Govt criticized for Poso security failures

Govt criticized for Poso security failures

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Palu

With the police still in the dark over the identities of the
killers of three Christian schoolgirls in Poso, Central Sulawesi,
on Saturday, the security authorities came in for harsh criticism
on Monday for failing to secure the small town of about 6,000
residents.

Critics questioned the authorities' failure to stop a series
of attacks in Poso despite the deployment of more than 3,500
police and soldiers as part of a security operation in the area.

The Sintuwu Maroso security operation has been extended seven
times since 2002 as sporadic violence has continued in Poso
despite the signing of a peace deal a year earlier by local
Muslim and Christian leaders.

"It is ironic. Poso is smaller than a subdistrict in Jakarta,
but the huge number of police and military personnel have been
unable to capture any of the attackers," said Rendy Lamadjido, a
member of the House of Representatives' special committee on
Poso.

"That shows the security forces are not serious about dealing
with Poso," added the legislator from the Indonesian Democratic
Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

Similar criticism was voiced by House Speaker Agung Laksono,
who blamed the police and intelligence agencies for a series of
attacks in Poso, including Saturday's beheadings of the three
schoolgirls.

This latest tragedy raises serious questions about how the
security authorities are carrying out their duties, he said.

"We have heard about the poor performance of our security
forces, and this latest incident in Poso, which took place during
Ramadhan, has provided further proof," Agung said.

Otto Syamsuddin Ishak of rights watchdog Imparsial accused the
security authorities, including intelligence agents, of
neglecting the persistent violence in Poso.

The government must launch counterintelligence operations to
prevent further attacks there, he said.

"And a close examination of intelligence officers is required
to determine whether or not they have carried out their duties
properly."

National Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of
Violence (Kontras) coordinator Usman Hamid called for an
investigation into the circulation of explosives and weapons in
Poso since the deployment of police and soldiers to the area in
2002.

According to data from Imparsial and Kontras, there were at
least 19 shooting incidents in Poso in 2002. There were 10
incidents in 2003, seven in 2004 and four so far this year.

The rights groups also recorded at least 11 murders in Poso
between 2002 and 2005, and 33 bombings in the town over the same
period.

In the majority of these incidents no suspects have ever been
arrested.

Rendy said his House special committee had recommended that
the government take stern action against state officials
implicated in the continued violence in Poso.

The committee also asked the government to do more to prevent
violence, and to outline mechanisms to boost coordination between
the police and military in Poso.

However, these recommendations have been ignored, Rendy said.

Two days after the murders of the three schoolgirls, police
said they had questioned at least six witnesses but still had no
leads on the murderers.

The six witnesses included a survivor of the attack, Noviana
Malewa, and a local woman and her 10-year-old child who were near
the scene of the murders.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Aryanto Boediharjo called
the beheadings a "well-planned crime", but could not say if the
attackers had "military-style training".

National Police chief of detectives Comr. Gen. Makbul
Padmanegara said the killers must have come from outside Poso.