Governor orders church minister's detention
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Central Sulawesi Governor Aminuddin Ponulele ordered on Thursday local security forces to capture Rev. Renaldy Damanik, who they blame for inciting a spate of recent attacks in Poso regency.
The governor dismissed fears that the arrest of Damanik, a Christian leader based in the Tentena area, would worsen the security situation in the conflict-hit town.
"There would be less unrest in Poso if Minister Damanik was arrested by security personnel," he was quoted by Antara news agency as saying in Palu, the provincial capital.
Damanik was a signatory of a peace deal by Christian and Muslim representatives during talks held last December in the South Sulawesi hill resort of Malino.
Last month, he and some other Christian signatories resigned as members of a working group tasked with disseminating the outcome of the peace accord in protest of the outbreak of fresh violence in Poso.
Damanik, known for his hard-line stance on the religious conflict, also boycotted a second round of peace talks held earlier this month in Palu to quell the attacks.
Ponulele said the clergyman was among the list of names being targeted in the joint operation being carried out by the police and military in Poso.
The police declared Damanik a suspect on Thursday following renewed attacks by unidentified gunmen who mostly targeted Christian areas.
"Damanik has been declared a suspect and is included in the operation's target," Central Sulawesi Police detective chief Sr. Comr. Tatang Sumantri said.
He claimed the Christian minister was found with firearms and hundreds of bullets when a joint team of 17 security personnel launched a raid on Saturday at Mayumba village in Morowali regency, bordering Poso.
The team then stopped four cars traveling from Tentena to Kolonodale village, but one of the vehicles managed to get away, Tatang added.
He also said security officers found 14 guns and 144 bullets in the three cars that were held, and Damanik was one of the car passengers.
However, they were powerless to arrest the clergyman because he was protected by his supporters, who outnumbered the joint team, Tatang added.
"There would have been casualties if the security forces had gone ahead to detain Damanik," he said.
The confiscated firearms and bullets were removed from the scene and transported by helicopter to the Poso district police office as evidence.
Christian activists admitted the police failed to capture Damanik on Tuesday after his supporters came to the streets to block them using the helicopter.
Central Sulawesi Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Agus Sugianto pledged on Thursday to try hard to catch Damanik. "We will not hesitate to deal with the case because law enforcement is part of the peace deal," he said.
Agus said the police would reopen the investigation into the alleged role of local religious and community figures in recent outbreaks of unrest.
The planned probe followed Saturday's statements by Dominggus da Silva, 35, and Fabianus Tibo, 55, who were both sentenced to death for their involvement in the conflict in Poso.
The two revealed they were victimized by 16 community and religious figures, whom the convicts charged with masterminding and provoking two years of fighting, which has claimed the lives of 2,000 people.
Dominggus said peace would return to Poso if the 16 people were arrested.