Poso officers accused of rights abuses

Poso officers accused of rights abuses

Andi Hajramurni, The Jakarta Post, Makassar

Law enforcers in the conflict-prone Central Sulawesi town of Poso
have committed human rights violations by omission for allowing a
string of violent events to occur in the past three weeks, the
National Commission on Human Rights announced on Thursday.

Albeit not categorized as gross violations, the failure to
stop the violence has deprived local people of their basic rights
to live, to security, justice and the possession of belongings.

"We didn't see any law enforcement here ... perpetrators of
the murders, arson attacks and vandalism, and even the people who
provoked the violence, are roaming free and (their cases) are not
yet being legally processed. These people are even continuing
with their acts of terror. This is a definite violation of human
rights (on the part of law enforcers)," head of the commission's
team assigned to probe the Poso violence, Achmad Ali, said.

The team recently completed a field investigation into the
violence, which occurred within the past three weeks despite the
strong presence of security personnel in the town.

At least 100 elite police troops were sent to Poso to join the
2,000 police and military officers there after a bomb attack on
Saturday, which left six people dead. Over two weeks earlier a
village chief was beheaded and a public transportation driver,
shot dead.

"The rights violations began when the sectarian conflict broke
out in this area. If this kind of violence continues, it could
lead to gross violations of human rights," he said.

The recent violence has renewed fears of the possible return
of sectarian conflict in the regency. In 1999, the conflict
resulted in the deaths of at least 2,000 Muslims and Christians
and the displacement of thousands of others.

Achmad said it would take the comprehensive and concerted
efforts of the local administration, the central government and
the police to resolve the ongoing conflict in the regency.

"We cannot just adopt a sporadic and temporary solution to
this problem, continuous efforts have to be made. The government
not only has to address the conflict, but to find ways to manage
the thousands of refugees who have fled the area," he said.

He said the government-brokered Malino peace agreement signed
by religious leaders in the regency in December 2001 would not
warrant an end to the conflict if the police took action only
when a new incident happened.

"What we observe here is a deep-rooted conflict that could
reoccur anytime because the concrete actions mandated in the
peace agreement are not heeded by the local people, particularly
law enforcers," he said.

Achmad also urged the government to investigate the root of
the conflict in Poso, saying he was not certain it was triggered
by religious issues.

"They had been living together for a very long time and no
conflict ever really happened before. I'm sure there are certain
parties who intentionally try to create public unrest by
exploiting religious issues for a specific purpose. This is what
the government and the police must find out," he said.

Achmad added the commission had sent its recommendation to the
National Police and was mulling further investigation into the
violence.