Jakarta – An Indonesian rights watchdog group has said 82 people were killed, four were missing and 141 injured in recent days of Moslem-Christian violence in riot-torn Ambon, a report said Saturday.
The figures, released by the independent Commission for Disappearances and Victims of Violence (KONTRAS), were much higher than the 33 people killed claimed by the police, the Antara news agency said.
"Our data differ from those given by Indonesian National Police Chief General Rusmanhadi, who mentioned that 33 people died," KONTRAS member Ori Rahman told a press conference here Friday.
Rahman said KONTRAS was more thorough in its count because it obtained information from the field and not from hospitals or police reports.
Violence between members of the Moslem and Christian communities in Ambon erupted again last week following the burning of several houses in the Poka low cost housing area across the bay from Ambon on July 24. More than 150 buildings, mostly private houses and shops, were torched during the ensuing violence.
The outbreak of violence prompted the arrival of troop reinforcements from outside the province of Maluku, and Kontras member Umar Attamimi said the number of victims had increased since the additional security forces were brough in.
"Troops sent to Ambon were those mobilized from certain areas and this could lead them to favor a certain group (in the conflict)," Attamimi said.
Many people, including those involved in the conflicts, have accused the military and the police of taking sides. "They [security forces] must also be consistent in implementing the procedures for shooting because the inconsistency will only exacerbate the confrontations as well as cause more victims among civilians," Attamimi said.
Maluku military authorities have issued a shoot-on-sight order against rioters, especially armed ones and those attempting to set fire to buildings. The shooting order, however, would only be to immobilize suspects and not kill them.
The head of the Maluku police, Colonel Bugis Saman was quoted by the Kompas daily as saying 53 people have been arrested since the violence erupted again last week. He said they were caught while vandalizing, torching or looting buildings or while injuring or killing people.
Ambon, and various other parts of the Maluku province, are still reeling from months of communal violence between Moslems and Christians which left more 300 people killed and a wide trail of destruction.