TNI, police told to leave C. Sulawesi
Tiarma Siboro and Ruslan Sangadji, Jakarta/Palu
Several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) called for the withdrawal of reinforcement troops and police personnel from Central Sulawesi on Wednesday for their failure to stop renewed attacks in Poso and Palu.
The presence of soldiers and police sent in from outside the province has served no purpose and their pullout could shed light on the identity of mysterious gunmen blamed for a series of recent attacks, they argued.
"The government should withdraw troops and police personnel who are not native to the province because they have abused their power instead of restoring security and peace," Jimmy Metusala of the Crisis Center at the South Sulawesi Christian Church (GKST) told a joint press conference.
Present at the event were activists from several other NGOs including the Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI)'s Crisis Center, the National Commission on Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), Sulawesi's AlKhairaat Youth Association and the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI).
"The security forces in Poso have also failed to boost trust between Muslims and Christians, while in several violent incidents, several security personnel were even involved," Jimmy said.
The NGOs said the government had spent some Rp 9 billion for the security operation called Sintuwu Maroso in Poso and deployed 3,900 troops and police personnel this year alone.
"But violence has continued in the town after the 2000-2001 sectarian conflict," Jimmy added.
The NGOs recorded that at least 55 people, including women and children, were brutally killed, and 144 others wounded within the past two years.
They also urged the central government to audit the use of no less than Rp 45 billion (US$51 million) allocated for humanitarian aid for Poso refugees, saying about 18,000 family heads had never received the funds.
"The central government, especially its judicial branch, should investigate the suspected misappropriation of funds disbursed for victims of violence in Poso," said a joint statement issued at the press conference.
The statements came in reaction to Sunday's attack on the Effata church in Palu, which killed Reverend Susianti Tinulele who was delivering a sermon in the church.
Central Sulawesi Police chief Brig. Gen. Taufik Ridha identified on Wednesday one suspect in the clergyman's murder only by his initial F alias A.
"The suspect is still at large in Palu and Donggala. We have deployed a team to locate his hideouts in two areas," he told a press conference in Palu.
Taufik said F was a resident of Palu and belonged to a certain group, adding that his office was investigating his possible links with recent terror attacks in Central Sulawesi.
The suspect's name was revealed after the police questioned at least 15 witnesses in connection with the shooting of Susianti, he added.
Taufik said the police were also probing a possible link between Sunday's shooting and previous attacks on Christian targets including the killing in March of Christian prosecutor Ferry Silalahi.
In Jakarta National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said there were no signs so far that the Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) regional terror group was involved in the latest church attack.
Also on Wednesday, Taufik received a number of local clergymen grouped under the Palu Christian Cooperation Board, who expressed support for the hunt for the attackers.
They also appealed to Christians to shun revenge over the latest deadly attack.
"We also ask all church leaders to hoist the national flag at half-mast for a week to mourn the death of Reverend Susianti," Christian minister Dharma Sallata Putera told The Jakarta Post after the meeting.
A call for peace and religious harmony was also voiced by chairman of the Alkhairaat Youth Association (HPA) Farid Jafar Nazar, who said local people should not be provoked into renewed conflict.
However, the association's Central Sulawesi chapter urged Taufik to resign if he failed to capture the gunmen.