Govt criticized for Poso security failures<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta\/Palu<\/p>\n
With the police still in the dark over the identities of the
\nkillers of three Christian schoolgirls in Poso, Central Sulawesi,
\non Saturday, the security authorities came in for harsh criticism
\non Monday for failing to secure the small town of about 6,000
\nresidents.<\/p>\n
Critics questioned the authorities' failure to stop a series
\nof attacks in Poso despite the deployment of more than 3,500
\npolice and soldiers as part of a security operation in the area.<\/p>\n
The Sintuwu Maroso security operation has been extended seven
\ntimes since 2002 as sporadic violence has continued in Poso
\ndespite the signing of a peace deal a year earlier by local
\nMuslim and Christian leaders.<\/p>\n
\"It is ironic. Poso is smaller than a subdistrict in Jakarta,
\nbut the huge number of police and military personnel have been
\nunable to capture any of the attackers,\" said Rendy Lamadjido, a
\nmember of the House of Representatives' special committee on
\nPoso.<\/p>\n
\"That shows the security forces are not serious about dealing
\nwith Poso,\" added the legislator from the Indonesian Democratic
\nParty of Struggle (PDI-P).<\/p>\n
Similar criticism was voiced by House Speaker Agung Laksono,
\nwho blamed the police and intelligence agencies for a series of
\nattacks in Poso, including Saturday's beheadings of the three
\nschoolgirls.<\/p>\n
This latest tragedy raises serious questions about how the
\nsecurity authorities are carrying out their duties, he said.<\/p>\n
\"We have heard about the poor performance of our security
\nforces, and this latest incident in Poso, which took place during
\nRamadhan, has provided further proof,\" Agung said.<\/p>\n
Otto Syamsuddin Ishak of rights watchdog Imparsial accused the
\nsecurity authorities, including intelligence agents, of
\nneglecting the persistent violence in Poso.<\/p>\n
The government must launch counterintelligence operations to
\nprevent further attacks there, he said.<\/p>\n
\"And a close examination of intelligence officers is required
\nto determine whether or not they have carried out their duties
\nproperly.\"<\/p>\n
National Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of
\nViolence (Kontras) coordinator Usman Hamid called for an
\ninvestigation into the circulation of explosives and weapons in
\nPoso since the deployment of police and soldiers to the area in
\n2002.<\/p>\n
According to data from Imparsial and Kontras, there were at
\nleast 19 shooting incidents in Poso in 2002. There were 10
\nincidents in 2003, seven in 2004 and four so far this year.<\/p>\n
The rights groups also recorded at least 11 murders in Poso
\nbetween 2002 and 2005, and 33 bombings in the town over the same
\nperiod.<\/p>\n
In the majority of these incidents no suspects have ever been
\narrested.<\/p>\n
Rendy said his House special committee had recommended that
\nthe government take stern action against state officials
\nimplicated in the continued violence in Poso.<\/p>\n
The committee also asked the government to do more to prevent
\nviolence, and to outline mechanisms to boost coordination between
\nthe police and military in Poso.<\/p>\n
However, these recommendations have been ignored, Rendy said.<\/p>\n
Two days after the murders of the three schoolgirls, police
\nsaid they had questioned at least six witnesses but still had no
\nleads on the murderers.<\/p>\n
The six witnesses included a survivor of the attack, Noviana
\nMalewa, and a local woman and her 10-year-old child who were near
\nthe scene of the murders.<\/p>\n
National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Aryanto Boediharjo called
\nthe beheadings a \"well-planned crime\", but could not say if the
\nattackers had \"military-style training\".<\/p>\n
National Police chief of detectives Comr. Gen. Makbul
\nPadmanegara said the killers must have come from outside Poso.<\/p>",
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