Police deploy 100 extra officers to Poso
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.