Thousands take refuge in Poso<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Some 2,000 people have taken refuge in safer areas in Poso town
\nfollowing a spate of recent attacks in Poso regency, a senior
\nlocal official said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\"We are gathering data on the number of new refugees in Poso.
\nBut a preliminary estimate shows that there are about 2,000
\npeople,\" the chief of the Central Sulawesi social welfare office,
\nAndi Azikin Suyuti, was quoted by Antara as saying in Palu,
\ncapital of Central Sulawesi province on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Based on independent reports, more than 1,600 people have
\ntaken refuge in the town after their houses were set ablaze or
\nfirebombed by unidentified gunmen over the last few months.<\/p>\n
\"Most of them are currently seeking shelter in Tentena and
\nPoso town,\" Azikin said, adding that some of the new refugees had
\njoined others who have been languishing in camps since they fled
\nthe ruins of their homes during the long-running sectarian
\nconflict.<\/p>\n
He also said some of them were those who had just returned
\nhome, but were forced to come back to the refugee camps due to
\nthe absence of shelter and security in their villages.<\/p>\n
More than 24,600 families, or 110,000 people, were forced out
\nof their home villages following two years of sectarian conflict
\nbetween Muslims and Christians between 1998 and 2000 that claimed
\nmore than 2,000 human lives.<\/p>\n
As of July 31, 2002, at least 9,902 families, comprising
\n43,308 refugees, or 39.29 percent of the total number, had
\nreturned home.<\/p>\n
Azikin said the renewed attacks had also left at least 17
\npeople dead, dozens injured and two missing, as well as 614
\nhouses burned to the ground over the past three months.<\/p>\n
The burned houses included 160 temporary houses built for
\nrefugees from Matako village in Tojo subdistrict and Sepe village
\nin Lage subdistrict, he added.<\/p>\n
Matako and Sepe, along with Batu Gencu village, all home to
\nChristians, were among the targets for the recent grisly attacks
\nby groups of unidentified armed men.<\/p>\n
Azikin said the local government would continue to try to
\nprovide emergency assistance for all those affected by the recent
\nviolence.<\/p>\n
But, social welfare officials were still unable to reach a
\nnumber of villages as it was still too dangerous, he said.<\/p>\n
\"We will cooperate with local security forces to escort social
\nworkers who will distribute food aid in the violence-prone
\nareas,\" Azikin added.<\/p>\n
He said the provincial administration, assisted by the central
\ngovernment, would also rebuild the homes burned down during the
\nrecent unrest in Poso, unrest that has resurfaced despite two
\npeace deals.<\/p>\n
The latest attack was launched on Saturday on Kayumba village
\nin Morowali regency, which borders Poso, leaving at least four
\npeople dead.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, dozens of Poso students in Jakarta staged a
\npeaceful protest on Tuesday to demand that the government
\nimmediately put an end to the renewed attacks.<\/p>\n
The protesters, calling themselves members of the
\nPoso\/Morowali Young People and Students' Communications Forum
\n(Formasi), urged the government to take firm action against the
\narmed assailants involved in the recent attacks, whose identities
\nremained shrouded in a seemingly official cloak of secrecy.<\/p>\n
The demonstrators, led by Benard Ndawu, were received by
\nCoordinating Minister for People's Welfare Jusuf Kalla, who
\nbrokered the peace accords to stop the fighting in Poso.<\/p>\n
Kalla claimed the local police and military had been firm
\nagainst troublemakers in attempting to restore peace and order in
\nPoso, had deployed reinforcement troops and were providing
\nhumanitarian assistance.<\/p>\n
\"The recent attacks ... are because there are still hard-
\nliners within the warring communities,\" he said.<\/p>\n
However, many of the victims who have suffered the brunt of
\nthe fresh violence doubted that the attackers were ordinary
\ncivilians as they were armed with automatic weapons, and moved
\nand acted in a combat-trained manner.<\/p>",
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