Poso strife due to govt failure: Rights group

Agence France-Presse, New York

The sectarian bloodshed in Poso, Central Sulawesi is the direct result of government's failure to punish violence when it broke out four years ago, Human Rights Watch said Tuesday.

An estimated 1,000 people have died and more than 100,000 have been displaced since violence between Christians and Muslims erupted in Poso in December 1998.

In a 48-page report, the New York-based rights watchdogs accused the security forces of turning a blind eye to violence committed by both sides, and said shootings, bombings and attacks continued with impunity.

"Some western governments want to strengthen ties with the Indonesian military in the fight against terrorism, but the Army cannot even control conflict in many parts of the country," said Brad Adams, executive director of the Asia division at Human Rights Watch.

"This problem cannot be fixed by more weapons and training. The focus should be on reform," Adams said.

When the communal violence began in Central Sulawesi, the security forces not only failed to stop the attacks but often exacerbated the situation by firing into crowds and committing human rights abuses, the report said.

Many of the worst crimes went unpunished, and several subsequent outbreaks were tied to the lack of arrests for prior violence, it added.

The few trials that did take place produced inconsistent sentences and took place in a "circus-like atmosphere" that inflamed tensions further.

Human Rights Watch called for an investigation by Indonesia's Human Rights Commission into the failure to contain violence in Poso, and urged that internationally-supported training programs build the capacity of police in the province.

Indonesia said Tuesday it would keep 2,600 police and 900 soldiers in Poso for six more months in case of fresh Muslim- Christian clashes.

"There will be no reduction of troops until next June," said police Senior Commissioner Imam Sujarwo, who heads the "security restoration operation."

The operation, agreed following a peace pact between Christian and Muslim representatives last December, had been due to expire at the end of the year.