Poso beheadings perpetrators 'caught by Army'

Poso beheadings perpetrators 'caught by Army'

Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

South Sulawesi Police chief Insp. Gen. Oegroseno has been
tightlipped over rumors that security authorities there have
arrested a group of five men responsible for the recent
beheadings of three Christian school girls in conflict-prone
Poso.

A local rights activist, however, said on Tuesday that the
Army's 714th Battalion had captured four men, including a former
soldier, after days of hunting the perpetrators.

Oegroseno only acknowledged that "the police has summoned four
or five people to be questioned in relation to the case."

"We (the police) haven't arrested anyone over the incident.
What the police have done so far is to summon four or five people
for questioning," Oegroseno said as quoted by Antara on Tuesday.

He said the police had questioning the men about the
continuing violence in Poso -- a small town in the province which
a few years ago was hit by a more than year-long Christian-Muslim
conflict that killed more than a thousand people.

An Australian private television station reported on Monday
that security officers had arrested five suspected slayers of the
three schoolgirls.

The television station identified the killers as security
personnel and said they were currently being grilled by the Poso
Police.

Local activists said that one of the suspected perpetrators
was a former soldier from the Army's military police. The
activist -- who asked for anonymity -- identified the soldier as
John Moala aka Jamal.

"One of the perpetrators works as a motorbike taxi driver, and
another one as a (private) security guard," he said.

"They were captured by soldiers from the 714th Battalion. The
troops captured the Army soldier, along with two of his
companions, on Sunday as they combed Wekuli village in Tojo
regency.

"The other one was captured on Monday, or a day after the
first operation, after the troops tracked him down to the Sawo
area," the activist said.

The 714th Battalion, which is stationed in Ronononcu in Poso
city, was established late last year after the military
authorities decided to divide the troop deployment in the regency
into two battalions.

The other battalion is the 711th.

No confirmation has been forthcoming from the military so far.

While Muslims all around the world prepared to celebrate Idul
Fitri, three schoolgirls -- Theresia Morangke, 15, Alfita Poliwo,
17, and Yarni Sambue, 15 -- were attacked and beheaded by
unidentified assailants while they were walking to their school.

Another girl, Noviana Malewa, 15, survived the attack,
although she is now in intensive care in a police hospital in the
provincial capital of Palu.

Noviana, who suffered serious injuries to her face, told the
police that six machete-wielding masked men on motorbikes
launched the barbaric attack on the fateful day, Oct. 29.

The incident raised concern among religious leaders and
local people, who believe that the beheadings were motivated by
political interests rather than religious sentiment.

Over 1,000 people were killed in a bloody sectarian conflict
between Muslims and Christians in Poso between 2000 and 2001.

Peace between the two communities was only reached in December
2001 following a government-sponsored truce.