State of emergency in Poso on hold: Police
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
National Police Chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar says security condition in Poso, Central Sulawesi, has been improving and therefore there is no urgent need to impose a state of emergency in the conflict- stricken area.
But he also said that more troops and police personnel would be deployed to Poso and its surrounding areas to put an end to religious clashes that have beleaguered the regency since 1999.
"In the past two or three days, Poso has been calm, and so we will not declare a state of emergency there yet," Da'i told journalists after a Friday prayer with Vice President Hamzah Haz at the National Police headquarters in Jakarta.
Fresh sectarian clashes gripped Poso regency in the past few weeks following the arrival of Laskar Jihad members in the area, prompting legislators and experts to call for the imposition of state of emergency in the area. Dozens of people have been killed from both sides.
Earlier this week, the government deployed two battalions of troops and 10 companies of police. President Megawati Soekarnoputri also sent Coordinating Minister for Political, Social and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Home Affairs Minister Hari Sabarno to assess the security condition in Poso for possible imposition of state of emergency.
"We will continue deploying troops proportionally across Poso and cooperating with local administrations to maintain peace in the area," Da'i said.
Vice President Hamzah Haz said that he expected the Poso problems would be settled next year and the government would pursue efforts to bring peace in the area.
"We will take immediate steps to end the conflict in Poso and as soon as the security is improving we will lower the level of alertness. The government will not let the situation get worse in Poso," Hamzah said.
He further reminded that the people of Poso should express willingness to end the conflict, saying government's efforts would not solve the problem if the people continue to fight each other.
"We will continue to help the refugees in the area, however, without the people's support, all government's efforts would be useless," Hamzah added.
Meanwhile, Agence-France Presse reported on Friday that some 1,000 members of a religious paramilitary group have approached Tentena town and plan to attack it.
Quoting a Church source, AFP reported that members of Laskar Jihad (Jihad Force) were seen entering a forest in Tojo district, 70 kilometers east of Tentena, late Thursday.
"Our scouts reported by phone that some 1,000 men from Laskar Jihad are heading towards Tentena through a forest in Tojo," Yos Adjalim from the Christian church's Crisis Center told AFP by telephone.
"We have reported our findings to the security authorities here and they said they are tracking down the Laskar Jihad," Adjalim said.
A Catholic priest in Tentena, Father Jimmy Tumbelaka, said the Laskar Jihad members had moved out of the town of Poso, about 40 kilometers north of Tentena, after troops arrived there to restore order.
"They are now in the Tojo area because it is a more secluded area which makes it easier for them to attack Tentena undetected by the troops," he said.
A duty police officer in Tentena, who refused to be named, said they had received no reports of Laskar Jihad activity in the area, adding that police and troops from Jakarta had arrived in the town.