April 26, 1999
Web posted at: 3:16 a.m. EDT (0716 GMT)

JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- A plan to split the vast province of Irian Jaya and the violence-wracked Molucca spice islands could result in a delay to the June 7 general election, according to a report on Monday quoting the chief of Indonesia's election commission.

The development occurred as conflict continued on the remote spice island of Tual.

Last week, Indonesia's parliament passed a draft law that suggests resource-rich Irian Jaya, the western half of New Guinea, should be split into three provinces.

It also suggested the Moluccas, where hundreds of people have died in religious unrest this year, be split into two provinces.

"We do not know the details of the plan, therefore we do not know about their population, which determines the parliament seats. How are we going to overcome that?" election commission chief Rudini was quoted as saying by Kompas daily.

Rudini said that the plan to split Irian Jaya and the Molucca spice islands could pose many difficulties such as the allocation of parliamentary seats.

"The preparation is getting too close and there have been quite a few scheduled delays, I think the plan will not be official until early June," Rudini said.

President B.J. Habibie later told Home Affairs Minister Syarwan Hamid to draft a bill on the split.

The plan came as parliament passed a regional autonomy bill in a bid to ease simmering tensions across the vast archipelago.

The bill gives wider powers to Indonesia's 27 provinces except in defense, foreign, judiciary, fiscal and monetary affairs, and matters deemed "strategic."

Violence on Tual is the latest in a wave of conflict to hit the spice islands in recent months.

"The death toll has increased to around 150 from the recent fighting in Tual. Today I can still hear gunshots," one local journalist said early on Sunday.

The Molucca islands have been ripped apart by months of sectarian violence, among the worst in the history of the predominantly Muslim country. Much of the violence has centered on conflicts between Christians and Muslims.

Witnesses said most of the victims of recent violence were killed by homemade grenades and petrol bombs hurled by both groups.

The military denied anyone had been killed in weekend fighting in Tual.

Military officials in Ambon, capital of the Moluccan spice islands, said they had no casualty figures. In Ambon alone at least 200 people have died in fighting this year.

Violence in Indonesia, home to some 300 ethnic groups, has been fueled by the country's deepening economic crisis, the worst in 30 years, which has sent millions into abject poverty.

Reuters contributed to this report.