Poso Police accused of extensive violations
Ruslan Sangadji, Palu, Central Sulawesi
Three Poso community organizations have complained that police personnel committed at least 83 human rights violations over the last two years. The report has dealt a severe blow to the National Police, who are celebrating their 58th anniversary.
The Center for the Development of Law and Human Rights Studies (LPS-HAM), the Protestant Church Crisis Center and the Poso Fi Sabilillah Mosque Youth Organization reported that the abuse included beatings, threats at gunpoint, shootings and intimidation by security personnel.
The cases were swept under the carpet for two years and were reported only recently due to fears that local residents and members of the last two organizations above could be a target of police retaliation.
"We were afraid to report this because, from previous experience, people who did report incidents were treated as suspects by the police," said Maharaja Botilangi, from Tentena, North Pamona district, Poso regency.
Local people and the two organizations finally plucked up the courage to report the cases after they received backing from the LPS-HAM and a guarantee from top officials of the Central Sulawesi Police that their headquarters would investigate any human rights abuses by subordinates and they would protect people who had made abuse allegations.
Besides these abuses, other acts of violence, including mysterious shootings, the bombing of intercity buses, arson, attacks and killings, remain unsolved until now.
Central Sulawesi LPS-HAM chairman Syamsul Agus said that whenever there was a violent incident in the ravaged town of Poso, police would simply make excuses that they were still searching for perpetrators. "But until now, no one has been arrested. The police are not working hard enough to resolve conflict in Poso," said Alam.
The LPS-HAM has reported the cases to the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and urged it to form a task force to investigate them.
The LPS-HAM has also taken legal action in relation to the government's failure to resolve the Poso conflict. "We have filed a class action against the President, the National Police chief, the Central Sulawesi governor and police chief, the regent of Poso and the Poso Police chief. They are the ones responsible for resolving the Poso conflict," claimed Alam.
Sectarian violence rocked Poso four years ago, when some 2,000 Muslims and Christians were reportedly killed in the conflict. The scale of conflict has subsided, although there have occasionally been deadly attacks recently on local people by unknown perpetrators trying to revive the conflict.
The tension has until now prompted the National Police to maintain a heavy police presence in the area, although that then created another problem: allegations of frequent abuse of power by police personnel.
Separately, Central Sulawesi Police chief Brig. Gen. Taufik Ridha said the police had received several reports of violence allegedly committed by security personnel, and the cases were still being dealt with by a military tribunal in Manado, North Sulawesi province.
Some have been convicted. "Those proven guilty will be dismissed or demoted," said the Central Sulawesi Police chief on Thursday.