`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.