The Jakarta Post, October 30, 2005
Three school girls beheaded near Poso
Ruslan Sangadji and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Poso/Jakarta
Tension and grief remained heavy in the air in Central Sulawesi's town of Poso as
three female students from a Christian high school were beheaded Saturday morning
by six unidentified assailants.
The incident occurred as Muslims prepare to celebrate Idul Fitri in a town that is still
struggling to recover fully from two years of Christian-Muslim battles.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono immediately held an emergency security
meeting with Vice President Jusuf Kalla, top security officials and ministers to assess
the situation in Poso.
"In the holy month of Ramadhan, we are again shocked by a sadistic crime in Poso
that has now claimed the lives of three school students," he told reporters. "I
condemn this barbarous killing, whoever the perpetrators are and whatever their
motives."
He ordered the security forces to find the killers and maintain order in the region.
National police spokesman Aryanto Budiharjo said up to six men in black clothes and
masks attacked the students in Bukit Bambu village as they were on their way to
class at the Central Sulawesi Christian Church (GKST) high school in Poso.
"The perpetrators wore black attire and veils and they used machetes," he told
reporters.
The police said that the information was obtained from a survivor in the incident, who
managed to escape the attack but suffered wounds to her face.
The victims were identified as Yarni Sambue (15) Interesia Morangke (16) and Alfita
Paulina (19). The survivor has been identified as Noviana Malewa, who is currently in
intensive care at a nearby hospital.
The bodies of the girls were left at the site of the attack near a cocoa plantation. The
heads were found at separate locations two hours later by residents, said Adj. Comr.
Rais Adam, the Central Sulawesi Police spokesman.
One of the heads was found near a church.
As word of the heinous murders got around, Poso became deserted.
National Police Chief Gen. Sutanto flew to Poso on Saturday to hold a dialog with the
local administration and religious leaders in a bid to help maintain order in the area.
Some 400 policemen were also deployed to reinforce security in the religiously divided
city.
Susilo has also ordered Poso officials to calm people down to prevent a repeat of the
wanton violence that ended in 2002.
Soon after the news of the decapitations spread, dozens of residents from nearby
Tentena gathered to protest outside the district police headquarters.
Central Sulawesi was hit by a bloody sectarian war from 2000 to 2002 that killed
around 1,000 people.
The conflict ended in early 2002 following a truce, which was mediated by a
government team led by Kalla.
However, sporadic bomb attacks and assassinations continue to occur in several
areas of the province. In May, bombs exploded at a market in the neighboring coastal
town of Tentena, killing 22 people.
Police said the Tentena bombings were the work of militants with possible links to
Jamaah Islamiyah.
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