Luwu riot instigators being hunted

MAKASSAR, South Sulawesi (JP): Police started on Tuesday to hunt the instigator of the Luwu riot after arresting 22 people for their involvement in the mayhem.

Parepare Police chief Sr. Supt. Mardjito told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday that the man had been identified. "But I cannot reveal his name to you, or the ongoing manhunt will be disrupted."

He said some 70 Police's Mobile Brigade troops had been ordered to comb the swampy areas around the riot-hit villages. "We believe the man is now hiding somewhere in the area."

He said that Army personnel from the Military District Command 1403 Sawerigading also helped the manhunt. "It is a continuation of the previous operation in which the 22 people were arrested."

In the previous operation one of the rioters was shot. "They used hand-made guns, called papporo," Mardjito said.

He said that the situation was under control, but the flow of refugees continued as burning of houses had yet to stop. "Rumors have it that rioting will erupt again soon."

"As many as 1,736 people left for Palopo, which is located some 75 kilometers south of their homes.

In a related development, Luwu Police chief Supt. Anjaya confirmed that peace could be maintained in the villages of Cenning, Lembang-lembang and Wara. The three villages in the districts of Malangke Barat and Baebunta were the most affected in the riot.

Police records indicate that 212 houses were razed in the communal conflict.

Anjaya said that rebuilding of residents' houses would also be carried out by the officers.

Despite the fact that Luwu is adjacent to Poso (Central Sulawesi), Mardjito said that the Luwu conflict had no link with the Poso violence, where hundreds have been killed.

"The background of the Luwu clash, which first started in 1985, is revenge," said Mardjito. (27/sur)