JP\/4\/poso<\/p>\n
Guns used in Poso attacks came from RP: Police chief<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
Firearms used in a series of attacks last month that killed 10
\npeople, mostly Christian villagers, in the Central Sulawesi
\nregency of Poso came from the southern Philippines, National
\nPolice chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said on Sunday.<\/p>\n
"Our investigation in the field shows that the weapons used by
\nthe assailants were imported from the southern Philippines," he
\nwas quoted by Antara as saying in Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi.<\/p>\n
However, he did not say how the guns reached Indonesia. The
\nsouthern Philippines is home to Muslim separatist rebels fighting
\nfor independence. It is a short journey by boat from Sulawesi
\nisland.<\/p>\n
Da'i made the statement after visiting Poso along with
\nCoordinating Minister for People's Welfare Jusuf Kalla and
\nMinister of Social Affairs Bachtiar Chamsyah on Saturday to hold
\ntalks with local religious and community leaders over the renewed
\nviolence.<\/p>\n
While in Poso, Da'i said the perpetrators of the recent
\nattacks might have links to the bombers of the JW Marriott Hotel
\nin Jakarta.<\/p>\n
But he stopped short of saying they were connected to Jamaah
\nIslamiyah (JI), although he said several suspects in the hotel
\nbombing had admitted they knew the Poso gunmen.<\/p>\n
Kalla, who brokered the 2001 peace pact to end the two-year
\nsectarian fighting in Poso that claimed some 1,000 lives, said
\nearlier he suspected that the renewed attacks on Christians in
\nthe regency were the handy work of JI.<\/p>\n
JI is believed to have masterminded the Oct. 12, 2002 bombings
\nin Bali, which killed 202 people, and the Aug. 5, 2003 hotel
\nblast that left 12 dead.<\/p>\n
Saturday's dialog was aimed at encouraging residents in Poso
\nto give any information that could help authorities uncover the
\ngroup's network, find its training camps and catch five more
\nsuspects still at large.<\/p>\n
Police released on Friday the sketches of the five currently
\nbeing hunted. They were identified as two locals -- Basri and
\nRamlan -- and three men from Java -- Musa, Musap and Ilham.<\/p>\n
In an intensive hunt for the Poso attackers, a joint military
\nand police team captured 16 suspects and killed six others in
\nshootouts in jungles.<\/p>\n
One of the detainees and one of the dead suspects hailed from
\nLamongan, East Java, the hometown of convicted Bali bombers
\nAmrozi, Ali Imron and Ali Ghufron alias Mukhlas, police have
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The suspects were blamed for the Oct. 12 predawn raids on
\nmainly Christian villages in Poso, which killed 10 people. Two
\ndays earlier, three others were killed in an attack by similar
\ngunmen in the neighboring regency of Morowali.<\/p>\n
They will be charged under Law No. 15\/2003 on terrorism,
\npolice said.<\/p>\n
The killings raised fears of a return to Muslim-Christian
\nfighting in the religiously divided town of Poso.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Minister Kalla urged the conflicting parties in
\nPoso to bury the hatchet following the 2001 peace accord.<\/p>\n
Local people should also reject outsiders entering their areas
\nwithout clear identities or objectives, he was quoted by Antara
\nas saying on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Those responsible for public disorder in Poso should be
\nconsidered their common enemy and be resisted jointly, he added.<\/p>\n
The minister said the signatories of the peace deal would be
\ninvited to a special meeting after the Idul Fitri holiday to
\ndiscuss the latest security developments in Poso and Morowali.<\/p>\n
Other community and youth figures, as well as tribal leaders
\nfrom the two districts will also attend the meeting, he added.<\/p>\n
Besides security issues, the meeting will also discuss
\nemployment opportunities for the increasing number of job seekers
\nin the areas, Kalla said.<\/p>\n
The lack of employment opportunities was partly to blame for
\nthe increasing intensity of conflict in Poso, he added.<\/p>\n
Also speaking in the Central Sulawesi of Palu on Saturday,
\nMinister Bachtiar Chamsyah made available Rp 30 million in
\nhumanitarian aid for victims of the recent attacks.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jp4poso-1447899208",
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