Police head to Poso to help disarm factions

Police head to Poso to help disarm factions

Erik W., The Jakarta Post, Palu

At least 337 police personnel have arrived in the Central
Sulawesi capital of Palu to help disarm warring factions involved
in at least two years of sectarian fighting in Poso regency as
part of last December's peace accord to end the conflicts.

The extra personnel, including three platoons of policewomen,
will officially be dispatched to Poso by trucks on Monday by
Central Sulawesi Police Chief Brig. Gen. Zainal Abidin Ishak.

The 337 police personnel arrived in Palu, around 252
kilometers from Poso, on Friday from North Sulawesi, South
Sulawesi and East Kalimantan.

The three provinces had each sent one company of policemen and
one platoon of policewomen by boat, Ishak said over the weekend.

The reinforcements bring the number of security forces in Poso
to around 4,000 personnel comprising three battalions of police
and two battalions of military troops.

Ishak said the 337 extra police would be assigned to help with
the month-long disarmament operations in Poso, which will
commence on March 1.

They are equipped with explosive device detectors to enable
them to search for bombs, grenades or other explosive devices, he
said.

"Anywhere explosive devices are hidden, they will be found. So
nothing can go undetected," added Ishak, also chief of the Poso
Security Restoration Operation.

Ishak said the arrival of the reinforcements was part of the
recent peace pact signed in the South Sulawesi hill resort of
Malino on Dec. 21, 2001 by leaders of warring Muslim and
Christian groups.

Under the government-brokered accord, both sides agreed to
immediately halt violence in Poso, which has left more than 1,000
dead and hundreds of thousands homeless.

The agreement included disarming the people and expelling
outsiders accused of worsening the conflicts in Poso.

Data from local police showed people had so far surrendered at
least 35,413 sharp weapons, including home-made firearms, hand
guns, arrows and spears, to the security authorities.

Spokesman for the Central Sulawesi Police Adj. Sr. Comr. Agus
Sugianto said those who had voluntarily handed over the weapons
included villagers in the subdistricts of North, South and East
Pamona, North Lore and South Lore.

He said most of the surrendered weapons have been destroyed
and that there were only 1,818 left.

Ishak said the security authorities have obtained warrants
from the Poso attorney's office to launch disarmament operations
on March 1 and have met other administrative requirements to
restore peace there.

He appealed to local people to help make a success of the
anti-weapon raids across Poso.

Agus added that all security forces involved in the
disarmament operations had undergone psychological tests to
ensure that they were mentally fit to carry out such a move.

"There should be no security member who will search for
weapons and disarm people arbitrarily without following the
standard procedures. Therefore, they should be prepared
physically and mentally," he added.

Agus said some of the police's elite Mobile Brigade (Brimob)
members, who recently arrived in Poso from missions in the
rebellious province of Aceh, were among those undergoing such
psychological examinations.

Since the peace pact was signed, more than 10,000 out of some
97,000 residents who fled their homes in the strife-torn area of
Poso had returned home from refugee camps.

Most of the returning refugees were residents from the city's
center, the subdistricts of Poso Pesisir, Lage and Tojo.

The security authorities were also identifying people from
outside Poso, specifically the Java-based paramilitary force,
Laskar Jihad, who were suspected of fomenting trouble there, to
be evicted from the area.