Government plans to launch offensive against Poso attackers

Irvan NR and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Palu

In response to a series of attacks on villages in Poso over the past week, the government will take the offensive in dealing with security problems in this remote Central Sulawesi town.

Coordinating Minister of Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said tough measures were necessary because of the fragile security situation in Poso.

"The government has decided to launch more offensive operations and send more security personnel to Poso to put a stop to the violence," Susilo said after a security meeting at his office.

He would not go into detail about the policy, saying the plan would be discussed with President Megawati Soekarnoputri during a Cabinet meeting on Thursday.

Also present at the security meeting on Tuesday were Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda, Indonesia Military (TNI) Commander Gen. Endriartono Sutarto, National Police deputy chief Comr. Gen. Kadaryanto and Coordinating Minister for the Economy Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti. Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Jusuf Kalla left the meeting early to preside over a separate ministerial meeting.

Citing intelligence reports, Susilo blamed the continuing violence in Poso on "a third party" who was attempting to disrupt the ongoing peace process in Poso.

"There is an effort (to destabilize the peace) there and there is a party from outside of Poso involved in the effort," Susilo said, refusing to identify this mastermind.

A series of attacks between Nov. 26 and Nov. 30 left four people dead in Poso and raising fears of a recurrence of the Muslim-Christian violence that killed about 2,000 people between 1999 and 2001.

The government sent 3,400 reinforcement police officers and military soldiers to the town following a series of attacks in October that left 10 people dead.

Susilo said the vast area of Poso and the hit-and-run tactics of the attackers made it difficult for the government to end the violence.

"Despite the peace process, Poso residents are still prone to provocateurs and agitation," Susilo said, referring to the peace accord signed in the South Sulawesi town of Malino in November 2001.

Susilo also criticized the Poso administration for depending too heavily on the central government to maintain the peace.

"The local leadership is not professional in handling the matter. It's impossible for the government to control or handle everything because they are supposed to know the situation there better than us," he said.

Poso residents, he added, were "not cooperative enough" in providing information to investigators.

"Perhaps they have certain fears or they do not want to be involved in new conflicts," said Susilo, saying that this attitude was hampering attempts by security officers to arrest the perpetrators of the violence in Poso.

But the Poso Police praised locals for their willingness to help officers.

Poso Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Agus Sugianto said local residents had begun to assist security officers in maintaining order.

He was referring in particular to a local resident who reported his discovery of a bomb on Jl. Nias to the police on Monday.

"If he did not tell us, the bomb would have claimed the lives of residents as the road is always busy," Agus said.