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.