'Slap military state of emergency on Poso'

'Slap military state of emergency on Poso'

Abu Hanifah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

More support came from the House of Representatives on Tuesday
for the government to impose a state of emergency to end a deadly
sectarian conflict in Poso, Central Sulawesi.

Pedy Tandawuya, a House member from the Golkar Party said that
the government should declare a military state of emergency
because the conflict had nearly spiraled out of control.

"A prompt and powerful measure is urgent to end the conflict
there and that means a military state of emergency," said Pedy,
who is a Poso native.

The conflicts, which saw relative calm for several months,
have flared out of control in the past three weeks due to the
arrival of outside forces.

Relief workers have warned that thousands of displaced people
are facing starvation as the Poso regency has been largely cut
off from the outside world.

The state of emergency, whether civil or military, is expected
to be imposed as soon as the visiting Coordinating Minister of
Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono returns
from Poso this week.

The House Commission I was the first to propose a military
state of emergency during a hearing with Army Chief Marshal
Widodo AS on Monday.

Pedy said that the fighting would spread to neighboring areas
unless it was controlled soon. Until the government declares a
state of emergency, the government must deploy more troops to
Poso, he said.

Currently the security forces in Poso are overwhelmed because
they are badly outnumbered by the warring Muslims and Christians.

Pedy added that the troops sent into Poso should be more
professional than those previously dispatched to neighboring
Maluku, where several months of a state of civilian emergency has
failed to stop sectarian violence.

"This will be a good test case for the military's
professionalism," he said.

Separately, Police Chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar during a hearing
with Commission II on domestic affairs said that three days ago
TNI and the police had sent reinforcements to Poso.

"We dispatched 200 police special forces to join another 600
who were deployed earlier. Meanwhile, the military sent in two
battalions (about 2,000 personnel)," he said.

After the hearing, Da'i rushed straight to the airport to
leave for Poso to accompany Susilo who had left earlier on
Tuesday.