Compass Direct, Wed, 22 Oct 2003
Christians In Indonesia Flee Their Homes As Attacks Spread
Police Reinforcements Fail to Curtail Panic in Sulawesi
Special to Compass Direct
LONDON, October 21 (Compass) - Villagers in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, are once
again fleeing for their lives. They are reacting to recent attacks on four villages in the
Poso district by bands of masked raiders armed with automatic weapons. Even the
deployment of extra armed forces to secure the area has had little effect upon the
worried inhabitants.
"People are too scared to remain in their isolated villages," said Mona Saroinsong,
coordinator of the Crisis Center of the Protestant Church in North Sulawesi. "They
have been walking through the jungle to the coast or making for Tentena, the nearest
Christian town. When I questioned them, they said they did not trust the authorities to
protect them."
Following the October 11 attack on the village of Old Beteleme, (see Compass Direct
news flash, October 14) a further assault was launched in the early hours of Sunday
morning, October 12, on three villages closer to the town of Poso.
Saatu, Pantangolemba and Pinedapa all had large Christian populations. The
attackers sought out the homes of known Christians and forced them into the street
where they were shot. Police reported that nine people lost their lives and 11 more
were hospitalized.
Investigating the attacks, police have discovered bullet casings and weaponry which
match illegal arms confiscated in Poso town during the previous violence of 2000.
National police chief General Da'i Bachtiar was shocked by the attack on Old
Beteleme and the other villages. In particular, Old Beteleme was considered to be in a
relatively peaceful area that had avoided much of the violence.
In Koroworu, a village not far from Old Beteleme, the local police encountered a group
of 20 armed intruders. Shots were exchanged and at least one man is believed to
have been killed, but his body fell into the river and was not recovered.
Two additional companies of police have been moved into the Morowali and Poso
districts, bringing the number of armed police in the area to more than 2,000.
Some Christian men have agreed to return to their villages, which are now under heavy
police protection, but have left their women and children elsewhere, fearing new
attacks. Especially vulnerable are villages such as Malewa and Galuga, where
Christians have resettled.
In Lembomawo village near Poso, the police advised the Christians to evacuate their
women and children after receiving several reports of strangers gathering behind the
village.
In another troubling incident, a young Muslim fish-seller was found drowned in the
Poso river, his body covered by a rice sack and weighed down with a stone. The
authorities are saying he was killed near Pandiri, a majority Christian village, with the
implication that Christians have begun to retaliate.
"This is very troubling for the Christian people who worry that isolated incidents like
this will be blown out of all proportion, and that the violence will be blamed on them
when they are the innocent victims," said Saroinsong.
"The chief of police added insult to injury when he attended this man's funeral but
ignored the funerals of the 11 Christians in the villages," added Saroinsong.
"There is growing chaos and unabated fear spreading throughout the Christian
community. Please continue to petition the Indonesian government to do something
about the root cause of the violence -- rather than patch over the cracks -- and make
both sides adhere to the Malino agreement. Please keep praying for us here."
Compass Direct Flash News is distributed as available to raise awareness of
Christians worldwide who are persecuted for their faith.
For subscription information, contact:
Compass Direct
P.O. Box 27250
Santa Ana CA 92799-7250
USA
TEL: 949-862-0314
FAX: 949-752-6536
E-mail: info@compassdirect.org
www.compassdirect.org
|
