,000 to burn buildings. I was told these children
are students of the State Junior High School No. 6 in
Ambon, who were paid to burn their own school. We have
questioned them to find who paid them to do this.
Who do you think they are?
People who are trying to take advantage of the
conflict for their own interests, economic interests,
for instance-people whose businesses are threatened if
the situation returns to normal.