Police deploy 100 extra officers to Poso
Abdul Khalik and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The National Police has deployed another Mobile Brigade unit of 100 officers to Poso, Central Sulawesi, to join the 2,900-strong force already there following several violent incidents since Saturday that has claimed four lives.
"We ask the public to let the police carry out their duty in handling the cases," National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said on Monday.
He confirmed that a man killed on Saturday was a suspect in the recent attacks on villages in the coastal area of Poso regency.
"He was shot during a raid against the suspects ... we call upon the public to remain calm," said Da'i.
Poso Police headquarters was besieged on Sunday by thousands of people protesting the killing of terrorist suspect Hamid Sudin, who was shot on Saturday by police attempting to arrest him in connection with the Oct. 12 attacks on three Christian villages.
Police said Hamid, 22, was shot and killed when he attempted to attack police. His two companions, identified as Zukri and Irwan bin Rais, surrendered without resistance.
A police spokesman said the two men had already been released.
"They have been released, but are obliged to report (periodically). The situation in the area is improving and investigations are continuing," said National Police public relations deputy chief Brig. Gen. Soenarko.
Soenarko also said police found three bodies on Saturday -- Oranye Tajoja, his nephew Yuhanis Tajoja, alias Buce, and Delfis Lingkuliwa. Oranye (not Yuhanis, as was reported on Monday) was treasurer of the Christian Church of Central Sulawesi (GKST).
Residents of Tentena, which is predominantly Christian, wanted to enter Poso to seek information on the deaths of Oranye and the two others, whose bodies were found near Pesisir Poso. The police did not allow them entry due to fears that their presence might spark another incident.
Police are also investigating an attack on a bus on Sunday by three unidentified men in Kuku village, Poso. The men broke the bus windows, but none of the 19 passengers were harmed.
"We are still trying to find the connection between the attack and recent incidents in the area," Soenarko said.
Poso, which is predominantly Muslim, and Tentena were involved in a prolonged sectarian conflict that erupted in the regency in 2000, which claimed about 2,000 lives until 2002.
The government brokered the Malino Peace Agreement in December 2001, but sporadic bloodshed continued. The situation had been relatively stable between the two religious communities until last month, when attacks on both Christian and Muslim villages by masked gunmen again sparked unrest. Dozens have been killed in similar raids across the regency, and the situation has continued to deteriorate.