Peace, calm yet to fully return to riot-hit Poso

MAKASSAR, South Sulawesi (JP): Peace and calm have yet to fully return to riot-hit Poso with the possibility of fresh outbreaks.

Wirabuana Military Command spokesman Lt. Col. Mulyono told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday that in general the situation was under control, however, based on police predictions, the town was not completely stable, despite a peace deal signed by the Sulawesi governors.

"That is why the Cinta Damai troops, whose term of duty will end on Sept. 6, will not be withdrawn. We will just introduce new personnel to replace the old ones," he said, adding that there were now almost 3,000 military personnel present in the area to safeguard the town that has been ravaged by sectarian clashes.

According to Mulyono, the fresh troops would include personnel from the Cavalry, Airborne 700 and Combat Troops. "The first dispatch will be in the first week of September."

The first fracas broke out in Poso last year. The latest disturbances erupted in May 23 this year, with at least 300 people killed and 4,000 buildings destroyed.

Anxious about the situation, Sulawesi governors signed a peace accord for Poso on Aug. 13, with recommendations for security guarantees for refugees, psychological and infrastructural rehabilitation and fair law enforcement.

The governors then demonstrated their solidarity to President Abdurrahman Wahid.

Mulyono said the decision to retain the military troops in Poso had drawn a positive response from the refugees. "More and more refugees have returned to their villages. Now a total of 60 percent of some 60,000 refugees, spreading in several areas in Sulawesi, have returned. Most of them returned from Palu, Central Sulawesi and Mangkutama, South Sulawesi."

The return of the refugees was expected to gradually reactivate the pulse of the town and the economy will progressively return to normal, Mulyono said.

Meanwhile violence, including the burning of residents' houses, continued in another riot-torn town, Luwu in South Sulawesi, on Wednesday.

Parepare Police chief Sr. Supt. Mardjito confirmed the latest disturbances but said only one house was destroyed and set ablaze by the rioters. "Everything is under control," he said.

As many as 22 alleged rioters have been arrested but the man suspected of masterminding the trouble is still being hunted.

Police said that the man has been identified. (27/sur)