Tension rises as Christian beheaded

Tension rises as Christian beheaded

Ruslan Sangadji, The Jakarta Post/Poso

Local residents discovered at dawn Friday a severed head in Sayo
subdistrict, Poso regency, at dawn on Friday, with the Idul Fitri
holiday only a week away.

The body of the victim, a 48-year-old Christian, was
discovered later in the day in Gunung Potong, some 10 kilometers
from the place where the head was found.

A loud blast was heard on the same day in Sayo subdistrict,
further fueling tension in the religiously divided regency.

A senior police officer said the police received a call from
local resident reporting that a severed head was lying at the
side of a road in Sayo subdistrict, Poso Kota district, Poso
regency.

The head, contained in a plastic bag, was thrown out of a
Toyota Kijang minivan by an unidentified person, according to Sr.
Comr. Sukirno, the deputy chief of the Central Sulawesi Police,
who was quoting witnesses.

The police quickly arrived at the scene, and later identified
the victim as Carminalis Ndele, the chief of Pinedapa village,
Poso Pesisir district, Poso regency.

Besides the severed head, the police also found a sheet of
paper inside the bag inscribed with the words "The Order from the
Old People is to take 1,000 heads."

"We have no suspects at the moment but this could be a
personal vendetta or another attempt to antagonize both the
Muslim and Christian communities here," Capt. Rudy Trenggono, the
deputy chief of the Poso Police, told AFP.

Sukirno commented this was the most sadistic crime to take
place since the signing of the Malino Declaration at the end of
2001, which served to reduce the tension and violence in Poso
regency.

Before the government-sponsored agreement, the finding of
severed heads was commonplace in the regency, where the sectarian
conflict started in 2000.

A witness recalled that Carminalis was picked by up somebody
earlier on Thursday night. The person, who was riding a Honda
Supra motorcycle and apparently was acquainted with Carminalis,
wore a T-shirt and the sort of brown trousers normally worn by
police officers.

But, five hours later at 1 a.m on Friday, Carminalis' severed
head was found in Sayo subdistrict, which is a predominantly
Muslim area.

Fearing that the latest development could be precursor to a
renewed outbreak of conflict in Poso, Central Sulawesi Police
chief Brig. Gen. Aryanto Sutadi flew from Palu, the capital of
Central Sulawesi, to Poso regency by helicopter.

Upon landing in Poso, Aryanto, flanked by Poso Police chief
Adj. Sr. Comr. Abdi Dharma Sitepu, headed to Poso General
Hospital to inspect the victim's remains.

The situation was very tense in Pinedapa subdistrict, where
Carminalis lived. Hundreds of residents gathered in a house
belonging to Carminalis' family to prepare for a church service.
General Aryanto paid a visit to the mourners, and called on
people to stay calm and not be provoked into seeking vengeance.
He said that the police would find the perpetrators and bring
them to justice.

The situation in downtown Poso, however, appeared to be
largely normal. Traffic was still heavy and stores remained open,
despite what happened in Pinedapa, some 25 kilometers west of
Poso.

At dawn Friday, people in neighboring Sayo were shocked by a
loud blast only a few hours after the finding of the severed head
in their subdistrict, Antara news agency reported.

Women screamed, while the men formed groups to find the source
of blast, which was believed to be somewhere near the Poso River.