Two bomb explosions rock Poso, peace process shaken<\/p>\n
Erik W., The Jakarta Post, Palu<\/p>\n
At least two bomb explosions have rocked the Poso district in
\ntroubled Central Sulawesi amid ongoing raids by local security
\nauthorities implementing last December's peace accord.<\/p>\n
Central Sulawesi Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Agus Sugianto
\nsaid on Friday that the home-made bombs exploded in the disused
\noffice of state-owned water company PT PDAM at Ratulene village,
\naround 15 kilometers from Poso, on Thursday evening.<\/p>\n
No injuries were reported in the consecutive bombings that
\nblew out windows and shattered floors in the building in the
\nsubdistrict of Poso Pesisir.<\/p>\n
Agus said the blasts were heard at the Poso Pesisir police
\nstation near the scene, adding that the bombs were of low
\nexplosive yield.<\/p>\n
The first bomb exploded at 6:35 p.m. followed by the second 10
\nminutes later, he said.<\/p>\n
At least two unexploded bombs were discovered by a police bomb
\nsquad which arrived one hour after the first explosion.<\/p>\n
The team eventually managed to defuse the active bombs at the
\nPoso district police station.<\/p>\n
National Police security operations chief Sr. Comr. Sunarto
\nand Poso's deputy police chief Comr. Yusmanjaya inspected the
\nscene on Friday morning.<\/p>\n
It was the second bombing in one month. On March 20 a bomb
\nblast damaged the Poso social welfare office on Jl. Pulau
\nKalimantan.<\/p>\n
The first explosion was blamed on the alleged unfair
\ndistribution of food aid intended for thousands of refugees who
\nfled their homes during two years of sectarian fighting in Poso.<\/p>\n
It was not clear what motivated the latest blast. Local
\nsecurity authorities are searching for the bombers.<\/p>\n
There is speculation that the two separate attacks are linked.<\/p>\n
Agus ruled out claims that the series of bombings showed
\nineffectiveness of the disarmament operations that started in
\nearly February and were extended for one month until April.<\/p>\n
He said the raids remained effective and it was emphasizing
\nthat local people follow their consciences and surrender their
\nweapons.<\/p>\n
More than 39,000 weapons, including firearms, hand guns,
\nmachetes, knives, bombs and arrows, were handed in to authorities
\nbetween December and February, while only a handful of other
\nweapons have been confiscated during raids.<\/p>\n
To attract the sympathy of local people, Agus said, the
\ndisarmament raids involved policewomen, though the operations
\nwere not being carried out by sweeping houses and farm land.<\/p>\n
He said the authorities had encouraged villagers to set up
\npatrols in their respective areas to prevent fresh attacks by
\nrivals after the peace deal.<\/p>\n
The fresh outbreak of violence has clouded last December's
\npeace accord signed by Muslim and Christian leaders. The warring
\nsides agreed to stop the two-year conflict that had killed
\nthousands of people.<\/p>\n
Agus also ruled out speculation that the explosion was linked
\nwith the outbreak of violence in Ambon in the Maluku islands. A
\npowerful bomb killed four people and wounded 58 others in Ambon
\non Wednesday. The bombing was followed by the burning of the
\ngovernor's office.<\/p>",
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