Police, TNI spilt over Poso slaying

Police, TNI spilt over Poso slaying

Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The police said they would continue their investigation into
five men who are suspected of being responsible for the recent
beheadings of three schoolgirls in Poso, Central Sulawesi,
despite a move by the local military to release them.

The Army's 714th Battalion reportedly released on Saturday the
five men, four civilians and a retired military police officer,
who were arrested last week due to a lack of evidence and because
the seven-day detention period without charges allowed under the
antiterror law was over.

It is not immediately clear why the Army did not hand over the
five men to the police as required by the law to launch a proper
investigation.

"The investigation is still going on. But we cannot rush into
declaring them (the five men) suspects," Central Sulawesi Police
chief Oegroseno was quoted by Antara as saying on Saturday.

"We need more evidence before naming them (the five men) as
suspects, including a complete report from the forensic
laboratory in Jakarta which is currently conducting blood tests.
We will then examine the laboratory's findings in the light of
other evidence we found at the (crime) sites," he added.

Two weeks ago, the Army's 714th Battalion, which is stationed
in Rononuncu in Poso city, launched a two-day operation in
connection with the recent beheadings of three Christian
schoolgirls in an apparent attempt to reignite sectarian conflict
in Poso.

During the operation, which was held separately in Poso and
the town of Ampana in Tojo Una-Una regency, some 200 kilometers
east of Poso, the soldiers arrested five people, including Tony
Mowala alias Rinto, 51, a former military police officer.

The other four are Irfan Anjiro, 23, a security guard,
Jamiluddin alias Jamil, 25, also a security guard, Ridwan Masero,
25, a farmer and Saleman Yunus alias Herman, 28, a motorcycle
taxi driver.

Poso, has witnessed sectarian violence in recent years.

More than 1,000 people were killed in a bloody sectarian
conflict between Muslims and Christians between 2000 and 2001.
The residents have also seen sporadic bomb attacks,
assassinations, and assaults, the latest of which happened late
last week involving another student and a teacher of a local
junior high school.

Meanwhile, a rights activist has questioned the arrest of the
five men by the Army saying "it is against the law".

"I'm questioning the arrest by the servicemen of the five men
because it is against the law. The military is not authorized to
arrest civilians. Even the antiterror law has said that the
military should hand over suspected terrorists to the police
immediately after arrest," said Usman Hamid, a coordinator of the
National Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of the
Violence (Kontras).

Usman further questioned why the five men were kept in the
battalion's camp for the seven days, leaving the police with no
access to question them.

"I believe that within the last seven days, there was no legal
process taken against the five, and I see that the military were
intent on taking advantage of legal loopholes," Usman said.