Four killed as violence returns to Poso regency
Erik W., The Jakarta Post, Poso, Central Sulawesi
Four people were killed over the weekend in troubled Poso regency, Central Sulawesi, but the police insisted on Sunday that the killings were purely criminal acts that had nothing to do with the long-running sectarian conflict in the province.
A farmer, Agustinus Baco, 57, was shot dead by an unknown group of people on Wednesday, while on Thursday, local residents found the body of Melkianus, 20, at Kawende village, near the Poso coast.
Two other men, Tony Sango and Otter, died of severe injuries on Thursday after being attacked by an unknown group of people at a chemical store on Jalan Pulau Timor. The two died of serious injuries caused by gunshots and sharp weapons.
Tony, an employee of the local health office, died after a bullet struck him on the head as he was about to mount his motorcycle.
"A man came up to Tony and shot him in the head. Otter, who was Tony's friend, tried to defend himself, but unfortunately, the attackers shot him four times and killed him," a witness said.
The killing of the four men over the past few days triggered anger among the residents of Ranonuncu village where the victims lived.
Local public figure S. Pelima said that the deaths of the four showed that the situation in the regency had not returned to normal. "I see that the security forces are not serious about this," he added.
Separately, Adj. Sr. Comr. Agus Sugianto, spokesman for the Central Sulawesi Police, denied allegations that police were not serious in resolving the shootings, saying that they were still hunting for the perpetrators.
Sugianto further asserted that the recent killings were criminal acts and urged local people not to be provoked by the incidents.
"We have already questioned some witnesses about the killings, but have yet to arrest the people believed to be responsible for the murders due to a lack of evidence," Sugianto said.
Earlier on Wednesday, security officers decided to extend the Sintuwu Maroso operation, which is aimed at restoring peace and security in Poso regency until June, 2003, due to, among other reasons, mounting demands from locals that the operation be maintained.
According to the operation's commander, Sr. Comr. Imam Sudjarwo, the operation, which involved 3,500 personnel from the national police and the Indonesian Military (TNI), was expected to help the local government to resettle refugees, who "have yet to get their new homes."
The operation, which started in August this year, was initially planned to end on Dec. 31.
Currently, there are some 28,263 refugee families that have yet to be resettled.
"Within the past two months, our records show that we managed to reduce the number of criminal acts. In September, our data showed that some 25 criminal acts took place in the regency, compared to October when only 19 criminal acts occurred here," Imam told reporters after holding a meeting to evaluate the security situation in Poso following the outbreak of renewed sectarian conflict there last year.
Also present at the meeting were, among others, Central Sulawesi Governor Aminuddin Ponulele, Tadulako Military Commander Col. Suwahyuhadji and Central Sulawesi Police chief Brig. Gen. Taufik Ridha.
"We (the security officers) have also been able to reduce the number of bombs here to only one in October from three in September. Generally, the number of criminal cases here have been reduced by 40 percent over the last two months," Imam further said.
"School activities have also returned to normal, and many people can pursue their religious activities without any fear," Imam said.
Imam, nevertheless, refused to speculate on whether the more conducive situation was due to the departure of Laskar Jihad -- a hard-line group that recently suspended its activities following the Bali bomb blast on Oct. 12.
Led by Ayip Safruddin, 450 of the Solo-based Laskar Jihad militiamen came to the regency in October last year. Many believed that their arrival only served to fuel the clashes in Poso.