The Jakarta Post, August 07, 2002
1,200 flee Poso villages
The Jakarta Post, Palu/Makassar
At least seven people were shot and wounded, four others missing and two churches
and 27 houses burned to the ground in the worst violence to hit Poso in Central
Sulawesi since a peace deal was signed eight months ago, signatories and activists
said on Tuesday.
No casualties were reported, but at least four people -- Z. Doda, 26, Olmas Daya, 27,
Yohan Ewakola, 21, and Cecen Mangiri, 20 -- were reported missing after the attack.
Sulaiman Mamar, a signatory of the peace agreement, was quoted by Antara as
saying the attack was launched on Matako village in Tojo subdistrict, 40 kilometers
from Poso, early on Sunday.
Activists from the Human Rights Advocacy and Legal Studies Institute (LPS-HAM)
based in the Central Sulawesi capital of Palu, said the violence broke out at 3:30 a.m.
It remains unclear who the attackers were.
They said around 1,200 people, mostly Christians, from Matako and the neighboring
villages of Galuga, Malei-Lage and Tongkoyang, had fled and taken refuge in Tentena
under coordination by the local crisis center.
The evacuation of the refugees, mostly women and small children, continued on
Monday using 20 trucks and public buses.
Muslims residents in Matako also sought protection in safer areas in Poso.
The activists said five of the seven people shot were women. All the victims were
receiving intensive medical treatment at the Tentena public hospital.
The activists said the attackers not only set two churches on fire, but also cut off the
road connecting Poso, Palu and the Banggai Regency for at least 16 hours.
Also on Sunday, a series of fresh bombings rocked Poso. The targets included the
house of Poso legislative council speaker Murad U. Nasir. The kitchen and rear of the
building were severely damaged.
The latest attacks were a clear plot by extremists to disrupt the peace accord signed
last December by both Muslim and Christian leaders in the hill resort of Malino in
South Sulawesi.
Mamar condemned the Matako violence and urged security authorities to capture and
take firm action against the attackers.
"It's too much," he said, noting that the attack was the worst since the signing of the
peace pact.
He said the authorities should anticipate further incidents as retaliatory attacks could
occur.
The latest incident was a serious insult to the Poso security authorities, the Malino
signatories and the local administration as it took place just one day after they parties
met to evaluate the town's security on Saturday.
Those attending the meeting, held at the Central Sulawesi governor's office, declared
that social and security conditions in Poso were improving after the peace deal.
"But the reality tells a different story," Mamar said.
As the meeting took place on Saturday, Sukirman, a Muslim figure in Poso, was
found decapitated with stabbed several times.
Meanwhile, Wirabuana Military Commander Maj. Gen. Amirul Isnaeni, overseeing
security in Sulawesi, said on Tuesday that the local military in cooperation with the
local administration was looking into the alleged presence of outside forces in Poso.
"We will investigate it," he said.
Foreign soldiers have reportedly arrived in Poso for unexplained reasons and motives.
A dozen operatives from the Army's elite special forces, Kopassus, specializing in
intelligence were sent there to investigate the reports.
Isnaeni said he has no plans to deploy troops to assist security authorities in Poso
despite the increasing violence.
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