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General calls for neutral soldiers

Source
South China Morning Post - January 19, 2000

Vaudine England in Makassar, South Sulawesi and Agencies – Indonesia's leading reformist soldier and the regional commander for Sulawesi, Major-General Agus Wirahadikusumah, wants a neutral peacekeeping force to be deployed in the neighbouring Maluku Islands.

But rights groups claim the army and provocateurs linked to former president Suharto's government are fomenting religious violence on the islands.

A taskforce trying to quell the violence gave the Indonesian Defence Forces (TNI) the names of four suspects, including the former mayor of Ambon, the capital of Maluku province, reports said.

Another alleged suspect is the sultan of the small northern Maluku island of Ternate, whom one Western observer said was trying to protect political and business interests by fomenting unrest.

General Agus, meanwhile, said the military should "use compassion and fairness to save this nation. This nation is losing its character because of all the tragedies that are happening," he said.

The idea is that Indonesian troops should be selected to form a special force committed to securing peace. They should have different uniforms and special training to help people understand they are different to the troops and police, long accused of bias by Muslim and Christian combatants. "The TNI should work for the people's aspirations and not just for group interests," said General Agus.

Human rights and Christian groups have called for international peacekeepers to help solve the problem, but this is out of the question for many Indonesians.

General Agus called for a de-politicisation of the armed forces, and for civilian supremacy over the military.

He also stood against the standard military line about the need for martial law and separation of communities along religious lines in the name of peace.

"All the violence happening in our country is part of a political game being played by our political elite in the central Government," he said, adding that the military was in danger of becoming a player in the conflicts. The co-ordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence, Munir, accused the TNI of involvement in the religious clashes in the Malukus. There have been claims the military is involved in protection rackets and gun-selling.

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