The Jakarta Post, October 02, 2006
Security tight after violence flares in Poso
Ruslan Sangadji, The Jakarta Post, Poso, Central Sulawesi
Paramilitary police are being deployed here after a series of attacks and bombings
during the weekend amid rising religious tensions following the executions of three
Christian militants.
About 20 men wearing black masks blocked a road in Poso town, witnesses told The
Associated Press. They stopped a bus and forced five passengers to get out,
intimidating them and stabbing one before police arrived. The victim was hospitalized
with wounds to his back, said Yeni, a nurse. She described his condition as
"serious". Communal tensions have risen on Sulawesi since the executions last week
of three Catholic men convicted of leading a militia that carried out attacks in 2000,
including an assault on an Islamic school that left at least 70 dead. Early Sunday
morning two bombs exploded near a church and local government offices in Poso's
Kawua subdistrict. No one was hurt. When police later arrived, a group of angry
Christian villagers attacked them, accusing them of failing to secure the area.
Cornered, police retreated to the Muslim-majority Sayo subdistrict. A few hours before
midnight Saturday, a police vehicle was attacked when a group of men threw a small
bomb at a bomb-squad van, AFP reported. It was the fourth to rock the town in a day,
police said. Previously, three other small bombs went off on Saturday night, part of
what police say is an attempt to stir up unrest after the execution of Fabianus Tibo,
Dominggus Da Silva and Marinus Riwu. The three were shot dead by firing squad on
Sept. 22. Human rights activists believe the executions were hasty and politically
motivated. No Muslims involved in the convict were sentenced to death and all
received jail terms of less than 15 years.
On Friday, more than 100 Christian youths, angered by the Sept. 22 executions,
torched a police station and hurled rocks at a helicopter carrying a police chief, state
news agency Antara said. Poso Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Rudy Sufahyadi said the
situation in Poso was now under control after the deployment of another 300 officers
from the East Kalimantan Police. Residents have also returned home to the Kawua
and Sayo subdistricts in the city although the situation there remains tense. National
Police chief Gen. Sutanto called on people Sunday not to be easily provoked into a
larger-scale conflict. In Taripa village, the situation was calm after the riot at the
Pamona Timur Police headquarters there two weeks ago.
The compound remains guarded by members of the Central Sulawesi Police Mobile
Brigade, while remnants of burned vehicles resulting from the riot have not been
removed. The Trans Sulawesi highway that links four main provinces on the island has
also been reopened. Thousands of people earlier ran amok at the headquarters after
the executions, ransacking the building and setting fire to police vehicles. Several
policemen from the precinct were reported to have fled into the mountains.
All contents copyright © of The Jakarta Post.
|
