State of emergency in Poso on hold: Police

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.