The Jakarta Post, 8/12/2002 3:54:49 PM
Muslims, Christians vow to work for peace in Central Sulawesi
JAKARTA (JP): Muslims and Christians from the restive Central Sulawesi town of
Poso during the second round of peace talks in Palu, the province's capital, vowed
late on Sunday to work together to restore peace and security to the area,
agenciesreported on Monday.
Officials said that some 25 members of the Muslim camp in the district of Poso, the
scene of several recent clashes, and eight of the 23 signatories to an earlier
state-sponsored peace pact, were present.
Coordinating Minister for Social Welfare Jusuf Kalla said that many Christian
representatives due to attend the meeting in the Central Sulawesi capital of Palu late
Sunday were notably absent, due to "transportation problems".
According to Kalla, representatives from both camps agreed during the meeting to
declare those responsible for the unrest in Poso as their common enemies. "Any
anarchist in Poso will become our common enemy. That is the result of the
agreement reached by thesignatories of Malino I (previous peace pact) in Palu," Kalla
said.
The meeting agreed that the civilian population should play an active part in helping
the authorities maintain peace in the area and should not offer protection to those
guilty of creating unrest.
The province's police spokesman Agus Sugianto stated that in general, the situation
in Poso was under control, although there had been some violence and tension here
and there over the past weeks.
However, he could not immediately confirm a report from the state Antara news
agency which said that one man was found with a gunshot wound in Poso town late
on Sunday evening. Two men, including a policeman, were also abducted by a group
of unknownmen on Saturday.
National Police chief General Da'i Bachtiar, who also observed the Palu talks, was
quoted as saying that reinforcements would be deployed to Poso. An evaluation of
conditions in Poso showed tensions had begun to return following a gradual pullout
ofreinforcement in July, he said.
An army battalion from South Sulawesi and an elite police unit from Jakarta were
dispatched to Poso on Saturday to reinforce 280 soldiers and 2,120 police already in
the district, he said.
Poso has seen more than two years of intermittent sectarian clashes between
Muslims and Christians that has left between 500 and 1,000 people killed and tens of
thousands homeless.
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