Poso Muslims visit predominantly Christian Tentena
Ruslan Sangadji, The Jakarta Post, Poso, Sulawesi Tengah
More than three years after the signing of the Malino peace agreement, around 150 Muslim residents of Poso town traveled some 50 kilometers south to make a historic visit to the predominantly Christian town of Tentena, both are in Poso regency. The visit on Thursday was apparently a move to build peace among the two religious communities.
The visitors riding on trucks and in minibuses visited villages where Muslim residents, including Islamic boarding school students, were killed during conflict in the area for three years since 1988. They were warmly greeted by Tentena residents, mostly Christians.
Local Christians performed a traditional ceremony to welcome their Muslim guests and expressed strong commitment to treating them as part of their own community.
"We are brothers and must live in harmony. We have missed such fine occasions. We thank our brothers in Poso for initiating this historic move to build genuine peace in the once-restive regency," said Alex Patombo, secretary of the crisis center set up by churches to care for victims during the conflict and to campaign for a peace agreement with the Christian community.
Burhan S. Adu, spokesman for the guests, concurred, he said that the two religious communities should no longer sow enmity amid efforts to build peace.
"Why does such a peaceful situation appear now, who divided and separated us?," he asked in his address during the ceremony.
He also called on the 5,000 Christians taking refuge in Tentena to go back to Poso town, saying that they would receive a bigger welcome upon their arrival home.
Likewise, Alex called on Muslims taking refuge in Poso town to return to Tentena because their safety would be guaranteed.
More than three years has passed since the Malino peace agreement was signed by the two then-conflicting communities.
The signing of the peace agreement was mediated by Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Jusuf Kalla in the Malino mountainous resort of South Sulawesi on Dec. 20, 2001. The two sides agreed to end the conflict and to investigate mass killings in numerous villages during the conflict.
Despite further fatalities over the last three years, both sides have campaigned for peace, while the police have launched an operation to restore law and order in the regency.
More than 2,000 people were killed and thousands of families were displaced during the conflict which broke out following the regental election in December 1998.
Darwis Waru who chairs the task force appreciated the reconciliatory meeting as a preliminary move to create peace in Poso and Morowali, a neighboring regency, which was part of Poso up until last year.
Meanwhile, spokesman for the Central Sulawesi Police Adj. Sr. Comr. Agus Sugianto said in Palu on Thursday that local security authorities had decided to extend the operation to restore security in the area, Sintuwu Maroso, for another six months in connection with the upcoming legislative and presidential elections.
The operation that will end on April 14 has been extended because the situation in the two regencies remains unstable.
Agus said that another reason to extend the security operation was to ensure that all efforts at rehabilitation would continue safely.