[Nasional-e] Indonesia: Violence Unchecked in Central Sulawesi

Wed Dec 4 18:24:02 2002

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Human Rights Watch
December 4, 2002

Indonesia: Violence Unchecked in Central Sulawesi

Militias May Continue to Threaten Peace in Indonesia =20

(New York, December 4, 2002) -- The violence plaguing Central Sulawesi =
today is a direct result of the Indonesian government's failure to =
punish the perpetrators of major attacks and protect communities in the =
province since 1998, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released =
today.=20

An estimated 1,000 people have died and more than 100,000 have been =
displaced since violence between Christians and Muslims broke out in the =
Poso region of Central Sulawesi in December 1998.=20

The 48-page report, Breakdown: Four Years of Communal Violence in =
Central Sulawesi, says security forces have turned a blind eye to =
violence committed by both sides, including attacks by the Laskar Jihad =
militia. Human Rights Watch warned that shootings, bombings and attacks =
continue with impunity, putting at risk a peace declaration signed a =
year ago.=20

"Some western governments want to strengthen ties with the Indonesian =
military in the fight against terrorism, but the army cannot even =
control conflict in many parts of the country," said Brad Adams, =
executive director of the Asia division at Human Rights Watch. "This =
problem cannot be fixed by more weapons and training. The focus should =
be on reform."=20

Following a fight between youths four years ago, Muslim and Christian =
groups mounted attacks on each other's neighborhoods and villages in =
repeated cycles of violence. Security forces failed to stop the attacks, =
and when they did act, they sometimes worsened conditions by firing into =
crowds and committing human rights violations.

Many of the worst crimes went unpunished, and several subsequent =
outbreaks were tied to the lack of arrests for prior violence. The few =
trials that did take place produced inconsistent sentences and took =
place in a circus-like atmosphere that inflamed tensions further, Human =
Rights Watch said.

An effective and unbiased deployment of police or military, with a =
justice system that could hold perpetrators accountable, could have =
ended the problem when it began in 1998, Human Rights Watch said.

International attention has focused on Indonesia's cooperation in the =
fight against terrorism, particularly since the bombing in Bali on =
October 12 of this year. "Terrorist networks in Indonesia indeed require =
urgent attention by authorities," said Adams. "But Indonesia's regional =
conflicts pose a more direct threat to democratization and peace. And =
local conflicts create the chaos and radicalization that terrorist =
networks seek out."

An al-Qaeda training camp was allegedly set up in the Poso area.

The Human Rights Watch report describes how the radical Muslim =
organization Laskar Jihad, which had formed to join a similar conflict =
in Maluku to the east, arrived in Poso in July 2001. They met with local =
officials and were welcomed by Muslims who felt police and army units =
had failed to protect them. The arrival of a well-armed, experienced =
fighting force was followed by the destruction of Christian villages in =
late 2001. Although the scale of violence fell after the signing of the =
Malino Declaration in December 2001, the militia's decision to remain in =
Poso became a sticking point in the peace process.

As pressure on Muslim radicals grew in the days following the explosion =
on Bali, Laskar Jihad announced that it was disbanding. They asserted =
the decision had been made for internal reasons days before the attack, =
which has not been linked to the group. Soon after, another group called =
the Islam Defenders Front (Front Pembela Islam, FPI) made a similar =
announcement in Jakarta. Leaders of both groups had already been charged =
with crimes, and observers said widely-alleged support from elements in =
the army was fading.

"The announcement by the radical Muslim militia Laskar Jihad that it is =
disbanding makes this a critical time for peace in Poso and throughout =
Indonesia," said Adams. "The government must demonstrate through =
credible investigations and prosecutions that violence by militias or =
their former members is unacceptable."

Observers worry that former militia members will not simply return to =
their home villages. Many have been become radicalized, experienced =
fighters during years of conflict. There are also other militias =
throughout the country that have not disbanded, some of them tied to =
political parties. If the government acts now to hold perpetrators of =
organized violence accountable, while clarifying the legal basis for =
banning paramilitary groups, widespread violence may be reduced during =
the next election cycle in 2004.

Human Rights Watch called for an investigation by Indonesia's National =
Human Rights Commission into the failure to contain the violence in =
Poso, and urged that internationally-supported training programs build =
the capacity of police in the province, including measures to increase =
accountability for human rights violations.
=20
http://www.hrw.org/press/2002/12/indo1204.htm
=A9 Copyright 2002, Human Rights Watch.

The 48-page Human Rights Watch report on INDONESIA
BREAKDOWN: FOUR YEARS OF COMMUNAL VIOLENCE IN CENTRAL SULAWESI
Go To: http://www.hrw.org/reports/2002/indonesia

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<DIV>Human=20
Rights Watch December 4, 2002 Indonesia: Violence Unchecked in =
Central=20
Sulawesi Militias May Continue to Threaten Peace in =
Indonesia&nbsp;=20
 (New York, December 4, 2002) -- The violence plaguing Central =
Sulawesi=20
today is a direct result of the Indonesian government's failure to =
punish the=20
perpetrators of major attacks and protect communities in the province =
since=20
1998, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. An =

estimated 1,000 people have died and more than 100,000 have been =
displaced since=20
violence between Christians and Muslims broke out in the Poso region of =
Central=20
Sulawesi in December 1998. The 48-page report, Breakdown: Four =
Years of=20
Communal Violence in Central Sulawesi, says security forces have turned =
a blind=20
eye to violence committed by both sides, including attacks by the Laskar =
Jihad=20
militia. Human Rights Watch warned that shootings, bombings and attacks =
continue=20
with impunity, putting at risk a peace declaration signed a year ago.=20
 "Some western governments want to strengthen ties with the =
Indonesian=20
military in the fight against terrorism, but the army cannot even =
control=20
conflict in many parts of the country," said Brad Adams, executive =
director of=20
the Asia division at Human Rights Watch. "This problem cannot be fixed =
by more=20
weapons and training. The focus should be on reform." Following =
a fight=20
between youths four years ago, Muslim and Christian groups mounted =
attacks on=20
each other's neighborhoods and villages in repeated cycles of violence. =
Security=20
forces failed to stop the attacks, and when they did act, they sometimes =

worsened conditions by firing into crowds and committing human rights=20
violations.<BR><BR>Many of the worst crimes went unpunished, and several =

subsequent outbreaks were tied to the lack of arrests for prior =
violence. The=20
few trials that did take place produced inconsistent sentences and took =
place in=20
a circus-like atmosphere that inflamed tensions further, Human Rights =
Watch=20
said. An effective and unbiased deployment of police or military, =
with a=20
justice system that could hold perpetrators accountable, could have =
ended the=20
problem when it began in 1998, Human Rights Watch =
said. International=20
attention has focused on Indonesia's cooperation in the fight against =
terrorism,=20
particularly since the bombing in Bali on October 12 of this year. =
"Terrorist=20
networks in Indonesia indeed require urgent attention by authorities," =
said=20
Adams. "But Indonesia's regional conflicts pose a more direct threat to=20
democratization and peace. And local conflicts create the chaos and=20
radicalization that terrorist networks seek out." An al-Qaeda =
training=20
camp was allegedly set up in the Poso area. The Human Rights =
Watch report=20
describes how the radical Muslim organization Laskar Jihad, which had =
formed to=20
join a similar conflict in Maluku to the east, arrived in Poso in July =
2001.=20
They met with local officials and were welcomed by Muslims who felt =
police and=20
army units had failed to protect them. The arrival of a well-armed, =
experienced=20
fighting force was followed by the destruction of Christian villages in =
late=20
2001. Although the scale of violence fell after the signing of the =
Malino=20
Declaration in December 2001, the militia's decision to remain in Poso =
became a=20
sticking point in the peace process. As pressure on Muslim =
radicals grew=20
in the days following the explosion on Bali, Laskar Jihad announced that =
it was=20
disbanding. They asserted the decision had been made for internal =
reasons days=20
before the attack, which has not been linked to the group. Soon after, =
another=20
group called the Islam Defenders Front (Front Pembela Islam, FPI) made a =
similar=20
announcement in Jakarta. Leaders of both groups had already been charged =
with=20
crimes, and observers said widely-alleged support from elements in the =
army was=20
fading. "The announcement by the radical Muslim militia Laskar =
Jihad that=20
it is disbanding makes this a critical time for peace in Poso and =
throughout=20
Indonesia," said Adams. "The government must demonstrate through =
credible=20
investigations and prosecutions that violence by militias or their =
former=20
members is unacceptable." Observers worry that former militia =
members=20
will not simply return to their home villages. Many have been become=20
radicalized, experienced fighters during years of conflict. There are =
also other=20
militias throughout the country that have not disbanded, some of them =
tied to=20
political parties. If the government acts now to hold perpetrators of =
organized=20
violence accountable, while clarifying the legal basis for banning =
paramilitary=20
groups, widespread violence may be reduced during the next election =
cycle in=20
2004. Human Rights Watch called for an investigation by =
Indonesia's=20
National Human Rights Commission into the failure to contain the =
violence in=20
Poso, and urged that internationally-supported training programs build =
the=20
capacity of police in the province, including measures to increase=20
accountability for human rights violations. &nbsp; <A=20
href=3D"http://www.hrw.org/press/2002/12/indo1204.htm"><FONT=20
face=3D"Times New Roman"=20
size=3D3>http://www.hrw.org/press/2002/12/indo1204.htm</A> <FON=
T=20
face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3>=A9 Copyright 2002, Human Rights =
Watch. The=20
48-page Human Rights Watch report on INDONESIA BREAKDOWN: FOUR YEARS =
OF=20
COMMUNAL VIOLENCE IN CENTRAL SULAWESI Go To: <A=20
href=3D"http://www.hrw.org/reports/2002/indonesia">http://www.hrw.org/reports/2002/indonesia</A> </FO=
NT></DIV></BODY></HTML>

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