The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
In the wake of the recent sniping among Maluku authorities,
Vice President Hamzah Haz told all officials in charge of the
state of civil emergency in the province to work together in
dealing with the prolonged conflict there.
The Vice President also urged the authorities to take action
against any parties making trouble in the province, including the
South Maluku Republic (RMS) secessionist movement.
"It is of the utmost importance that the governor, the
military command chief and the chief of the provincial police are
solid and united in handling the situation there. None of them
should be going in their own direction," Hamzah said after
performing the Friday prayer at the Baitul Faidzin Mosque in Bogor,
West Java.
Authorities in Maluku took turns criticizing each other on
Thursday over the recent surge in violence in the province, with
the deadliest incident being an attack on the Christian village of
Soya in Ambon, and the absence of stern action against
lawbreakers, two points that have undermined the Malino II peace
agreement signed in February.
Discussing the attack on Soya, Hamzah said it would take the
security authorities more time to investigate the incident, which
left at least 14 people dead.
"The police nowadays cannot unilaterally arrest someone
for alleged wrongdoing as in the past, when the anti-subversion
law existed. Now, they must have accurate data to prove the
allegations and arrest someone," he said.
In Ambon, political observers and religious leaders called on
the central government to establish an independent commission of
inquiry, as required by the Malino peace deal, to investigate all
acts of violence that have occurred since the Maluku conflict
began on Jan. 19, 1999.
They argued that investigating the violence, the RMS, Laskar
Jihad and other lawbreakers would ensure justice for the people,
and prevent any further badmouthing and finger-pointing among
officials and conflicting parties.
Meanwhile, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Endriartono Sutarto said
his officers had strong grounds not to carry out the Maluku
governor's instructions in dealing with the religious conflict in
the province.
"I know that the chief of the Pattimura Military Command
asked the governor to postpone his instructions until a more
strategic time. The immediate implementation of the instructions
would have only had a negative impact on the situation in the
province," Endriartono said after leading a ceremony marking
the retirement of Army Deputy Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Kiki
Syahnakri.
"At the time, the military commander asked to wait for an
appropriate time to execute the governor's instructions. That is
not disobeying orders," he said.
Asked about a videotape allegedly showing the commander of the
Laskar Jihad, Ahlussunah wal Jamaah Jafar Umar Thalib, addressing
a gathering in Maluku last Friday, in which he vows to kill all of
the relatives of former president Sukarno, including current
President Megawati Soekarnoputri, Endriartono said the case must
be prosecuted.
"Any threat against the President is against the law. The
security authorities should take action ... they should arrest
him," he said.
In related development, hundreds of Laskar Jihad supporters
rallied in the West Java capital of Bandung and the South Sulawesi
capital of Makassar to warn the authorities against arresting
Jafar.
The protesters said that any attempt to arrest Jafar would be
regarded as an insult to Muslims, because no action was taken
against RMS and its supporters.