Paras Indonesia, January, 01 2006 @ 01:20 am
Palu Blasts Into Year 2006
Enrico Aditjondro
Somebody seems to want to end the year 2005 with a blast (or more), literally. While
Christmas celebrations were free from any serious incident, three Indonesian cities
were terrorized as people prepare for New Year's Eve. Central Sulawesi capital Palu
was hit the worst as a bomb exploded in a Christian market. In other two cities (both
in Sumatra), explosive materials were found in front of the house of a local
parliamentary figure in Bandar Lampung, and while police found a bomb planted in a
soccer field (a venue for New Year celebration) in Pematang Siantar. Is this a closing
remark on a difficult year, or we are still on for the long ride?
Massive deployment of troops to Central Sulawesi apparently did not stop a major
security breach on the last day of 2005 in Palu. At around 7am, a bomb exploded in
the pork market in Maesa, a predominantly Christian area East of Palu, killing eight
and injuring more than 50. The market was flocked with people preparing for the New
Year's Eve festive. Police reported the bomb was packed with nails the explosion was
heard as far as 500 kilometers away from the site. A regular market shopper said the
blast occurred just an hour shy of the peak 8am busy market time.
Police Public Relations officer Bambang Kuncoko told the press that the bomb that
exploded in the market was brought in by an unknown person (or persons) in a car.
The type of car is still unknown, but witnesses said a car sped off from the scene just
seconds before the explosions. Earlier after the explosion, police found another bomb
and defused it safely near the market. Later in the day, Central Sulawesi Police Chief
Brig. Gen. Oegroseno told the press that his department has identified the bombing
suspect and said he was sure that it was linked with the Poso bombing. No one has
been detained so far.
Victims of the blast were taken to nearby hospitals. Most suffered burns and serious
injuries from nails and debris. Among the dead were shop owners and a TNI
intelligence officer and his wife.
While it was obvious that Christians were the target of the bombing since Muslims are
forbidden to eat pork, religious leaders of both faiths immediately condemned the act
of terror and rejected it had anything to do with religious conflicts. Renowned
Reverend Rinaldi Damanik urged his fellow Christians not to retaliate, while Hajj Aziz
Godal of the Central Sulawesi Department of Religious Affairs said would pray so that
police could catch the "barbaric" perpetrators.
Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Widodo A.S. agreed the
blast was not of a religious clash but blamed the usual terrorist network. Furthermore,
he suggested increase of security personnel in Central Sulawesi.
But like in the past, Central Sulawesi activists denied that bringing in more troops
would create a safer atmosphere. Arianto Sangaji of Yayasan Tanah Merdeka said the
community's level of trust for the authority is very low, particularly in the neighboring
town of Poso.
"It's ironic, because for the past years, the government's response to security
concerns in Poso has been by sending in thousands of non-organic troops, but they
seems to have achieved very little," Sangaji told Mercusuar Palu daily.
Indeed, security in Palu could not be separated from the condition in Poso. The
neighboring town has for years experienced violence on regular basis, and in many
occasions, the conflict extended to Palu. The last major explosion in Central Sulawesi
this year occurred on May 28, 2005 in the Tentena market, Poso, killing 23 and
injuring more than 90. Another highlight of this year was the beheadings of three
schoolgirls in October, also in Poso. Yayasan Tanah Merdeka in fact listed 27 major
cases of violence in Poso in 2005. Top of the list is bombings with 12 cases, followed
by 10 shooting incidents. The year's number of cases is also higher than that of the
past two years, 23 in 2003, and 22 in 2004.
Meanwhile, Palu has its share of violence. One of the most heartening incidents two
years ago was the shooting of Reverend Susanti Tinulele while she was preaching in
her church on July 18 2004. A few days later, a bomb exploded in another church
nearby. On December 12, 2004, two churches were shot at and thrown with
explosives.
In October 2005, a low explosive bomb exploded in a Palu-Poso bus, seriously
injuring a man. A similar bomb also exploded in a bus with the same route in May
2003. Coincidently, in late November 2005 police found 22 homemade bombs, 21
detonators and explosive materials in a house raid Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi.
Also in October 2005, four people also died when police raided an alleged cult in a
Palu village of Salena. In November, 20-year-old Supriyanti was attacked and
murdered by three men riding a motorbike with machetes. On the next day, a
Christian couple was shot when returning home on a motorbike from a church.
The month December has rarely been a quiet period for Central Sulawesi. On
Christmas Eve 2004, a local Christian figure and his friend were seriously injured in an
attack by several men armed with machetes in Poso. Then, also in Poso, two
homemade bombs exploded just minutes into the New Year 2005. No one was killed
but there were no casualties, but the blasts seemed to have started yet another year
of violence.
Copyright (c) 2005 - PT Laksamana Global International. All rights reserved
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