Governor orders church minister's detention
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.