REUTERS, Wednesday December 12, 2001 8:14 PM
Jakarta says foreign terrorists involved in Sulawesi
By Muklis Ali
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia's intelligence chief said on Wednesday an
international terrorist group was involved in recent clashes between Muslims and
Christians in Poso on Sulawesi island.
"Poso has become a ground for an international terrorist (group) and a local radical
group... a place that is so far from control it has become a battleground for the two
groups," A.M. Hendropriyono told reporters.
The government was still investigating whether Poso had also become a meeting point
for the international group, he said.
He refused to name it. "If I mentioned it, I wouldn't be an intelligence officer," he said.
At least 15 people have been killed over the past two weeks in religious clashes in
Poso, which have prompted Jakarta to send 2,000 extra troops to restore an uneasy
calm to the region, some 1,565 km (980 miles) northeast of Jakarta.
In the past, Indonesian authorities have flatly rejected any suggestions international
terrorist groups had managed to establish a foothold in the world's most populated
Muslim nation.
Some analysts say Indonesia offers fertile ground for these networks to operate as the
world's most populous nation struggles to impose law and order in the face of its
worst political and economic upheaval in decades.
The sprawling archipelago of more than 13,000 islands has relatively porous borders
and plenty of potential hiding places.
The violence in Poso was a fresh demonstration of the ethnic tension simmering in
many parts of the country, and the challenge the central government faces in
controlling it.
On Wednesday, however, the situation in Poso was calm following the arrival of extra
troops and police in the area to restore order.
Christian groups say the reinforcements have made them feel it is safe to celebrate
Christmas in their home town.
"There was a rumour that we would have a bloody Christmas but with the apparent
troop presence around, I think it'll only be a rumour. I now feel safe," said Robert
Rombot from Poso's Christian Crisis Centre, adding many Christians fled to other
parts of the island when the rumours began last month.
AMBON QUIET BUT NERVOUS
Further to the east from Jakarta, the city of Ambon was quiet but nervous after riots
triggered by a mysterious explosion on a ferry which killed up to 10 people, officials
said.
Hundreds went on a rampage in Ambon on Tuesday, setting fire to a local parliament
building and several trucks following the explosion of the wooden ferry boat "California"
in Ambon Bay.
The ferry was carrying mostly Christians, and the rioting was attributed to Christians
angered by rumours Muslim extremists had planted a bomb on the boat.
"People were caught by rumours saying that the explosion was caused by a bomb
but we can't determine that yet. The source of the explosion came from the boat
engine so it could have been a technical problem," army spokesman Major Herry
Suhardi said.
Provincial police spokesman Marthens Alfons said up to 41 people were hurt in the
blast, adding that there were no casualties in the rioting.
"As of last night the number of deaths from the explosion is 10 people...we are still
investigating the cause of it," Alfons told Reuters from Ambon city, 2,300 km (1,440
miles) east of Jakarta.
The latest troubles served as a reminder of the smouldering religious conflicts that in
the last three years have sporadically turned Ambon island and the rest of the fabled
Moluccas spice islands into a Christian-Muslim battleground.
What started out as a dispute between a Christian bus driver and a Muslim boy in
January 1999 has grown into Indonesia's worst religious bloodshed, killing thousands
of people.
But the islands had been largely calm in recent months with no reports of mass
violence.
The quiet was mainly credited to the civil emergency status Jakarta imposed on the
area in June 2000, giving local authorities the right to detain people on the spot and
declare curfews.
Copyright © 2001 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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