Poso struggles to stay calm

The Jakarta Post, Poso, Central Sulawesi, Mon November 05 2012,


Residents in Poso, Central Sulawesi are struggling to maintain calm following a series of violent incidents that climaxed over the weekend with a clash between locals and the National Police’s counterterrorism squad, Densus 88.

On Sunday, thousands of Muslims and Christians joined together to celebrate the 15th Poso Lake Festival — Poso’s biggest annual event.

Deputy Central Sulawesi Governor Sudarto officially kicked off the festival on Saturday afternoon, while 65 kilometers away, police battled locals outraged by the shooting and arrest of local clerics thought to have terrorist ties.

Central Sulawesi Police chief Brig. Gen. Dewa Parsana said the situation in the city was under control following the skirmish. “However, police personnel are still on alert,” he said.

Dewa called on local community and religious leaders to spread messages of non-violence.

National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Boy Rafli said police personnel would stay in Poso to secure
the area.

“There is no plan yet to reduce the number of personnel there. They are all still deployed there to enforce the law,” Boy said.

At the Poso Central Market, shops reopened for business on Sunday morning.

“Well, the incident yesterday indeed worried me a little. I am still cautious. Today, I only sold half the number of cakes I usually sell,” said one of vendors who wished to remain anonymous.

On Saturday, the market was a “battleground” between members of Densus 88 and locals who protested at the squad’s killing of Abdul Halid Tumbingo, 27.

The killing of Halid, and the arrest of M. Yasin, an Islamic cleric who the police suspect was involved in a series of violent incidents in Central Sulawesi, angered the local figures’ supporters. They attacked the police, throwing stones and small explosives, in a battle that brought activities in the central part of Poso to a halt for several hours.

Local leaders downplayed the clash, saying that Poso residents were no longer susceptible to provocation.

“Most Poso residents have deep traumas from past conflicts and they are already tired of fighting. They want and love peace,” Sutami Idris, a respected Muslim cleric, told The Jakarta Post.

Sutami was a former Muslim combatant during the sectarian conflict that raged between 1997 and 2001, but is now recognized as an influential moderate Islamic leader in Poso.

Rev. Renaldy Damanik, a Christian leader who was convicted of firearms possession in 2003, shared Sutami’s views.

“Muslims and Christians here in Poso no longer live in the past. They respect each other and share common understanding of the importance of maintaining peace,” he told the Post.

Renaldy suspected that there was a “systematic effort” to reignite civilian conflicts to gain a certain benefit. “We recently saw a church being burned for no apparent reason, not long before Halid’s killing. Noldy, a Christian durian vendor, was also killed by unidentified people in August. It looked like the incidents were aimed at provoking another round of Muslim-Christian conflict. But thank God, Poso people are smart enough not to be provoked,” he said.