[Kabar-indonesia] Photos of suspects in Poso violence disseminated

[Joyo at aol.com]

Note: the news service is still in restart-up mode, ironing
out a few minor kinks. We'll be fully operational next week.

The Jakarta Post
November 3, 2006

Photos of suspects in Poso violence disseminated

Ruslan Sangadji, The Jakarta Post, Palu

The Central Sulawesi Police on Thursday distributed eight
photos of Muslim militants believed to have been involved in
a series of violent attacks on Christians in the conflict-
hit town of Poso.

The eight are among 29 suspects being hunted down by police,
who are believed to be hiding somewhere in the province.

Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Muhammad Kilat said Thursday
of the 29 people, 26 belonged to the Tanah Runtuh Muslim
militant group based in Gebang Rejo village and the rest
were from the Kayamanya group in Kayamanya village in Poso.

"We urge those already identified by the police as suspects
to surrender. We also ask for the help of the community and
religious figures in Poso and Palu to help the police (in
tracking down the men). These are the people who have
terrorized the Poso and Palu communities," Kilat said.

However, Muslim leader Ustadz Jamaluddin Hadi said police
were announcing the names of the suspects to divert
attention from their involvement in a raid on an Amanah
Muslim boarding school at Gebang Rejo on Oct. 22, where one
Muslim man was shot dead. In 2002, Jamaluddin signed the
Malino peace declaration to end the region's 1999-2002
sectarian conflict.

"The people whose names were announced are already being
legally processed so why are their names being mentioned
again?" Jamaluddin said.

Kilat said six of 26 officers involved in the raid had been
questioned over the incident and that number would likely
rise.

"We are waiting for the (preliminary) results of the
interrogations."

He said the police would also question several Gebang Rejo
residents after police reconstructed the incident.

A reconstruction was necessary because of "suspicious"
events surrounding the incident, Kilat said.

Meanwhile, a team set up to probe the violence after a
dialog between Vice President Jusuf Kalla and Muslim
representatives in Palu on Sunday held a series of meetings
in Palu Thursday.

The first was held with Central Sulawesi Governor Banjela
Paliuju and other high-ranking provincial officials,
followed by a meeting with Central Sulawesi Police chief
Brig. Gen. Badrodin Haiti at the city's Golden Hotel.
At the meeting, Haiti said violent incidents could be
prevented if residents did not attack police.

During the recent police raid in Gebang Rejo, officers were
surrounded by angry villagers and had to fire warning shots
into the air to dispurse the crowd, he said. They later had
to call for reinforcements from the Poso Police precinct.

"The officers were cornered after the residents hit
electricity poles in a signal to hundreds of local people to
attack them," Haiti said.

However, Haiti's version of events was disputed by a member
of the team, Harun Nyak Itam Abu, who said the police shot
first and asked questions later after a tense standoff
between officers and residents at the school.

------------------------------------------
Joyo Indonesia News Service
------------------------------------------