[Kabar-indonesia] JP update: Poso Security Tight After Violence Flares

[JoyoNews at aol.com]

The Jakarta Post 
Monday, October 2, 2006

Security tight after violence flares in Poso 

Ruslan Sangadji, The Jakarta Post, Poso, Central Sulawesi

Paramilitary police are being deployed here after a series of attacks and 
bombings during the weekend amid rising religious tensions following the 
executions of three Christian militants.

About 20 men wearing black masks blocked a road in Poso town, witnesses told 
The Associated Press. 

They stopped a bus and forced five passengers to get out, intimidating them 
and stabbing one before police arrived. 

The victim was hospitalized with wounds to his back, said Yeni, a nurse. She 
described his condition as "serious". 

Communal tensions have risen on Sulawesi since the executions last week of 
three Catholic men convicted of leading a militia that carried out attacks in 
2000, including an assault on an Islamic school that left at least 70 dead. 

Early Sunday morning two bombs exploded near a church and local government 
offices in Poso's Kawua subdistrict. No one was hurt. When police later arrived, 
a group of angry Christian villagers attacked them, accusing them of failing 
to secure the area. 

Cornered, police retreated to the Muslim-majority Sayo subdistrict. 

A few hours before midnight Saturday, a police vehicle was attacked when a 
group of men threw a small bomb at a bomb-squad van, AFP reported. 

It was the fourth to rock the town in a day, police said. 

Previously, three other small bombs went off on Saturday night, part of what 
police say is an attempt to stir up unrest after the execution of Fabianus 
Tibo, Dominggus Da Silva and Marinus Riwu. 

The three were shot dead by firing squad on Sept. 22. 

Human rights activists believe the executions were hasty and politically 
motivated. No Muslims involved in the convict were sentenced to death and all 
received jail terms of less than 15 years. 

On Friday, more than 100 Christian youths, angered by the Sept. 22 
executions, torched a police station and hurled rocks at a helicopter carrying a police 
chief, state news agency Antara said. 

Poso Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Rudy Sufahyadi said the situation in Poso 
was now under control after the deployment of another 300 officers from the East 
Kalimantan Police. 

Residents have also returned home to the Kawua and Sayo subdistricts in the 
city although the situation there remains tense. 

National Police chief Gen. Sutanto called on people Sunday not to be easily 
provoked into a larger-scale conflict. 

In Taripa village, the situation was calm after the riot at the Pamona Timur 
Police headquarters there two weeks ago. 

The compound remains guarded by members of the Central Sulawesi Police Mobile 
Brigade, while remnants of burned vehicles resulting from the riot have not 
been removed. 

The Trans Sulawesi highway that links four main provinces on the island has 
also been reopened. 

Thousands of people earlier ran amok at the headquarters after the 
executions, ransacking the building and setting fire to police vehicles. 

Several policemen from the precinct were reported to have fled into the 
mountains. 

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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