Tension mounting in Poso ahead of holidays

Badri Djawara, The Jakarta Post, Palu

Tens of thousands of people in Poso, Central Sulawesi were gripped with fresh fears of sectarian battles ahead of Idul Fitri and Christmas as armed Muslim and Christian groups embarked on wave after wave of uncontrolled attacks that have claimed hundreds of lives in recent weeks.

The latest clashes occurred in Sepe Village in Silanca subdistrict over the last three days, leaving six people missing and more than 55 houses, two schools and a church burned.

The clashes have continued unabated due to a small number of security forces in the village, located only three kilometers south of Poso city, according to authorities in the area.

At least three Army personnel were injured in the violence. They were identified as First Lt. Tomy, Second Corporal Arham and First Private Jasman. Tomy was rushed to Palu and later to Jakarta for treatment of serious injuries while the two others were being treated at Poso General Hospital.

According to the information at the Provincial Police Headquarters in Palu, the abduction of six Muslim villagers was conducted by supporters of the so-called Christian Red Force in retaliation for a raid by a Muslim group, many believed to be the paramilitary group Laskar Jihad (Holy Warriors), on the village.

Muslim leaders, however, in Poso accused the local military of being behind the abductions, but the local military denied the accusation.

"The six (Muslims) were kidnapped when they were eating their dawn meal early on Monday," Adnan Arsyal, a Muslim figure in Poso, told The Jakarta Post by telephone here on Monday.

The source identified the captors as Lukas and Mathias and called on the local military to return them.

He identified the villagers as Hasyim Toana, Iwan, Amran, Aswat, Suaib and Latief.

Lt. Col. Samsul Rizal Harahap, chief of the Poso Military District, said he would act appropriately if his men were proven guilty of abducting the six Muslims.

He admitted that the local military could not help the local police to restore security and order in the regency because of the lack of personnel.

"The Wirabuana Military Command is deploying two battalions (about 1,400) from Gorontalo and Makassar, South Sulawesi, in order to prevent a civil war in the regency," he said, adding that several companies of police personnel were on their way to the regency.

The sectarian conflict in the regency has flared up in recent weeks following the influx of thousands of armed Muslim men, said to be Laskar Jihad members, from Central and East Java.

More than 150 people have been killed and thousands of houses burned down in clashes between the groups over the last two months.

Father Jimmy Tumbelaka in the predominantly Christian Tentena subdistrict, some 40 kilometer south of Poso, said some 50,000 refugees and local people have been gripped by fresh worries of a civil war if the paramilitary fighters forced their way into the town.

"The armed militia group has destroyed at least seven (Christian) villages between Poso and Tentena on their way to the town. Their goal is to capture the town and celebrate Idul Fitri there," he said.

Jimmy added that the military personnel deployed by the Wirabuana Military Command in South Sulawesi had yet to arrive in the regency while the two warring factions continued their attacks.

"The Muslims have threatened to celebrate Idul Fitri in Christian Tentena while the Christians have uttered a similar threat to celebrate Christmas in predominantly Muslim Poso.

"And a civil war will likely erupt in Tentena if the Muslim militants attack the town because local people are ready with their traditional weapons to defend the town," he said.

Jimmy, also a member of the Inter-religious Clerics Forum in Poso said religious figures have several times met with local security authorities and made a joint communique to halt the conflict but both sides have ignored it.

"The most important issue is that security authorities must require the Laskar Jihad to return home, in order to let warring factions participate in reconciliation," he said.

More than 2,000 people have been killed since the conflict erupted in 1998 but the situation gradually returned to normal following the deployment of two military battalions to the regency earlier this year.

However, the conflict flared up again in November with accusations of the Java-based Laskar Jihad being the main instigators of the violence.