Regional Military Chief Urges Maluku People To Stop Violent Clashes

Ambon, Aug 8 (Antara) - Chief of the Pattimura Regional Military Command Major General Meris Wiryadi has called on the people of Maluku to live harmoniously and stop clashes because violence can only lead to suffering. "I invite the villagers involved in communal clashes to stop committing violence and again live peacefully side by side. Eliminate resentment and jealousy. Let us live harmoniously in a tolerant society for a better future," Wiryadi stated here on Wednesday in a meeting with prominent traditional figures and village heads of Maluku. The meeting was held following two separate violent clashes involving villagers of Seith and Negeri Lima in Central Maluku District, as well as Iha and Luhu villages in West Seram District that claimed more than ten lives and injured several others. Meanwhile, Chief of the West Seram police Adjunct Senior Commissioner Syahbuddin Nasution noted that he had not named any suspect in the communal clash between residents of neighboring villages, Iha and Luhu, which occurred on August 4, 2014. "Our priority is to maintain security and stability and also to prevent further clashes," he added. In the communal clash, seven villagers were killed and 25 others were injured, who are currently being treated in two hospitals in Ambon and Makassar, South Sulawesi province. The investigation on the clash was still ongoing, he stated. Meanwhile, at least five people were reportedly killed in a clash between the residents of Seith and Negeri Lima villages in Ambon, Maluku province, claimed local police spokesman Senior Commissioner Bintang Juliana. Bintang stated that the violent clashes, which erupted on July 31, Thursday afternoon, were triggered by the fatal stabbing of a Seith villager, Benjamin Maju, at Nahai hamlet in Negeri Lima village. Benjamin was rushed to the Dr Haulussy Hospital in Ambon city but nothing much could be done about the grave wounds he had sustained from the stabbing incident, and he died at the hospital. Benjamin`s death incited the emotions of the Seith village residents, who then launched a revenge attack on the Nahai hamlet in Negeri Lima village, which resulted in the deaths of Usman Moni of Seith village and Duba Selli, Kaimudin Soulisa, and Wahid Suneth of Negeri Lima village. According to Bintang, five others were also wounded, and 17 houses were set ablaze in the fighting that broke out between the residents of the two neighboring villages.