Two separate events rock Poso regency

Two separate events rock Poso regency

Irvan NR and Ruslan Sangadji, The Jakarta Post, Palu/Poso

Central Sulawesi Police have been hunting down since Sunday
snipers who shot dead a local man, Jhon Christian Tanalida, 37, a
senior police officer said on Monday in Palu, the capital of
Central Sulawesi.

Jhon was shot dead late on Saturday in Kawua subdistrict, Poso
regency.

Central Sulawesi Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Agus Sugianto
said the police would do their best to capture the suspects in
the shooting, in order to maintain security in the religiously
divided town of Poso.

"We expect Poso residents to remain calm and not be provoked
by the incident," he said on Monday.

Poso was rocked by sectarian violence in 2000, when almost
2,000 Muslims and Christians were killed in the unrest.

Clashes largely subsided last year, but sporadic attacks by
unknown assailants have occurred until recently in Poso regency.

Agus explained that Tanalida was shot dead when he was about
to tap nira (sap obtained by tapping a variety palm trees and
used to make sugar) in his plantation, close to downtown Poso. He
was shot in the chest.

The shooting occurred only few hours after the discovery of a
low-explosive bomb in Maleali subdistrict, Parigi Moutong
regency, Central Sulawesi. Parigi Moutong is some 100 kilometers
north of Poso regency.

The bomb, which was found by a passerby on Saturday morning,
was placed in front of a church in the subdistrict.

Following the two incidents, police in Central Sulawesi are
now tightening up security measures there.

As of Monday, not only police and soldiers but also local
residents were on high alert over possible random attacks and
bomb explosions.

They were vigilant at some spots in Poso, inspecting every
vehicle that passed along the street.

They checked ID cards of both public transportation and
private car drivers and their passengers, some of them repeatedly
shouting to the drivers and the passengers, "Kill them", "Hit
them" or "Pull your car back."

The situation scared motorists, drivers and passengers and
some passengers asked public transportation drivers to continue
their journey only during the day and not at night.

"We'd better return to Poso and continue the trip tomorrow,"
Erik D.T., a passenger whispered to a public transportation
driver.

Several bus companies such as Alugoro, New Armada and Jawa
Indah prohibited their drivers from operating their vehicles at
night, to avoid possible fatalities.

Tight security measures were not only adopted on Poso streets,
but also evident on streets in Toboli subdistrict, the border
area between Parigi Moutong and Poso regencies.

Poso Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Abdi Dharma calmed local
residents on Monday, saying that they had to exercise self-
restraint after the two incidents.

He said that currently 2,092 police personnel and some 1,300
TNI soldiers were on alert in Poso regency.