North Sulawesi ready to ward off violence

MANADO, North Sulawesi (JP): North Sulawesi police have been intensifying training and stepping up city patrols following the governor's warning of possible sectarian violence and rioting.

Operation control command chief at the North Sulawesi Police headquarters, Sr. Comr. Gordon Mogot, said on Friday that nobody would allow riots to take place in the province.

North Sulawesi has been dubbed one of the nation's "most peaceful" provinces following the country's recovery from a series of riots in 1998.

"Shooting training, improvement in the procedures for handling reports and the expansion of intelligence networks have been implemented to suppress any unexpected incidents," Gordon said.

Last Thursday, North Sulawesi deputy governor Freddy Sualang said that rioters had identified the province as their next target for provoking unrest, following on from massive violence which recently overwhelmed Sampit in Central Kalimantan.

He said that the recent drop in the price of copra could be used as an instrument by people to instigate sectarian riots in the province.

Gordon said that the police took Sualang's warning seriously. "City patrols have been stepped up to 24 hours since then, with the most intensive patrol being conducted between 9 a.m. and 3 a.m."

He said that police units in all districts and villages had been instructed to be on alert, depending on the situation in their respective areas.

"The closed security system has also been optimized," he said, citing that monitoring the activities of organizations related to religious and ethnic groups had been intensified. "But we have yet to contact the National Police headquarters in Jakarta regarding the deputy governor's statements."

Deputy governor Sualang said last week that his statements were meant to remind all provincial authorities that anything could happen unless vigilance were maintained. "All sectors must be properly protected," he warned.

Sualang reiterated that economic problems at the grassroots level, such as the increase in fuel prices and the drop in copra price in the province, could be exploited by certain people to create unrest.

"It's just a warning. So far there have been no indications of unrest in North Sulawesi province." (38/sur)