Rights body told to study sex cases

Ruslan Sangadji, Palu

The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has been urged to investigate alleged sexual exploitation of women by security forces in the troubled town of Poso, Central Sulawesi.

In the meantime, local women's organization the Women's Group Struggling for Gender Equality in Central Sulawesi (KPKP-ST), criticized on Friday Poso Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Abdhi Darma as being "arrogant" for appearing to blame the reported exploitation on the victims.

KPKP-ST leader Eva Susanti said the Poso Police chief told women protesters on Thursday at his office, "women should protect themselves from being seduced by men," so as to avoid such sexual exploitation.

"It was the women who wanted to be seduced by the men," Abdhi was quoted by Eva as saying as he explained what partly caused the alleged exploitation of the women in Poso.

Eva said on Friday the Poso Police chief should not have made such an offensive statement in responding to reports of exploitation allegedly perpetrated by his personnel.

"Such a remark means that the police chief has tried to protect those of his subordinates who irresponsibly exploited women in Poso," she stressed.

However, Abdhi denied making such a statement.

He said that at the time he warmly received the protesters at his office and told them to proceed with their complaints about alleged sexual exploitation by police and military officers.

KPKP-ST secretary-general Soraya Sultan said her group had filed a report on the sexual exploitation with Komnas HAM in order for it to start investigating the sensitive cases.

Hundreds of local women were reportedly exploited and subsequently traumatized after coming into contact with military and police officers deployed to Poso from other areas of the country over the last four years.

However, only 20 have had the courage to speak out on what they experienced.

Several victims admitted to becoming pregnant after dating policemen who refused to marry them, subsequently abandoning them and their children.

Others said they had had courtships with soldiers or policemen, but when they became pregnant, they were pressured strongly to have an abortion.

Victims who have been traumatized include women from Poso Kota, Poso Pesisir, Lage and North Pamona Utara districts.

Earlier, Central Sulawesi Police chief Brig. Gen. Taufik Ridha asserted that he would severely punish any of his subordinates who had been involved in such exploitation. "There will be no mercy for those who have exploited women in this way," he said recently.