Police blame locals for failure to arrest mysterious gunmen

Police blame locals for failure to arrest mysterious gunmen

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

After months of fruitless searching, the National Police blamed
their failure to find the murderers of a clergywoman and a
prosecutor in Palu, Central Sulawesi, on the lack of help from
local residents.

National Police director of general and transnational crime
Brig. Gen. Aryanto Sutadi said at National Police Headquarters on
Friday local residents had been reluctant to help police locate
the mysterious killers.

At times during the police investigation residents seemed
intent on protecting the suspects in the high-profile shootings,
he said. They were particularly reluctant to tell the police
where the suspects were hiding, making it impossible for police
to track them down or capture them, he said.

"It's a pity, because we have already identified the
suspects," Aryanto said.

The statement came after months of investigations into the
March and July murders.

Prosecutor Ferry Silalahi, 46, was killed by a group of men in
March in his car outside the house of lawyer Thomas D. Ihalaw on
Jl. Swadaya in South Palu. Police said Ferry and his wife had
just left the house after attending an evening mass.

Following the incident, local police handed out guns to all
prosecutors and judges in Palu.

Three months later, another group of men shot dead Reverend
Susanti Tinulele, while she was giving a sermon in the church.
Four people were wounded in the incident, one of them critically.

Fearing that the latest shooting could fuel tension and lead
into full-scale religious conflict in Central Sulawesi, the
police quickly established a special investigations team to probe
both incidents. They also provided tight security around all
places of worship in the city.

Aryanto said Susanti's murderers were not the same people who
killed Ferry, although they were believed to have come from the
same group. He said the group were well-established in the
province.

Police had several times found weapons, explosives and bullets
belonging to the group, but the members continued to elude them,
he said.

The murders caused widespread fears sectarian violence would
again flare in Palu and Poso regency on the same scale as in
2000, where the conflict led to the death of some 2,000 Muslims
and Christians and thousands of refugees.

The situation has largely returned to normal in the regency
after a peace pact was signed by Muslim and Christian leaders in
2002. However, the sporadic, mysterious attacks have kept tension
high.