---------------------------------------------------------- Visit Indonesia Daily News Online HomePage: http://www.indo-news.com/ Please Visit Our Sponsor http://www.indo-news.com/cgi-bin/ads1 -0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0 Free Email @KotakPos.com visit: http://my.kotakpos.com/ ---------------------------------------------------------- Military takes over security in Ambon Jakarta sends extra troops and police after new religious clashes. Meanwhile, Aceh rebels dismiss Asean support for Indonesian unity JAKARTA -- Indonesia moved yesterday to bring its bloodied spice islands in the east under control, sending hundreds of extra police and troops and putting the military in charge of restoring security after fresh religious clashes. At the other end of the volatile archipelago, separatist rebels warned of a revolution in Aceh province, and dismissed as irrelevant a pledge by South-east Asian leaders to support Indonesia's efforts to remain united. "Aceh does not want to hold dialogues any more. If we are not given the option of independence, the people are ready to take up arms for a revolution ... to fight against the government of Indonesia," Free Aceh movement spokesman Ismail Sahputra said. President Abdurrahman Wahid was to return yesterday afternoon from the Asean summit in Manila, but it seemed unlikely he would heed calls to visit Aceh quickly to try to calm the situation. Mr Abdurrahman said on Sunday in Manila his month-old government would formulate a new policy on Aceh by the end of next month and he would visit the province only after that. At the summit on Saturday, the 10-member Asean plus China, Japan and South Korea pledged support for Indonesian sovereignty over its 26 provinces. Mr Ismail dismissed this as irrelevant. "We, Free Aceh, do not depend on them and they have no right to say or decide whether we should remain with or break away from Indonesia," he told Reuters by telephone. Calls for independence in resource-rich Aceh are growing after Jakarta allowed East Timor to vote on its future in August, producing a massive vote for independence. Mr Abdurrahman has offered Aceh a referendum in seven months on the implementation of Islamic law in the province, but firmly ruled out the option of independence. Saturday marks the anniversary of the founding of the rebel movement, and many analysts fear the day will herald a fresh eruption of unrest. Ambon, capital of the spice islands in eastern Indonesia, was quiet yesterday after a week of violence between Muslims, Christians and security forces that has killed dozens. "Command of the security forces, including the police and the marines, is now under the military. The transfer of command is due to the deteriorating situation there," military spokesman Colonel Panggih told Reuters. But he insisted the transfer of command did not mean that martial law had been declared. He added that the military had sent an extra battalion of troops to Ambon but could not specify the exact number of soldiers. At least seven people, including four soldiers, were killed and more than 30 wounded in fighting on Sunday. Police spokesman Colonel Saleh Saaf said 300 mobile brigade police had been sent to reinforce the island. Many observers believe that if Aceh broke away, multi-ethnic Indonesia could disintegrate. While the violence in the spice islands is seen as less threatening to Indonesia's territorial unity, it highlights the religious and ethnic tensions that make the vast country so volatile and potentially unstable. -- Reuters ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Didistribusikan tgl. 1 Dec 1999 jam 08:01:06 GMT+1 oleh: Indonesia Daily News Online <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.Indo-News.com/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
