[Kabar-indonesia] Indo News - 11/11/05 (Part 1 of 2)

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- Restriction on religious freedom still rampant in Indonesia
- U.S. Congress Calls for Justice for Slain Indonesian Human Rights Hero
- Indonesia blasts US over military ties
- Terror suspect's death confirmed in Indonesia
- Aceh moves on housing crisis
- Indonesia deploys troops to sectarian-violence plagued Sulawesi
- President Given Deadline to Resolve Schoolgirl Beheadings
- Two Poso students shot by unidentified men
- The Poso killings
- TNI deploys one more battalion to Poso
*****************************

The Jakarta Post.com
Headline News
November 12, 2005
Restriction on religious freedom still rampant in Indonesia
-- Several churches in Jakarta and West Java were closed down by force
recently, prompting practitioners to conduct their prayers outside their
church. This issue has also gained attention from the United States, which
mentioned the restrictions on religious freedom in the State Department's
2005 International Religious Freedom Report released on Wednesday.
Chairman of the Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI) Rev. Andreas
Yewangoe spoke to The Jakarta Post's Ridwan Max Sijabat on Thursday.

Question (Q): What is your comment on the U.S. State Department's report?

Answer (A): With or without the report, restrictions and abuse of
religious freedom are still rampant in certain areas in the country.

Several churches of denominations grouped under the PGI were closed by
force by a certain extreme group, a series of attacks were launched on
Ahmadiyah-owned mosques and properties, and a Catholic education center in
Tangerang was closed because it was used as a house of worship. A number
of church ministers in the country's eastern region have been arrested for
unspecified reasons.

A stranger thing is that the state fails to enforce the law when facing
these restrictions. In certain areas, security personnel just stood by
(doing nothing) when churches were closed by force by certain unauthorized
groups, and those who perpetrated these wrongdoings have never been
brought to justice.

Thus, the core problem is that religious freedom is still restricted,
despite the Constitution that guarantees all citizens' right to worship in
accordance with their own faith.

(Q): Has the PGI filed a complaint on the closure of churches to the
government?

(A): Yes, we have. We brought the issue to our meeting with Vice President
Jusuf Kalla at the latter's Jl. Merdeka Selatan office three weeks ago to
be handled properly and immediately, but so far, no measures have been
taken.

(Q): Will you explain the core problems behind the church closures?

(A): Numerous reasons have been aired by perpetrators to justify their
actions. Some said the churches had no official permit from the relevant
authorities and had caused disturbances to the surrounding areas, while
others said houses and school buildings could not be used as houses of
worship. Many have also aired allegations that the establishment of
churches in predominantly Muslim districts was aimed at proselytizing
non-Christian locals.

(Q): Will you comment on the specified reasons?

(A): We have to be extra-alert on this sensitive issue.

First of all, all citizens have the right to adhere to the religion they
choose, and to build their houses of worship in places permitted by the
relevant authorities.

Second, many churches may have made noise and caused traffic jams, but
these problems could be solved amicably and religions should not be seen
as the culprits behind them. It is extremely unfair to sow hatred of a
certain religion only because church services were noisy or because
churchgoers caused a traffic jam.

Regarding the permit issue, if the churches have no official permit as is
required by regulations, then they should be closed by the government, and
not by militiamen. All sides, including hard-line groups, should respect
the rule of law and let law enforcers handle all kinds of legal
violations.

(Q): Do you think the regulation on the establishment of houses of worship
is restrictive?

(A): Very restrictive. Because, despite the new revision, the joint
ministerial decree requires irrational administrative requirements to
obtain official permits from local administrations for the establishment
of a church in a certain district.

The problem is that the government has always claimed to have stayed out
of religions' internal affairs, but, in reality, they have made many
rulings dealing with religions. Administratively, the government should
regulate the establishment of churches, mosques and temples in accordance
with regional spatial zoning and it should not need approval from locals
where houses of worship are established.

Many Christian communities have performed their Sunday prayers in houses
and other properties because of difficulties in obtaining official permits
to establish their churches from authorities. In the meantime, many
mosques are built without any official permits.

(Q): How do you prevent the government from interfering in the internal
affairs of religions?

(A): Despite the Constitution and the Pancasila state ideology that
stipulates the belief in Almighty God, the state must be principally
separated from religions because both have their own authority. The state
(and the government) is tolerated to regulate certain matters on religious
affairs in general. In Indonesia, state-religion relations are quite
intricate and have been frequently complicated because of the absence of a
national commitment to upholding the pluralism-based state pendulum.

(Q): What should the government do?

(A): The government should comply with the Constitution that guarantees
religious freedom and stay out of the internal affairs of religions. And
it should give equal treatment to all citizens to practice their beliefs.

All discriminative and restrictive regulations, rulings, decrees and
bylaws that go against the Constitution should be annulled. These
restrictive rulings or edicts have encouraged certain sides to use
violence on other religions' adherents and certain sects deemed deviant.

Authorities must stand neutral and take action against those abusing
religious freedom in order to uphold the government's sovereignty.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Human Rights First - Media Alert
www.humanrightsfirst.org

Contact:  Jillian Gladstone, (212) 845-5245 / GladstoneJ at humanrightsfirst.org

For immediate release, November 9, 2005
U.S. Congress Calls for Justice for Slain Indonesian Human Rights Hero
Human rights group says investigation and prosecution falls short

NEW YORK,  November 9 ­ A bipartisan group of 68 members of the U.S. House
of Representatives sent a letter to the Indonesian President last week
urging action on the case of a murdered human rights lawyer, Munir Said
Thalib.  Munir was fatally poisoned on a flight to Amsterdam on September
7, 2004.  After a Dutch autopsy revealed a massive dose of arsenic in his
system, President Yudhoyono appointed an official fact-finding team to
look into the death.

The team's report was completed in June 2005 but was never released. 
According to media reports, it implicated senior officials at both the
state airline and the State Intelligence Agency.  But when the trial of a
copilot charged with poisoning the activist began in August, the
prosecution failed to mention the report or its findings, sparking fears
that whoever ordered the killing would never be identified.

Almost 70 members of Congress joined in calling for justice for Munir
because this case is so important to the future of human rights in
Indonesia," said Neil Hicks, Director of International Programs at Human
Rights First.  "Munir's family and friends, and all Indonesians, deserve
to know the truth about who killed this courageous activist."

The bipartisan letter, which was co-sponsored by Representatives Mark Kirk
(R-IL) and Jim McDermott (D-WA), closes by noting "Munir devoted his life
to finding the truth, and in the end he gave his life for that cause. Now
his own death is the subject of an unprecedented fact-finding report. We
strongly urge your government to fulfill Indonesia's promise as an open
and democratic society by publicly releasing the report and acting on its
recommendations." (The full text of the letter can be found at:
http://www.humanrightsfirst.info/pdf/05118-hrd-indonesia-sby-ltr.pdf).

According to members of the fact-finding team, these recommendations
include the creation of a commission with a robust mandate and the full
backing of the president to continue the investigation into Munir's death.
 The team, which was headed by a police general and included leading human
rights figures and a top prosecutor, also reportedly recommended an audit
of the police investigation to determine why it has not been able to
identify Munir's killers.

Presidential Decree No. 111 of 2004, which established the fact-finding
team, states that "It is the government that will subsequently announce
the results of the team's investigation to the public."

Munir's case has increasingly become the subject of international concern.
 In June, his wife, Suciwati, was accompanied by Human Rights First in
meetings with State Department officials in Washington, D.C.  In
September, Human Rights First released a White Paper on the case,
available at:
http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/defenders/hrd_indonesia/letters/munir-white-paper-090605.pdf
-- Human Rights First is a leading human rights advocacy organization
based in New York City and Washington, DC.  Since 1978, we have worked in
the U.S. and abroad to create a secure and humane world ­advancing
justice, human dignity, and respect for the rule of law.  All of our
activities are supported by private contributions.  We accept no
government funds.  Visit our web site: www.humanrightsfirst.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
People’s Daily – China
Updated: 14:04, November 07, 2005
Indonesia blasts US over military ties

Indonesia has criticized some US lawmakers for stalling efforts to restore
full military relations between the two countries, calling the move a
groundless ploy, local media reported on Monday.

"I see there is no legal basis to accuse Indonesia of not doing anything
to meet all requirements for the restoration of military cooperation,"
Indonesian Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono was quoted by the Jakarta
Post as saying.

He made the comment on the restrictions that the US Senate and House of
Representatives put on foreign military finance and exports of lethal
military equipment to Indonesia.

The move came as US President George W. Bush seeks approval from the US
Congress for 20.9 billion US dollars foreign aid that included military
funding for several countries in the Middle East, East Europe and
Southeast Asia, including Indonesia.

The US lawmakers said that Indonesian had not done enough to bring to
justice perpetrators of an ambush in Timika, Papua province in 2002, which
killed two American teachers and an Indonesia citizen working for US
owned-mining giant PT Freeport Indonesia.

However, Juwono said that "at the initiative of Indonesian armed forces
(TNI) commander, we provide FBI access to the investigation and they
concluded later that the TNI was clean."

"As of today, the police with the assistance of the military continue to
hunt down the suspects," he said, adding that the Free Papua Movement
waged a low-level armed struggle for independence against the central
government.

The US lawmakers also required that the US State Department certify that
Indonesia was cooperating with the United States in the war on terror in
order to receive the aid disbursement.

In this respect, the minister assured that Indonesia was committed to the
crackdown on terrorist networks.
-- Source: Xinhua
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Terror suspect's death confirmed in Indonesia
Associated Press
November 11, 2005

Batu, Indonesia -- Indonesia's police chief confirmed that Azahari Husin,
one of Asia's most-wanted terrorist suspects, was killed Wednesday during
a battle with security forces. The country's president warned that several
other militants remained at large.

Gen. Sutanto, the national chief, said police killed Mr. Azahari as the
Malaysian explosives technician tried to detonate a suicide belt during a
raid on his hide-out.

Mr. Azahari had been staying in a safe house packed with more than 30
explosives, leading to speculation that he may have been planning more
deadly terror strikes in Indonesia, which has the biggest Muslim
population in the world.

The terrorist suspect was accused of making the vehicle and backpack bombs
used in the 2002 nightclub attacks on the resort island of Bali and three
other terror strikes since then. More than 240 people were killed in the
blasts, many of them foreign tourists.

His death was a blow to the al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah, which former
members have said is motivated by anger at U.S. foreign policy in the
Muslim world and a desire to establish an Islamic state across the region.

But security analysts say at least four other senior members of the group
are at large and remain capable of carrying out more bombings.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono noted that Mr. Azahari's right-hand
man, Noordin Mohamed Top, was among them.

"The president...has ordered Indonesia's police chief to search for the
other terrorists, especially Noordin," who is believed to raise money for
Jemaah Islamiyah and recruit its bombers, presidential spokesman Andi
Mallarangeng said.

Police had initially said Mr. Azahari blew himself up to avoid capture,
but Gen. Sutanto told reporters Thursday he was shot by members of an
elite antiterror unit seconds before he had the chance to detonate his
bomb.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Australian
Aceh moves on housing crisis
Sian Powell, Banda Aceh
November 08, 2005

After 10 months struggling to provide permanent housing for Aceh's massive
homeless population, the authorities in Indonesia's westernmost province
have finally turned to a temporary solution - a kit house first developed
in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam.

The Boxing Day tsunami that wrecked much of the coastline of Aceh left
more than half a million people homeless. Despite a huge outpouring of
aid, about 70,000 of the dispossessed still live in tents and squalid
shacks, and 100,000 in barracks that are often in an appalling state.

A further 250,000 are staying with friends or relatives. Only about 2000
permanent houses have been built since the aid effort began -- an
unacceptable total, according to experts.

A UN report noted that the "living conditions of the displaced population
have been steadily deteriorating over the last four months".

With the seasonal rains turning many camps into swamps, a health crisis of
disturbing proportions is imminent.

A temporary solution made its debut on the rocky ground of a Red Cross
warehouse in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh at the weekend.

The first "instant house" has a steel frame and steel roof, and joists to
keep the floor off the ground. Modified for Aceh, it can be built in less
than a day by amateurs. Weighing less than 1.5tonnes, it can be packed in
boxes and carried on foot to more remote locations.

No foundations are needed for the instant houses, as the six galvanised
steel legs screw into the ground.

"It's a 20m sq platform -- there's a small verandah," French architect
Corinne Treherne said as she helped put up one of the houses she designed.

"It's something for people to live in until they get a house. Basically,
you can put this up almost anywhere."

It is hoped the project, funded by the International Federation of Red
Cross and Red Crescent Societies and overseen by the UN, will rehouse all
the tent and shack-dwellers of Aceh by next March. The first big shipments
of house packs, which come with tools, will arrive in Aceh from elsewhere
in Indonesia and from Thailand within a fortnight.

The UN recovery co-ordinator for Aceh and the earthquake-struck island of
Nias, Eric Morris, said it was crucial to get people out of tents, and
almost equally important to provide alternative accommodation for the
Acehnese in the many "god-awful" barracks.

Hesitant to give absolute guarantees, because "so many promises have been
made with the very best of intentions", Mr Morris said he hoped an end to
tent living was in sight.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Indonesia deploys troops to sectarian-violence plagued Sulawesi
Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA)
06 Nov 2005

Jakarta (dpa) - Indonesia has deployed hundreds more military troops to
the sectarian-violence plagued province of Central Sulawesi, local media
reports said Monday.

The Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) sent another battalion of troops to the
town of Poso to prevent heightened tensions following a recent spate of
violence, including the beheading of three teenage schoolgirls, from
erupting into largescale communal clashes.

"We (the TNI) are intensifying our security efforts in Poso to prevent the
town from becoming the scene of further disturbances,'' TNI spokesman
Major General Kohirin Suganda was quoted by the state-run news agency,
Antara, as saying. "The locally recruited troops have been joined by about
1,000 reinforcement troops.''

The troops will reinforced at least 3,500 military and police personnel
that had already been deployed in Poso as of October, according to the
Jakarta Post.

The troops arrived in the town after a homemade bomb was found last week
in front of the home of a local community leader the day Moslems began
celebrating Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the fasting month of
Ramadan.

The bomb was discovered days after a group of six masked assailants,
wielding machetes and wearing black clothes, attacked a group of students
as they were on their way to a Christian high school, beheading three
teenage girls and seriously wounding another.

Two of the severed heads were found near a police post while the third was
discovered outside a Christian church in Poso, about 1,650 kilometres
northwest of Jakarta.

Poso and nearby regions in 2000 and 2001 were wracked by communal clashes
between Moslem and Christian communities, leaving more than 1,000 dead.
Religious-related violence eased after Moslem and Christian leaders signed
a peace accord in late 2001, but sporadic bombings and killings continue.

In late May, two powerful explosions ripped through an open market in the
Tentena subdistrict of Poso, killing at least 22 people and injuring more
than 70.

Indonesia is the world's most populous Moslem nation, but Central Sulawesi
has roughly equal numbers of Moslems and Christians.
-- dpa eu pw
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Paras Indonesia (formerly Laksamana.net)
President Given Deadline to Resolve Schoolgirl Beheadings
Posted by: Roy Tupai on 11, 01 2005 @ 11:22 pm

Opposition legislators have said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono must
reshuffle the leadership of state security forces if they fail to swiftly
resolve Saturday’s beheading murders of three Christian schoolgirls in the
religiously-divided town of Poso, Central Sulawesi province.

Deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, Sutardjo Surjoguritno, who
is a member of former president Megawati Sukarnoputri’s Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), on Tuesday (1/11/05) said local
government leaders in Central Sulawesi should also be replaced if they
cannot unmask the perpetrators.

On October 29, six machete-wielding men, wearing dark clothes and masks,
attacked a group of four schoolgirls at 6.30am at Bukit Bambu village. The
students, dressed in their Girl Scout uniforms, had been walking by a
cocoa plantation on their way to Central Sulawesi Christian Church High
School on the outskirts of Poso.

Three of the teenagers – Theresia Morangke (15), Alfita Poliwo (17) and
Yarni Sambue (15) – were beheaded. The fourth girl, Noviana Malewa (15),
was badly wounded and remains in hospital. All four of the girls were
relatives.

The three headless bodies were found on Jalan Romboyo, not far from the
scene of the crime. Two of the heads were found several kilometers away in
Lege subdistrict, about 100 meters from a local police station. The third
head was discovered further away, outside a recently built Christian
church in Kasiguncu village.

Yudhoyono and Vice President Jusuf Kalla have condemned the killings and
ordered police to hunt down the perpetrators. Religious leaders have
called for calm amid fears the attack could spark revenge killings.

Central Sulawesi was plagued by sectarian violence that left about 2,000
people dead between 2000-2001. The carnage subsided considerably after the
signing in December 2001 of a peace deal negotiated by Kalla (who at that
time was coordinating minister for people’s welfare) and Yudhoyono (who
was coordinating minister for political and security affairs).

Although Christian and Muslim residents strongly supported the peace deal,
dubbed the Malino Accord, intermittent killings and bombings have
continued in Poso over recent years, mostly targeting Christians. Some
analysts say the violence might have been masterminded by members of the
local political elite, using trained militias or even members of the
security forces, to incite further religious conflict in order to profit
from relief aid and to divert attention the vast corruption in Central
Sulawesi.

Other analysts have speculated the latest killings could have been carried
out by local Islamic extremists linked to regional terrorism network
Jemaah Islamiyah, which has been blamed for a series of deadly bombings in
Bali and Jakarta.

Deadline
Surjoguritno said Yudhoyono should give security forces and local
government officials a deadline of between 10 to 15 days to solve the
latest murders.

“If there is no deadline, there will be no resolution, so conflict will
continue to occur,” he was quoted as saying by detikcom online news
portal.

"The National Police, the Indonesian Defense Forces [TNI] and the local
government must be responsible," he said. “If the apparatus cannot meet a
determined deadline, then they must be reshuffled, because there have
already been repeated incidents of violence in Poso.”

He said the security forces in the province must intensify patrols, while
the public should also provide assistance to authorities.

Fellow House deputy speaker Zaenal Maarif, a member of the National
Mandate Party (PAN), said the attack had been planned well in advance, so
police and intelligence agencies should strengthen their efforts to
anticipate further acts of violence.

"We will give the police an opportunity to resolve this. The public should
not be provoked,” he said.

Little Progress or Perpetrators Identified?
After coming under fire for their failure to keep the peace in Poso,
police have made conflicting statements on the progress of their
investigation into the latest attack.

Poso police chief Muhammad Soleh Hidayat on Tuesday said officers and
forensic experts had combed the scene of the killings but found few clues.
"We haven't found any meaningful leads so far because we have had
difficulty finding witnesses," he was quoted as saying by Agence
France-Presse.

He said the only witness was Noviana, who was not well enough to be
questioned. She remains under close guard at a police hospital in the
provincial Palu, where she is recovering from her wounds. "She's badly
injured. Our first priority is to save her life. It would be inhuman to
insist on questioning her," said Hidayat.

But Central Sulawesi Police spokesman Rais Adam was on Tuesday quoted by
Tempo Interactive as saying police had identified the perpetrators after
questioning six witnesses.

“Based on the testimonies of the witnesses, the perpetrators have been
identified
 For now, we cannot reveal the name[s] of the witnesses and the
identity of the perpetrators because this involves the safety of the
witnesses. They have also been targets in Poso,” he said.

He said the perpetrators were suspected to be “well organized” and still
in Poso.

Poso Police Detective chief Captain Idham Mahdi on Tuesday told the
Associated Press it was too early to say who was behind the killings. He
said sniffer dogs had led police to hills overlooking a cocoa plantation
where the teenagers were murdered.

"We believe the perpetrators may have been watching the girls from the
hill before they attacked them," he said, adding that officers had found a
backpack (containing only a keychain) that allegedly belonged to the
attackers.

National Police deputy spokesman Aryanto Budiharjo said there were no key
suspects yet. He said only six people, including Noviana, had been
questioned so far. He said the attackers were well organized but declined
to say whether they had military-style training.

He was quoted by AP as blaming the attack on “terrorists” seeking to
destabilize the province “just as relations between Muslim and Christian
communities were improving”.

Budiharjo said the perpetrators were bold “because the incident took place
in the morning when the community was busy".

National Police Detective chief Makbul Padmanegara said the killers must
have come from outside Poso.

About 1,500 soldiers and police have been deployed on at Poso’s markets,
mosques, churches and schools in an effort to prevent further violence on
the eve of the post-Ramadhan holiday period of Idul Fitri.

National Police spokesman Sunarko Artanto said police had prepared a
four-point intelligence plan to prevent further unrest in Poso, focusing
on: detection; prevention; deployment of officers; and law enforcement.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
National News
November 09, 2005
Two Poso students shot by unidentified men

Two senior high school students in Poso were shot by unidentified men at
around 7 p.m. on Tuesday, more than a week after the conflict-prone town
was shocked by the beheadings of three Christian schoolgirls.

The condition of the two 17-year-old students, Ivon and Nuraini, who have
been admitted to Poso Kota General Hospital, has been described as
critical. The incident, the latest apparently aimed at reigniting conflict
in Poso, Central Sulawesi, came amid rumors that local security
authorities had arrested five men believed to be the perpetrators of the
Oct. 29 beheadings.
-- JP
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Radio Singapore International
The Poso killings
November 5, 2005

Three girls in the town of Poso, Central Sulawesi, were on their way to
school.

They never made it.

Six masked assailants wielding machetes attacked and beheaded them.

The three headless bodies of the high school students, dressed in brown
uniforms, were left at the site of the attack and their heads were found
at separate locations two hours later.

Many came out to condemn the violence, including President Susilo and
religious leaders from both the Muslim and Christian communities.

This week in Indonesian Media Watch, we review the steps taken to secure
Poso after this tragedy.

The beheading of the three school girls last weekend has raised concerns
that violence between Christians and Muslims in the region may ignite.

Poso lies 1,500 kilometres northeast of Jakarta in an area where clashes
between Christians and Muslims have claimed 2,000 lives.

Although a peace deal was agreed in 2001, tensions remain high, especially
after the bombings in the neighboring Christian town of Tentena which
killed 22 people in May.

Central Sulawesi Police Chief, Senior Commander Oegroseno, believes the
beheadings were intended to incite chaos in the region.

He tells The Jakarta Post.
“This is not a pure crime. This is an extraordinary incident perpetrated
by a group who want to bring chaos to Poso.”

Meanwhile, National Police Chief, General Sutanto, appealed for calm and
requested for Poso residents to let the police handle the matter.

General Sutanto added that the military has been asked to help the police
maintain security in the area through a joint operation.

He explained to The Jakarta Post.
“Right now, Poso is under civilian control, but the police and the
military will secure the area.
The police will try to find the people behind these criminal acts and will
demand they be brought to account in the name of the law.”

However, the police are having a tough time finding the criminals as often
people refuse to divulge important information to the police.

Residents and community leaders are hoping that the police will be more
effective in their investigations.

General Sutanto had met with local religious leaders in a meeting to
address the incident.

Ruslan Sangadji of The Jakarta Post described the proceedings.
“The leaders questioned the police’s inability to arrest the culprits
behind a string of attacks in Poso over the years.
The masterminds behind the market bombing in the Tentena area of Poso last
May are still on the run.

However, the police cannot work alone and require information from
residents to bring in the guilty”

The police have beefed up security patrols in Poso with 1,000 officers
standing by in the regency.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Indonesian Communion of Churches, or PGI,
Rev. Andreas Yewangoe, has requested President Yudhoyono to bring the
culprits to justice and discover the real motive behind the heinous crime.

He spoke to The Jakarta Post on the attack.
“Why did the killings take place as both the Muslim and Christian
communities were successfully improving their hostile relationship?

I remember it was during a meeting on the 23rd of August last year that I
reminded Pak Susilo that weak law enforcement was the key problem to
dealing with escalating tension among religious adherents in this country.

We asked him to address the issue accordingly after he won the election.

Like other religious leaders, I think we’ve done enough by coming down to
the field to calm people. But now that violence has continued to occur,
there is no other way to stop it but to impose stiff legal sanctions
against the perpetrators. ”

PGI officials will visit Poso in a bid to calm down Christians and prevent
them from taking revenge.

He expects other religious leaders will follow suit.

Muslim leaders have come out to condemn the incident as well.

Muhammadiyah chairman Din Syamsuddin, called the assailants “atheists” and
voiced his concerns to The Jakarta Post.
“We strongly condemn the incident and believe me, this has nothing to do
with ties between Muslims and Christians.”

Noted Muslim leader Abdurrahman Wahid or “Gus Dur” also denounced the
violence.

He noted to The Jakarta Post.
“The murders were perpetrated by heartless people. No religion teaches us
to kill our brothers and sisters.”

As the Christian and Muslim communities in Poso and in the rest of the
archipelago reflect on the killing of these three school girls, perhaps
renewed efforts to maintain peace will be exercised.

With that, we’ll end this week’s edition of Indonesian Media Watch.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
National News
November 07, 2005
TNI deploys one more battalion to Poso
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

One battalion of troops is being sent to help the police maintain law and
order in the Central Sulawesi town of Poso following a series of incidents
that it is feared could reignite sectarian conflict in the area.

The reinforcement troops arrived in Poso shortly after a homemade bomb was
found in front of the home of a local community figure on Thursday as
Muslims celebrated the first day of the Idul Fitri holiday.

Military (TNI) spokesman Maj. Gen. Kohirin Suganda said the battalion was
attached to the Makassar-based Wirabuana Military Command, which is
responsible for military affairs in Sulawesi. Another battalion has been
stationed in Poso ever since the government launched an operation
code-named Sintuwu Marosos to restore law and order code in the area in
2002.

"We (the TNI) are intensifying our security efforts in Poso to prevent the
town from becoming the scene of further disturbances. The locally
recruited troops from the Wirabuana Military Command have been joined by
about one thousand reinforcement troops," Kohirin told Antara on Saturday.

He dismissed reports that TNI headquarters would deploy more troops from
outside Sulawesi, saying the number of troops in the areas was now enough.

According to official figures, as of October there were at least 3,500
military and police personnel deployed in Poso, which intelligence
authorities have identified as a "terrorist hotbed".

Over 1,000 people were killed in a bloody sectarian conflict between
Muslims and Christians in Poso between 2000 and 2001. Peace, which was
officially declared in December 2001, has been put to the test again
following the beheading of three Christian high school girls on Oct. 29.
No one has been arrested or named a suspect in connection with the triple
murder.

Tension increased on Thursday after a low explosive bomb was discovered in
front of the house of Gustaf Tajongga, the head of Lambogia subdistrict.
The police bomb squad safely defused the bomb.

Sporadic attacks have been occurring since a formal peace agreement was
inked in late 2001.

Religious leaders and politicians have blamed poor law enforcement for the
endless cycle of violence in the area.

People in Poso were not showing fear, however, despite the latest incidents.

In Bega and Tagolu subdistricts, Christians visited their Muslim neighbors
to greet them for the Idul Fitri holiday.

"There is nothing to worry about in Poso. People are going about their
work and social activities without fear, even at night," Deputy Regent
Abdul Muthalib Rimi said.

He expressed regret that the media had portrayed the security situation in
the area as being volatile.

"The assessment of outsiders is not objective and has created new problems
for the people and government of Poso," Rimi said.

Despite the series of violent incidents over the past six months,
government and social activities had not been disrupted, he added.

"The incidents were sporadic. Although they may hurt us, they cannot rent
us asunder thanks to the leading roles played by local government
officials and figures who have actively calmed the people down," said
Rimi.

The people of Poso had never overreacted to the incidents, but had
consistently encouraged the subjecting of the perpetrators to the full
rigors of the law.
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