Poso victims continue quest for justice

Poso victims continue quest for justice

Tiarma Siboro and Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Dozens of friends and relatives of the three Christian
schoolgirls brutally murdered in Poso, Central Sulawesi are
continuing their efforts to see justice done.

They met separately with leaders of the country's largest
Muslim organizations, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah, the
day after they met with representatives from the Indonesian
Communion of Churches.

NU chairman Hasyim Muzadi said the 40-million member
organization stood behind the Poso people in accordance with the
peaceful teachings of Islam. The religion, he said, teaches
Muslims to protect minority groups.

Hasyim said that he and other religious leaders had a plan to
visit Poso to help calm both the Muslim and Christian
communities.

"If another attack takes place, the two religious communities
will find out that the assailants are outsiders," Hasyim
revealed.

Earlier in the day, Muhammadiyah chairman Din Syamsuddin
pledged that he would urge the government to deal with the case
in a proper manner.

"I believe the latest rash of violence in Poso has nothing to
do with religious issues. These acts are part of a political
game," Din claimed, but would not elaborate.

Poso is equally divided between Christians and Muslims. Bloody
conflicts between the two communities between 2000 and 2001 left
over 1,000 people killed. Sporadic violence has occurred,
including a serious bomb attack at a market in nearby Tentena
town this past May, which claimed over 20 lives.

Fear has loomed among other female students following the
beheadings of the three girls on Oct. 29, five days ahead of Idul
Fitri.

A week after that grisly attack, two female students were shot
by unidentified men while sitting in front of a house. The girls
suffered serious injuries and are still in the hospital.

"Female students in Poso can't go anywhere without fear now,"
Kartika, a local figure who represented the girls' relatives in
the meeting with Hasyim.

Separately, Central Sulawesi Police chief Brig. Gen. Oegroseno
said they had named three suspects in the drive-by shooting, one
of whom is a police officer. Oegroseno refused to identify the
officer.

He said the suspects would be charged under the antiterrorism
law because they had posed a threat to national security by
spreading fear among people.

"As of today, we have not found a clear motive behind the
shootings, but it seems clear that one of the suspects broken-
hearted after breaking up with one of the victims," Oegroseno
stated.