[Kabar-indonesia] Pasarwajo (Sulawesi) tense after protesters' shooting

[Joyo at aol.com]

also: Bomb damages church in Poso; and Teenager killed in blast in South 
Sulawesi

The Jakarta Post 
Monday, July 3, 2006
    
Pasarwajo tense after protesters' shooting

Hasrul, The Jakarta Post, Kendari

The mood in Pasarwajo city, the capital of Buton Regency in Southeast 
Sulawesi, was tense Sunday following the shooting of people protesting against the 
regental election plan.

Police officers and soldiers were stationed at strategic posts throughout the 
city.

Besides guarding the Buton regency's residence, large numbers of officers 
kept watch at major government buildings, including the city hall.

Officers were seen stopping motorists heading to the downtown area to check 
them for weapons, while local residents gathered in groups in a number of spots.

Meanwhile, four shooting victims were said to be recovering. One of them, 
17-year-old Joni, was released from the hospital after being treated for his 
wounds on his face.

"We've allowed the patient to go home as he has recovered from his injuries," 
Pasarwajo General Hospital employee Munir said Saturday.

The four were among 12 protesters wounded during the demonstration on 
Wednesday after they damaged the office of the local General Election Commission 
(KPUD) and demanded the postponement of the regental election slated to be held 
July 23.

The protest was sparked by the decision to drop five of the 10 pairs of 
candidates taking part in the election for failure to meet all the requirements.

Joni claimed he was shot by the authorities while having dinner with other 
protesters.

Meanwhile, Southeast Sulawesi police chief Brig. Gen. Edhi Susilo reiterated 
that he would not tolerate any anarchic actions.

He said Buton police officers had acted appropriately.

"All the shooting actions by my subordinates were in line with existing 
procedures, as the protesters had shown anarchic tendencies by damaging the local 
KPUD office," Edhi said.

He added that he was ready to deploy a larger number of officers during the 
regental election. "Let's uphold our democracy properly. We will take stern 
actions against those intending to disrupt the election," he said.

Laode Hamzah Amiri, head of Buton KPUD, said the regental election would be 
conducted according to plan. "We've met all the goals set in the schedule," he 
said, urging everyone, especially supporters of the dropped candidates, to act 
wisely. 

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The Jakarta Post 
Monday, July 3, 2006

Bomb damages church in Poso

Ruslan Sangadji, The Jakarta Post, Poso

A bomb believed to be homemade exploded Saturday night at a church in the 
Central Sulawesi regency of Poso, but no casualties were reported.

The explosion the Eklesia Church on Jl. Pulau Seram at Gebang Rejo village 
was heard about three kilometers away, but caused no major physical damage to 
the building. The church was still under renovation after being burned during 
religious violence that hit the regency several years ago.

Local people who had been waiting for the start of the World Cup soccer match 
between England and Portugal flocked to the scene of the explosion.

Security officers immediately went to the site to erect police lines and 
begin the investigation. The growing crowd dispersed after being asked to leave.

Insp. Gen. Paulus Purwoko, chief of the Central Sulawesi Security Operation 
Command (Koopskam), said on Sunday that preliminary investigation results 
suggested a homemade bomb had been used.

"It was caused by an explosive which had no metal casing. It caused a loud 
explosion but would not hurt anybody due to the absence of metal particles," he 
said.

Police will continue investigating by collecting debris from the blast, he 
added.

Security forces in the city have been on high alert since 2005 following a 
spate of attacks targeting Christians. The renewed violence has included 
bombings at marketplaces and the beheadings of three schoolgirls.

Although the vast majority of Indonesia's 220 million residents are Muslim, a 
large percentage of central Sulawesi's population is Christian.

There were fierce battles between members of the two faiths in 2001 and 2002 
that killed about 1,000 people. Poso was the center of the violence.

Darwis Waru, head of the Poso Conflict Resolution center, said it had become 
a kind of habit that whenever security officers were withdrawn from an area, 
bomb blasts, shootings, murders and kidnappings followed.

"We predicted there would be a new incident because Koopskam is ending its 
duties. So we're not shocked. It's become normal for us in Poso," Darwis said.

One day earlier a construction worker found 26 active bullets in the ceiling 
of a motorcycle dealership in Poso. 

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The Jakarta Post 
Monday, July 3, 2006

Teenager killed in blast in South Sulawesi

A homemade bomb exploded Sunday morning in a rice field in Jeneponto, South 
Sulawesi, killing a 14-year-old boy. He is believed to have accidentally 
detonated the explosive in Bontojanang hamlet, Batang district in Jeneponto, about 
120 kilometers from South Sulawesi's capital of Makassar, South Sulawesi Police 
chief Insp. Gen. Arianto Budiharjo said.

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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