Ambon,
May 12, 2002
1.
1.
DISCIPLINING THE RMS / FKM AND THE LASKAR JIHAD
– The Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono said in Jakarta on May 10, that according to
both the Central Civil Emergency Administrator (in Jakarta)
and the Provincial Civil Emergency Administrator (in Ambon)
the recent acts of violence in the Moluccas have their roots
in the activities of the RMS / FKM and the Laskar Jihad.
Concerning the RMS /FKM,
Yudhoyono said, that. though inside and outside Indonesia
there are many voices that say that the RMS / FKM in the
Moluccas are not guilty of acts of violence, are not an armed
force and are not a real danger to the national unity,
nevertheless they have carried out activities that endanger
national unity, so the law should be applied to them according
to the Constitution.
Commenting on the presence of the
Laskar Jihad in the Moluccas, he said that time and again they
have proved to involve themselves actively in the conflict in
the Moluccas. So the government has decided that they must
leave the Moluccas.
As soon as the RMS/FKM will have
been disbanded and the Laskar Jihads will have left the
Moluccas, the Civil Emergency Administrator of the Moluccas
together with his staff must be able to guarantee protection
for every community in the Moluccas. “Thus”, he said,
“there will be no reason whatsoever for any group from
outside the Moluccas, like the Laskar Jihad, to come to the
Moluccas in order to protect the local Muslim community
there”. Thus was reported by “Media Indonesia” national
newspaper of May 10.
Amien Rais, chairman of the
national House of Representatives (DPR-RI), when speaking in
Yogyakarta, was of the same opinion. Vice President Hamzah Haz,
speaking in Batam (industrial centre island near Singapore)
said that at least the Laskar Jihads in Ambon should surrender
all of their weapons.
2.
LEGISLATORS VISIT AMBON – A team of five
legislators of the national House of Representatives, led by
deputy House Speaker Soetardjo Soerjogoeritno, arrived at
Ambon on May 10 for a brief visit. This visit was mainly
intended to gather firsthand information from the authorities
in Ambon on their efforts to forge peace and restore order in
the city of Ambon and in the Moluccas as a whole.
3.
VICTIM OF VIOLENCE – In the evening of May 9,
at Air Salobar (western end of the city of Ambon) the body of
Yohan Hattu, resident of the Skip area, was found washed
ashore. He had stab-wounds on his body and must have been dead
for about three days already.
4.
NOCTURNAL UNREST – There is hardly a night
without sparse sounds of bombs and sometimes gunfire. During
the night of May 9 three mortars were launched, obviously
aimed at the Maranatha Church. This large church is for the
Protestant Church of the Moluccas (GPM) what the cathedral is
for the Catholics. It lies at the beginning of the Pattimura
Street, opposite the destroyed Governmental Office building.
The first mortar landed not far from the Governmental building
but did not explode. The second one landed near the Protestant
Baileo Community building to the right of the church, but did
not explode either. The third one landed in front of the
Synode Office building to the left of the church and exploded,
however without causing serious damage. The SCTV commercial TV
supposed the Governmental Office building to be the target.
Correspondent Paulien Joel-Parera
reports that during the night of May 9, a “ninja”-like
person intruded into the village where she lives, Kusu-Kusu
Sereh, a village not far from Ambon. In the Christian Batu
Gajah neighbourhood of Ambon a similar intruder was caught.
NB.
One of our subscribers, who happens to forward these
reports to several thousand others, informs us that he always
receives our reports mixed up with extraneous computer codes,
which makes an unpleasant reading if he thus would send it on.
We would like to ask readers of our reports that have a
similar experience, to tell us about it, and – more
important yet – those that know about any treatment of this
nuisance, to advise us on what to do about it (we use
hotmail.com, not MSN). Thank you.
C.J.Böhm
msc, Crisis Centre Diocese of Amboina
