Attacks leave Palu gripped by insecurity<\/p>\n
Ruslan Sangadji, The Jakarta Post, Palu<\/p>\n
\"I don't dare go home too late at night now. I used to return
\nafter 12 midnight, but now I'm already home by 7 p.m. I'm really
\nworried about the terror in Palu these days,\" Palu resident Jemmy
\nSundah told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Jemmy is one of the hundreds of Palu residents who feels
\nthreatened by the recent spate of terror and violent attacks in
\nPalu. Palu city, usually bustling with traffic at night, is very
\nquiet now. Residents prefer to stay indoors rather than go out on
\nthe streets.<\/p>\n
Terror and violent acts have not occurred in Poso alone, but
\nalso in Central Sulawesi's capital of Palu.<\/p>\n
Perpetrators usually commit the attacks while riding on
\nmotorcycles without using their headlights, pulling up alongside
\ntheir victims before carrying out violent acts such as hacking
\nand shooting. Two girls, Yanti and Evi, who were riding pillion
\non a motorcycle driven by Anca, were hacked by unidentified
\npersons on motorcycles on Jl. Tanjung Tururuka, Palu, last week.
\nYanti, 22, died at the scene, while Evi, who was seriously
\ninjured, was rushed to hospital. Anca escaped injury as he was
\nable to evade the attackers.<\/p>\n
Police have yet to arrest the perpetrators. They have only
\nquestioned a few suspects, including a member of the police water
\nand air unit, whose motorbike was found covered with blood.<\/p>\n
The following day, Pudji Laksono, a lecturer at the
\nagricultural school of Palu's Tadulako University, and his wife,
\nNovlin Palinggi, a lecturer at the engineering school of the same
\nuniversity, were shot by unidentified persons. They are still
\nbeing treated at the Undata Hospital in Palu. Again, police have
\nyet to arrest the perpetrators.<\/p>\n
Some observers are of the opinion that the latest violence in
\nPalu was aimed at shifting the conflict from Poso. \"The
\nterrorists' movements in Poso have been limited. I think they
\nhave intentionally instilled the situation in Palu to divide the
\nauthorities' attention,\" said director of the Central Sulawesi
\noffice of the Center for the Development of Law and Human Rights
\nStudies (LPS-HAM), Syamsul Agus.<\/p>\n
A sociologist from Tadulako University, Tahmidy Lasahido,
\ncommented that the terror in Palu was nothing other than an
\neffort to create a sense of insecurity among the people. However,
\nhe said terror acts being committed by the unknown group were
\nmore dangerous because they did not select their victims prior to
\na crime, but rather chose them at random.<\/p>\n
Police have yet to determine the motive behind the conflict in
\nPoso, but it is obvious that the culprits in Palu want to create
\na feeling of insecurity among the people.<\/p>\n
\"The terror motive in Palu is apparent. They want people to
\nfeel insecure,\" said Brig. Gen. Oegroseno, the police chief in
\nCentral Sulawesi province.<\/p>\n
Oegroseno said that police were still investigating the motive
\nbehind the terror in Poso, and that they were still interrogating
\nseveral suspects now being held at Central Sulawesi Police
\nheadquarters.<\/p>\n
Police have detained four suspects so far. The first suspect
\nin the slayings of the three female students from a Christian
\nsenior high school, who were all found beheaded, has been
\nidentified as Irfan Masiro, 23. Police have yet to disclose the
\nmotive behind the slayings few weeks ago, but the suspect
\nadmitted to his family that he was paid to carry out the crime.<\/p>",
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