The Jakarta Post - The Journal of Indonesia Today

Police say Poso victims involved in criminal acts

National News - January 25, 2007

Ruslan Sangadji, The Jakarta Post, Poso

Dead victims of a gunbattle between police and suspected militants in Poso, Central Sulawesi on Monday had been involved in a criminal activities in Poso and Palu, police said Wednesday.

The victims had not been included on police wanted-lists but had played large roles in several criminal acts in the province, Central Sulawesi Police chief Brig. Gen. Badrodin Haiti told The Jakarta Post.

One policeman and 13 civilians were killed during Monday's hostilities. A further seven civilians were wounded and dozens arrested.

Badrodin said several of the victims had allegedly been involved in the fatal shootings of Ivon Nathalia, Sitti Nuraini, Helmy Tombulung and an unidentified Christian citizen on a cacao plantation in Sayo village. These killings all occurred in 2005.

This information was based on a statement made by one of the captured fugitives, identified as Wiwin Kalahe, he said.

Wiwin said a two victims, identified as Umang and Kana, were allegedly involved in the 2005 killing of Puji Astuti. Puji was a lecturer at the Agriculture School of Tadulako University in Palu.

Another victim, Ebnal Tao, was also alleged to have been involved in the shooting of two police officers, First Brig. Agus Sulaiman and First Brig. Sugito.

"All of the criminal acts took place in 2005, so all of those killed in the clash were criminals," Badrodin said.

The victims had protected several civilians wanted by police as well as assemble weapons and explosive substances, he said. "They also terrorized the people of Poso by detonating their homemade bombs," Badrodin said.

"We're very optimistic that the capture of a number of people on our wanted list will help uncover the involvement of civilians in a series of criminal acts in Poso and Palu," he said.

Meanwhile, a group of Poso residents expressed their concern over the recent tough stance taken by police, which they said led to the outbreak of hostilities.

Yus Mangun, a member of the Central Sulawesi Legislative Council, said he supported strong law enforcement in Poso but that efforts must be conducted in a just way and not be repressive.

"I've received information from the people of Poso that a number of those who died were civilians who happened to pass by the site of the hostilities," he said.

Yus cited the police shooting of Ustadz (Muslim preacher) Ardian who at the time of hostilities was one kilometer away from the action.

Badrodin said, however, that Ardian was an alias used by the Javanese man, who he claimed had taken part in a war in Afghanistan. The man had later traveled to Poso and trained several locals in the assembling of weapons and bomb making, he said.

Badrodin declined to disclose Ardian's real name.

Indonesian Military Air Chief Marshal Djoko Suyanto said in Jakarta on Wednesday he would deploy 200 soldiers to assist police officers in Poso.

"We are ready to deploy our soldiers under the condition that we receive a formal letter asking for assistance," he said.

A comprehensive approach, which involved civilians, was needed to end the conflict, he said.

National News - January 26, 2007

Ruslan Sangadji, The Jakarta Post, Palu

The Central Sulawesi Police are questioning 26 civilians arrested for the illegal possession of firearms and explosives following Monday's bloody clash between officers and suspected Muslim militants in which 14 people died.

Central Sulawesi Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Muhammad Kilat said the suspects were arrested during a crackdown on militants in Gebang Rejo district, Poso.

"Out of the 26 people, two are those on (the police wanted) list. They are Tugirom, alias Iron, and Wiwin," he told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

Monday's shoot-out with militants has been criticized by many who have accused the police of acting aggressively. One officer died in the violence, along with 13 civilians, when the militants retaliated with firearms and bombs.

Police have defended their tactics, saying they were unable to arrest wanted militants after months of trying a persuasive approach.

The suspects' lawyer from the Central Sulawesi Muslim Defense Team, Asluddin Hatjani, said several of the arrested civilians were innocent bystanders, who were being unlawfully detained by the police. Police had arrested the men and later forced confessions from them, he said.

"During the arrest, the police handed handmade weapons to several of them and took their pictures to make it seem as if they possessed the weapons. All this was engineered," Asluddin said.

The lawyer's statement was supported by a witness to the arrests.

The man, who asked not to be named, was arrested along with five other men but later released after a policeman who knew him convinced other officers he was not involved.

"I was released, but I don't know the fate of my friends," he said. The man said he and his friends were scavengers who collected used bottles and scrap iron.

Asked about the witness' statement, Muhammad Kilat said he could not comment until the police interrogations were finished.

Meanwhile, calm was slowly returning to the town of Poso on Thursday, although the police presence in the area remained high.

Officers are searching vehicles at checkpoints throughout the city and have been deployed in force to the mainly Christian suburb of Tentana.

"I opened my stall again two days ago," Anwar, who sells plastic flowers in the main market, told AFP on Thursday.

He said business had been slow but had recently improved.

He hoped peace and security would return to the town.

However, many houses in the town lay eerily quiet, abandoned by spooked residents, and Cokroaminoto kindergarten, in the Tanah Runtuh neighborhood where the violence occurred, remains closed.

"We had to give the children a holiday because we are worried for them," headmistress Sumarti told AFP.

She said the children were at school during Monday's police raid. They lay on the floor for hours as the sound of gunshots rang around the class.

"We will try to reopen the school on Saturday," she said.


Aceh women want caning review

National News - January 27, 2007

Nani Afrida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh

Clad in a white dress and scarf, 20-year-old Liza Wahyuni binti Sulaiman kneeled on the platform. Two wilatatulhisbah, or religious police officers, stood next to her. She was about to be caned, and in public.

The Acehnese woman bowed her head. Her eyes were reddened from weeping. She sobbed even louder when spectators -- from the elderly to children -- shouted profanities.

Liza was whipped three times after being caught with her lover, Syahrurriza, 21, who had earlier received five strokes of the cane.

The caning penalty is not particularly extraordinary in Aceh because the province has been meting out the punishment since 2005 to those found guilty of "immoral" acts -- khalwat (illicit sex), khamar (drinking) and judi (gambling) -- three crimes which have been passed into law following the implementation of sharia in Aceh.

A women's advocacy commission said that based on its special documentary report, many women, especially public caning victims, have demanded a review of the punishment.

The report says that the punishment is wrong for the offenses, which are "human nature".

"Moreover, the punishment has a wide impact, not only on the offender but also on other family members," Samsidar of the Aceh chapter National Commission on Violence Against Women told The Jakarta Post.

She gave the example of a housewife who was driven to gamble by financial problems, only to be caught and caned five times. The punishment caused her great shame, Samsidar said, and she was ostracized by her family and community, while her children were treated badly by their friends and teachers.

"People do not care how serious the reasons are for (the crime that leads to) being whipped. I've been branded a gambler, a criminal and a sinner," another woman who had been lashed for gambling told the report.

The report recommended that if the local government was going to continue the punishment, it should be closed to the public.

"Most of the women we interviewed recommended that option," said Samsidar.

In response to the recommendation, Islamic Sharia Office head Aliasa' Abubakar said that the caning in Aceh was much more lenient than that meted out in Singapore.

"The cane used in Aceh is much smaller than the 1-inch in diameter cane used in Singapore, and we don't cane people until they bleed here," said Aliasa'.

He argued that the punishment was more humane than prison sentences. "Which is better, a day receiving a few lashes and then released, or a longer prison sentence, or even life?" asked Aliasa'.

According to Alaisa', the punishment will cause pain and deter people from committing crimes. "A punishment is meant to curb crime," he said.

Aceh's newly elected deputy governor Muhammad Nazar, who will officially be installed next month, said his office would discuss the issue before reviewing the law.

"We should discuss the matter with traditional and other clerics first," Nazar told the Post.

Poso guns do not belong to armed forces, says TNI

National News - January 27, 2007

Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Army chief Gen. Djoko Santoso said Friday that the M-16 firearms used by the alleged perpetrators in Poso did not belong to the Indonesian Military (TNI).

"The firearms are not organic firearms that belong to the armed forces," Djoko said in a media conference at Army Headquarters in Central Jakarta.

Djoko said prior to conducting an investigation on where the Poso people got their firearms, the armed forces had to work under the coordination of the police in the area.

There are indications that 900 firearms are still circulating in the area, with only 200 confiscated, according to a legislator at the House of Representatives.

The TNI troops were deployed only to assist the police in enforcing the law, the Army chief added, and the soldiers were under the command of the police.

Separately, officials at the National Police Headquarters said they would investigate the people on the wanted list to find out the source of their firearms.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Sisno Adiwinoto told The Jakarta Post that the terrorists in Poso could have gotten the firearms anywhere.

"There is a possibility that the armed civilians got weapons left over from the conflicts in Aceh, Ambon or Papua," he said.

Sisno added that the arms stashes that had been used by insurgents in those areas were not verified before because the confiscated arms had been disposed of.

"The disposal of the confiscated arms explains why the source of the firearms could not be revealed initially," he said. He added that the weapons could also have come from the southern part of the Philippines or Thailand.

The police said they still needed the support of the 200 soldiers, who came from the military's 714th Battalion in Poso.

"The area in Poso is just too huge for us to handle by ourselves. The deployment of TNI troops is needed for security reasons," said National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Anton Bachrul Alam.

He added that so far the relations between the police and the armed forces had been good. The request from the Central Sulawesi police chief to have TNI troops deployed was approved by the National Police, Anton said.

Meanwhile, legislators suggested that ending the problem in Poso would take a systematic and continual effort monitored by the central government.

"The issue in Poso has a complex background. It needs a consistent effort. Don't just move to another case when the previous case is still undone," said National Awakening Party (FKB) deputy chairman Masduki Baidlawi in an interactive dialog at the House.

Secretary of the Regional Legislative Council Ichsan Loulembah said there were many issues and actors who played certain roles in the area, so the government had to choose one organization, which will be responsible to the president, to fix the Poso problems.
The Jakarta Post - The Journal of Indonesia Today
Prominent Muslims back Poso crackdown

National News - January 29, 2007

M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Muslim leaders have thrown their weight behind the government's recent crackdown on militants in Poso, Central Sulawesi, suspected of fomenting sectarian conflicts in the region.

State Islamic University rector and scholar Komaruddin Hidayat said the government should not hold back against militants who mingled with civilians, using them as human shields.

"This is the time enforce our laws against those who hijacked Islam and used it to pursue their own agenda. As a result, the image of Islam has been tarnished," Komaruddin told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

Komaruddin was one of several Islamic figures invited Saturday by Vice President Jusuf Kalla to discuss the conflict in Poso.

Also invited was the deputy chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama, Rozy Munir, former Muhammadiyah chairman Ahmad Syafii Maarif, Prosperous Justice Party president Tifatul Sembiring, Crescent Star Party chairman and Forestry Minister M.S. Ka'ban, Indonesian Ulema Council chairman Ahmad Midan and the former leader of Laskar Jihad, Ja'far Umar Thalib.

Kalla organized the meeting to obtain consensus among the Muslim leaders on a common approach to the conflicts in Poso.

Tensions rose in Poso following a police raid against suspected militants early last week which killed 14 people, including a police officer.

More than 50 suspected militants -- reportedly still armed with automatic weapons -- managed to escape the raid.

Komaruddin said the government needed explain to the people that Muslims were not specifically targeted in Poso.

Tifatul, however, said that although he supported the need to uphold law and order in Poso, he urged the government to resist using excessive measures against suspected militants.

"Things have changed now in Poso, tension has eased. What the government needs to do is maintain calm in the region," he said.

The Prosperous Justice Party president also called on police to be less selective in deciding on targets for security operations.

"Muslims and Christians alike are involved in this conflict and we have information that some Christians in Poso still have guns in their possession," he said.

He also said the government should not label suspected militants as terrorists. "It is as if we support George Bush's war on terrorism," Tifatul said.

Deputy chairman of the House of Representatives Commission III on law and home security Azis Syamsuddin said that police had acted accordingly in their raids against the suspected militants.

Azis said that prior to launching the raid, the police had attempted to initiate discussions with the related groups.

Police grill Poso suspects about arms, explosives