The Star [Malaysia], Monday, December 03, 2001
Sulawesi island tense amid religious fighting, thousands flee
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - Soldiers patrolled towns and villages on Indonesia's
Sulawesi island Monday, as thousands of people fled their homes after a week of
fighting between Muslims and Christians.
Asmara Nababan, a member of the government's own National Human Rights
Commission, said the situation in central Sulawesi was quickly deteriorating and the
security forces were doing little to stem the bloodshed.
He said the predominantly Christian town of Tentena was surrounded by Muslim
fighters who were threatening to attack it.
"The situation is critical,'' Nababan said. "We are afraid that there is going to be a lot
of violence.''
In other towns, including the seaside community of Poso, Muslims had fled their
homes and were sheltering at police stations and military barracks, said local army
officer, Sgt. Burhan.
"It is very tense here. Shops are closed as townsfolk are scared of more trouble,'' said
Burhan, who like many Indonesians uses only one name. "Troops are guarding the
streets.''
Nababan said three state human rights investigators were dispatched to the region on
Monday to investigate why the "police and military seemed unable to stop the
conflict.''
Fighting between Muslim and Christian villagers in Sulawesi, about 1,600 kilometers
(1,000 miles) northeast of Jakarta, has claimed at least 1,000 lives in the last two
years.
The fighting quelled earlier this year, however hopes of a lasting peace were quashed
when it flared again a few weeks ago. At least seven people have been killed in the
past week. Hundreds of extra police and soldiers were recently sent to the region.
Analysts say the administration of President Megawati Sukarnoputri has been slow to
rein in the militants because she is indebted to conservative Muslim parties that
backed her parliamentary coup against reformist president Abdurrahman Wahid in
July.
A Muslim paramilitary group, Laskar Jihad, based on Java island, has been accused
of stoking the latest violence in Sulawesi.
Hundreds of its followers have traveled to Sulawesi from the nearby Maluku islands
where they were involved in a two-year conflict between Muslims and Christians. An
estimated 9,000 people are believed to have been killed in fighting there.
Last week, the United Nations warned that increasing tension on Sulawesi could
trigger a new flood of refugees.
© 1995-2001 Star Publications (Malaysia)
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