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Indonesian Military to Deport Islamic Militants From Maluku
The Indonesian Military (TNI) said in Jakarta that in a bid to stop communal bloodshed and restore peace and order in the riot-torn provinces of Maluku and North Maluku provinces, it will deport some 1,900 members of Islamic Militants Group or so called the Laskar Jihad (Jihad Force), reports on Tuesday said.
Brig. Gen.I Made Yasa, commander of the Pattimura Regional Military Command overseeing Maluku, was quoted as confirming that at least 1,900 Jihad fighters were rounded up in Ambon, capital of the Maluku province and its surrounding area. Meanwhile police intelligence sources put the number of Jihad Force at 5,000.
Yasa said that the Jihad fighters will be sent back to Java by Hercules airplane or by ship.
Following the protracted communal bloodshed in the country's provinces of Maluku and North Maluku involving Muslims and Christians since early last year, the Jihad Force In May this year sent its members to the provinces in what it said as "an effort to protecting Muslims". But violence has been rising and many people have been killed since the Jihad Force came to the area.
Equipped by sharp weapons and hand-made riffles and ammunitions as well, the Jihad Force arrived at the conflict areas, mostly through the sea, couple months ago.
Meanwhile, Maluku Police Chief Brig. Gen. Firman Gani said that security forces had launched a massive sweeping operation in areas identified as the base of "unwanted outsiders", a term used to refer to members of the Jihad.
Gani also said that, "we will coordinate the deportation of these groups with the military, especially the Navy and the Air Force."
Separately, Ayip Syafruddin, chairman of the Ahlu Sunnah Waljama'ah forum, one of Islamic movement groups in the country, said that the Jihad fighters would resist any attempt to deport them from Maluku and threatened to fight their war in Java and Sumatra if they were barred from protecting their Muslims brothers in Maluku.
Denying of being responsible for the recent clashes between Muslims and Christians in Maluku, Syafruddin said that the members were mostly conducting humanitarian missions to help refugees and the sick.
Maluku and North Maluku provinces have witnessed a more than one and a half year communal bloodshed involving Muslims and Christians since January 1999.
The central government has refused any possible military interventions from foreign countries in dealing with the bloodshed while thousands of peoples from the two warring camps, including security officers have been killed, while there is no sign that the conflict will die down despite the imposition of civilian emergency and curfew by the government at the end of June.
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