3,700 troops, police get psychiatric tests in Poso

Erick W., The Jakarta Poso, Palu

Some 3,700 security personnel deployed to keep the peace in the former strife-torn Central Sulawesi regency of Poso have been undergoing examinations since December 2001 to ascertain their psychiatric state of health.

Adj. Sr. Comr. Agus Sugianto, spokesman for the Central Sulawesi Provincial Police, said the examinations were being conducted in connection with the local security authorities' plan to launch raids for illegal weapons as part of the effort to disarm former militiamen from the rival Christian and Muslim factions, and their supporters, in the regency starting March 1, 2002.

"We hope the security personnel will be in good health, both physically and mentally, for the launching of the operation," he said here on Thursday.

The psychiatric examinations were being carried out by psychologists from the provincial police.

Agus conceded that some of the security personnel were feared to be suffering from psychiatric disorders as they had been serving in strife-torn Aceh before being deployed to their new postings in the regency.

"Their physical and mental condition must be stable. We want them to be disciplined in carrying out this operation," he said.

Besides undergoing psychiatric examinations, the security personnel would also be examined by the Military Police to ensure they were prepared to carry out their duties.

He said the examinations were being conducted as part of the security authorities' internal consolidation, and were preliminary preparations to ensure the success of the operation, which would be a decisive factor in keeping the peace in the formerly conflict-torn regency.

Asked about the eviction of "trouble makers" from the regency, Agus said that so far no newcomers who were involved in the earlier conflict had left the province voluntarily.

"It is possible that they may have gone back home without being detected by our security personnel. But anyway, the local security authorities will crack down on trouble makers and expel them by force counting from March 7, 2002 as they have already been given one month since Feb. 7, 2002 to leave voluntarily," he said.

He said that any person who came to Poso without any clear, good intentions during the period of the conflict would be expelled from the province.

The local police in cooperation with religious and informal leaders were drawing up a list of persons who entered the regency without the necessary documents.

During the conflict, hundreds of members of extreme groups joined local militias in waging a sectarian war that claimed the lives of more than 2,000 civilians.

Besides displacing tens of thousands of Poso Muslims and Christians, the conflict also resulted in more than 90 persons taking ill with psychiatric disorders. More than 40 of them are still undergoing long-term treatment at the Mamboro Psychiatric Hospital in the city.

Separately, Burhanuddin Maragau, spokesman for the provincial administration, said the local administration was still drawing up an inventory of the houses and other buildings that were destroyed during the conflict. This was because the relevant offices in both the provincial administration and in Poso had insufficient data on property damage.

He said the government would help rebuild all the houses, churches, mosques and temples that were torched or damaged during the conflict.

He also said the local administration would help with the return of refugees to their home villages in Poso.