Abdul Haerah HR/FW & LM, Jakarta – Twenty-nine members of the 711 Military District Command are being questioned intensively about inciting and participating in recent riots in Poso, Central Sulawesi. Seven of the accused directly participated, supporting various parties in a conflict which has claimed at least 211 victims.
Wirabuana Military Area Commander, Maj.Gen Slamet Kirbiantoro revealed the investigation results at the Wirabuana Military Area headquarters in Makassar, South Sulawesi, today. He said that the involvement of two first officers and five non-commissioned officers has been confirmed. According to Slamet, his men did not only support one side but various conflicting parties.
The soldiers apparently became involved for personal reasons. "Generally they held a deep resentment because their houses had been burned. There are many whose parents were murdered, whose families were murdered. That's why they helped and sided with those of a similar ideology," said Slamet.
However, he refused to elaborate on what kind of assistance the accused had given the warring parties. He added that he would take firm action if their involvement were lawfully proven.
On Wednesday, six soldiers from the 1307 Military District Command were also arrested in relation to the violence which raged around the city of Poso, some 220 kilometers southeast of Palu, the capital of Central Sulawesi, several weeks ago. At present, there are approximately 15,000 soldiers, seven companies from the Wirabuana Military Commander and six others from the Police, deployed to secure the area.
Maj. Gen Slamet Kirbiantoro of the Wirabuana Military Area Command also said that 211 bodies from the Poso riots have been discovered. "We received the news this morning," he said.
He admitted that the death toll is likely to rise because the search is still rather random and the security apparatus has not visited many areas. "Just like yesterday, a dog came to the Poso Military District Command carrying a human head. We immediately followed this up and found a hole filled with human bodies," said Slamet.
Slamet regretted the high number of victims and admitted that, "We were a bit late in handling the riots." He claimed that there had been communication problems between the Central Sulawesi City Police and the Wirabuana Military Area Command when a request for aid to quell the riot came through. "It's normal, because it [the deployment of troops] had just been implemented so anything could go wrong," he said.