TNI, police told to leave C. Sulawesi

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.