Govt preparing decree on Poso

JAKARTA: The government is preparing a draft decree to upgrade security in the Central Sulawesi town of Poso, where terror attacks and sectarian conflict have taken place in recent years.

Minister of Home Affairs M. Ma'ruf said after a ministerial meeting on Tuesday the decree would strengthen the role of intelligence personnel in curbing violence in the regency.

"An intelligence operation will be among government measures to maintain security." Ma'ruf said.

Close to 3,000 people were killed in bloody sectarian conflict in Poso between 2000 and 2001, according to government data, while hundreds of thousands of others have been displaced since then.

Some security authorities suspect Poso is a hotbed for radical groups linked to the al-Qaeda terrorist network.

The latest violence in Poso occurred on May 23, when a market was bombed leaving 21 people dead. -- JP