`Still a lot of animosity in Poso'

`Still a lot of animosity in Poso'

Damar Harsanto and Zakki Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Police said on Thursday that they found it difficult to put an
end to religious conflict in Poso, Central Sulawesi, as the
warring parties were full of vengeance resulting from past
conflicts.

"When vengeance is the sole reason (for the conflict),
(upholding) security in the area, especially in Poso and
surrounding areas, is impossible," National Police chief Gen.
Da'i Bachtiar said after a celebration of the anniversary of the
Indonesian Police Women at National Police Headquarters.

Da'i said the investigation into recent violent attacks in
Poso and the neighboring regency of Morowali in Central Sulawesi
revealed that the motive was retaliation.

"The suspects keep saying 'in past conflicts my parents,
brothers and other relatives were easy targets of attack (by the
opposing group)'," Da'i said.

So far, police have detained 16 suspects and gunned down six
others in shoot-outs since violence broke out again on Oct. 10.

From the suspects and those killed, the police seized two M-
16s, three LA firearms, a number of FN pistols and 232 bullets.

Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Jusuf Kalla said on
Thursday that the recent attack in Morowali, Central Sulawesi,
was not renewed sectarian conflict but was an attack by veterans
of the Poso conflict.

"They are 'war heroes', but when the conflict ended, they
became jobless, so they tried to start a new one," the minister
said here during an international conference on conflict in the
Asia Pacific.

Da'i said the police were still investigating whether
outsiders had fanned the flames of revenge felt by the assailant
group.

"We are investigating whether they were being controlled (by
another group)," he said.

Since earlier this week, a joint police and military team has
been pursuing Mohamadong, alias Ndang, a resident of Ampana
subdistrict in Poso, who has been accused of masterminding the
attacks.

Security personnel have been trying to locate him after he was
spotted in Lembo subdistrict, Morowali. Several suspects also
named him as the planner of the Oct. 10 attack in Beteleme
village, Morowali, in which three Christians were killed. He was
also accused of providing weapons and ammunition to attack
Beteleme. He reportedly fled into the jungle in Lembo
subdistrict.

The suspected Beteleme assailants taken into custody are part
of a group thought to be responsible for the predawn raids on
three predominantly Christian villages in Poso Kota subdistrict
on Oct. 12 in which at least 10 people were killed.

The fresh killings raised fears of a return to the Muslim-
Christian violence in which about 2,000 people were killed in
Poso in 2000 and 2001.

Da'i called on the people in Poso and its surrounding areas to
surrender their firearms and ammunition to the police.

"We will take sterner action if attacks take place again," he
asserted.

Citing the suspects' statements, he said, the firearms used in
the attacks were part of those used in the past religious
conflict.

Based on past findings, he said, the firearms and ammunition
used in the conflicts, like M-16 assault rifles, had been
smuggled in from the southern Philippines.

Earlier on Monday, Coordinating Minister for Political and
Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the Indonesian
Military would deploy combat troops to assist security operations
in Poso amid fears that attackers still at large might be
planning more attacks.