Poso truce should be promoted soon to stop bloodshed

Poso truce should be promoted soon to stop bloodshed

Jupriadi & Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Makassar/Jakarta

The regional administrations should be quick to publicize the
truce between Poso's Christians and Muslims signed on Thursday in
order that the results of the agreement can be implemented
properly at the grassroots level, observers said here on Friday.

South Sulawesi Governor HZB Palaguna, who witnessed the
signing of the deal said, in the capital of Makassar, that all
the officials at the Poso administrations, starting with the
regent, district head, village heads and other lower-level
bureaucrats should seize the initiative and talk to local people
about the truce.

"The truce is a big opportunity for the government to stop the
bloody clashes," Palaguna said.

In a separate interview, HM Darwis, a sociologist at the
Makassar-based Hasanuddin University, told The Jakarta Post that
the warring camps should be involved in publicizing the truce,
popularly known as the Malino Declaration.

"A joint team to monitor progress (of the publicity campaign)
should also be set up," said Darwis.

"I believe that both the warring groups are awaiting further
steps now that the peace deal has been signed," he added.

Christian and Muslim groups pledged on Thursday to end the
mutual resentment that had locked them into a three-year feud, at
a meeting in Malino, a resort area some 70 kilometers southeast
of Makassar.

Twenty-four Christian and 25 Muslim delegates signed the peace
deal observed by officials, including Governor Palaguna and
Central Sulawesi Governor Aminuddin Ponulele.

Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Jusuf Kalla acted
as mediator in the peace talks, which resulted in a 10-point
peace deal.

The two warring groups also agreed to set up two joint
commissions soon. One would deal with law and order, the other,
social and economic matters.

"There is no reason to delay the establishment of the two
commissions. This is a very serious matter," Palaguna
said.

The Malino Declaration was the outcome of the fifth of such
peace talks held by the government. The previous four rounds had
failed.

According to Darwis, the failure of the previous talks was due
to the lack of publicity at the grass roots, poor participation
by the government and the regional administrations (in
implementing the results of the talks), and a poor security setup
(in enforcing implementation of the results of talks).

"The declaration was a big leap forward. Things must be
implemented, upheld and maintained very seriously and carefully."
Members of the warring groups have, in practice, still to erase
the three-year-long nightmare. Therefore the police and military
must be on high alert to prevent any possible provocateurs or
intruders from destroying the agreement," said Darwis.

Meanwhile, in the Central Sulawesi capital of Palu, Governor
Amuniddin Ponulele said that security had to be properly
maintained by the residents of Poso. "Any outsiders who have no
business in the implementation of the declaration's results must
leave. Those who want to stay in Poso should report to the
authorities and abide by local regulations."

Meanwhile, in Jakarta Pedy Tandawuya, a member of the House of
Representatives (DPR) from strife-torn Poso district in Central
Sulawesi, praised the truce made on Thursday by local leaders of
the conflicting Christian and Muslim groups.

It was the fifth agreement reached by the two groups three
years after the first religious conflict broke out, but the first
mediated by the government.

"It shows that the two groups are very much in need of peace.
Poso was a quiet place," Pedy told The Jakarta Post by phone on
Friday.

Asked if there were any other actions needed to enforce the
peace agreement, Pedy simply said the government should discover
the causes that had triggered the conflict initially.

"It is the responsibility of the government to disclose the
causes of the conflict. I believe there has been something behind
it. The conflict must have been engineered," said Pedy, who is
the only legislator from Poso.

Although Pedy hailed the peace agreement, he considered the
initiative from Jakarta was too late. He said if the government
had initiated such an agreement earlier, the conflict would not
have intensified.