Talks fail to yield progressive measures to end Poso unrest

La Remy and Muhammad Nafik, The Jakarta Post, Palu/Jakarta

Muslim and Christian figures from Poso in Central Sulawesi ended a two-day meeting in a failure to produce effective measures to quell the renewed attacks in their violence-plagued town.

The delegates in their second round of talks held in the provincial capital of Palu declined to identify or reveal those behind a spate of recent attacks, including bombings, across Poso.

Both rival groups have denied launching attacks against each other as widespread speculation has surfaced that attackers were outsiders, who, witnesses said, used automatic weapons.

The meeting, brokered by Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Jusuf Kalla, was not expected to be instrumental in calming the intermittent sectarian fighting, which has killed some 2,000 people over the last two years.

Only eight of the 23 Christian delegates invited to the forum showed up, while almost all the 25 Muslim figures asked to attend the meeting made an appearance.

The low turnout from the Christian faction is believed to have contributed to the talks' failure to bring about progressive efforts to stop the violence.

Kalla blamed "transportation problems" for the absence of most Christian leaders at the meeting.

The Christian faction had issued a statement urging its leaders to shun the second round of peace talks in Palu in protest against outbreaks of fresh attacks on its members.

During the meeting, both delegations pledged to work together along with the military and police forces to help restore peace and security to Poso.

They also agreed to declare those involved in the unrest there as sworn enemies, whom they must fight against through prevailing laws.

The meeting recommended that the civilian population take an active part in helping authorities maintain peace in Poso and avoid offering protection to those guilty of provoking violence.

Peace had returned to the town several months after local Muslim and Christian leaders signed a peace deal last December in the South Sulawesi hill resort of Malino. But unrest has been escalating again over the past three months.

As the Palu meeting was about to end on Monday, three people were found dead with gunshot and stab wounds, while four others were missing in new violence in Poso, local residents said.

The deaths followed the alleged abductions of seven people by an armed group of unidentified people who stopped a passenger bus and a Kijang van on Monday morning in the area between the Kanyamanya and Moengko villages, said Christian activist Widyanto.

The armed men stopped the two vehicles to examine the identity cards of passengers, he told The Jakarta Post.

Security and government officials in Poso and Palu denied the reported fresh attacks, but confirmed that one other man was found dead with gunshot wounds on his body in Malei village in the Lage subdistrict late on Sunday evening.

Two men, including a member of the National Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob), were also kidnapped by a group of unknown men on Saturday. Their whereabouts are still unknown.

Last week, gunmen sprayed a bus with bullets, killing an Italian tourist and wounding four other passengers, all locals.

Groups of armed men have also attacked several isolated villages in Poso over the past week, setting several homes and churches on fire.

National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar, who was observing the Palu talks, said more reinforcements would be deployed in the district.

He said an evaluation of security conditions in Poso showed tension had begun to return following a gradual withdrawal of reinforcement troops in July.

An Army battalion from South Sulawesi and an elite police unit from Jakarta were dispatched to Poso on Saturday to reinforce the 280 soldiers and 2,120 police officers in town, Da'i said.

He said the police were seeking to identify and capture those responsible for the recent bombings, killings and abductions in Poso.

It will take some time to learn the masterminds and perpetrators of the attacks as the police need to gather sufficient evidence to incriminate them, Da'i said.

Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Gen. Endriartono Sutarto said his office was prepared to beef up security in Poso if needed.

Some points agreed on during the Palu peace talks:

* Enforce the law fairly, swiftly, firmly and transparently in all criminal cases.

* Guarantee the security and safety as well as the welfare of all community members, including refugees.

* Set up a cooperation body to deal with distributing information through a website and print and electronic media.

* Encourage locals to be proactive in providing any information on violence and allowing authorities to handle all legal procedures.

* Stop all kinds of security disturbances, including provocations through the mass media, and uncover all cases of violence that have happened.

* Dispatch police and military forces to conflict-prone areas in Poso and alternate those on duty.

* Police and military personnel need to adopt a persuasive approach and use professionalism when handling any problems.

* The central and provincial governments should immediately give financial assistance to organize a workshop on security.

* Police and military leaders, religious and community figures as well as signatories of the Malino peace accord should jointly enforce the law against those possessing, using and producing firearms and explosives.

* Continue carrying out disarmaments with metal detectors.

* Police and military must forge a cooperation with the Malino signatories to restore security and enforce the law.

* Related government agencies should implement their social programs soon in an effort to help restore peace and security.