State of emergency in Poso on hold: Police<\/p>\n
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
National Police Chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar says security condition
\nin Poso, Central Sulawesi, has been improving and therefore there
\nis no urgent need to impose a state of emergency in the conflict-
\nstricken area.<\/p>\n
But he also said that more troops and police personnel would
\nbe deployed to Poso and its surrounding areas to put an end to
\nreligious clashes that have beleaguered the regency since 1999.<\/p>\n
\"In the past two or three days, Poso has been calm, and so we
\nwill not declare a state of emergency there yet,\" Da'i told
\njournalists after a Friday prayer with Vice President Hamzah Haz
\nat the National Police headquarters in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Fresh sectarian clashes gripped Poso regency in the past few
\nweeks following the arrival of Laskar Jihad members in the area,
\nprompting legislators and experts to call for the imposition of
\nstate of emergency in the area. Dozens of people have been killed
\nfrom both sides.<\/p>\n
Earlier this week, the government deployed two battalions of
\ntroops and 10 companies of police. President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri also sent Coordinating Minister for Political,
\nSocial and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Home
\nAffairs Minister Hari Sabarno to assess the security condition in
\nPoso for possible imposition of state of emergency.<\/p>\n
\"We will continue deploying troops proportionally across Poso
\nand cooperating with local administrations to maintain peace in
\nthe area,\" Da'i said.<\/p>\n
Vice President Hamzah Haz said that he expected the Poso
\nproblems would be settled next year and the government would
\npursue efforts to bring peace in the area.<\/p>\n
\"We will take immediate steps to end the conflict in Poso and
\nas soon as the security is improving we will lower the level of
\nalertness. The government will not let the situation get worse in
\nPoso,\" Hamzah said.<\/p>\n
He further reminded that the people of Poso should express
\nwillingness to end the conflict, saying government's efforts
\nwould not solve the problem if the people continue to fight each
\nother.<\/p>\n
\"We will continue to help the refugees in the area, however,
\nwithout the people's support, all government's efforts would be
\nuseless,\" Hamzah added.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Agence-France Presse reported on Friday that some
\n1,000 members of a religious paramilitary group have approached
\nTentena town and plan to attack it.<\/p>\n
Quoting a Church source, AFP reported that members of Laskar
\nJihad (Jihad Force) were seen entering a forest in Tojo district,
\n70 kilometers east of Tentena, late Thursday.<\/p>\n
\"Our scouts reported by phone that some 1,000 men from Laskar
\nJihad are heading towards Tentena through a forest in Tojo,\" Yos
\nAdjalim from the Christian church's Crisis Center told AFP by
\ntelephone.<\/p>\n
\"We have reported our findings to the security authorities
\nhere and they said they are tracking down the Laskar Jihad,\"
\nAdjalim said.<\/p>\n
A Catholic priest in Tentena, Father Jimmy Tumbelaka, said the
\nLaskar Jihad members had moved out of the town of Poso, about 40
\nkilometers north of Tentena, after troops arrived there to
\nrestore order.<\/p>\n
\"They are now in the Tojo area because it is a more secluded
\narea which makes it easier for them to attack Tentena undetected
\nby the troops,\" he said.<\/p>\n
A duty police officer in Tentena, who refused to be named,
\nsaid they had received no reports of Laskar Jihad activity in the
\narea, adding that police and troops from Jakarta had arrived in
\nthe town.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/state-of-emergency-in-poso-on-hold-police-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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