Andi Hajramurni, Parepare – Police said on Friday they believed that local politicians masterminded the latest violence in Mamasa regency, West Sulawesi, in which three villagers were killed.
South Sulawesi Police chief Insp. Gen. Saleh Saaf said a total of 36 suspects, being held by the police over the Oct. 15 attack in the town, were merely victims of local politicians' machinations, who wanted to grab or retain power.
He appealed to the suspects to reveal the names of those who ordered them to launch the attack on residents in North Aralle village, Aralle district, who opposed a 2002 law splitting Mamasa Polewali (Polmas) into two regencies – Polmas and Mamasa.
"I know, you [the suspects] are only political victims of the elitists with interest in political power. So, please tell the truth about who ordered you all to do this – be they a district head, his secretary or a regent – so we will know if they were really involved," said Saaf, who oversees security in West Sulawesi.
He was speaking to the 36 suspects, comprising 22 people opposed to the split and their 14 opponents, who reached a peace deal on Friday to end hostilities in Mamasa.
The accord was signed by representatives from each of the two rival groups during talks brokered by the provincial police in Parepare, some 150 kilometers north of Makassar, South Sulawesi.
Andi Jalilu and Berdnan represented the group that supported the split of Polmas and the incorporation of the three mainly Muslim migrant districts of Aralle, Tabulahan and Mambi into Mamasa regency.
Their opponents, who wanted the three districts excluded from Mamasa, an indigenous Christian district, were represented by Sudarmin and Rajihu alias Ratihu.
The three-point deal included an agreement that anyone involved in a further attack in Mamasa would face harsh actions by police, which could include being shot on sight.
Before signing the peace pact, the two rival groups of detainees met in the Parepare police station. They shook hands and hugged each other.
The suspects, mostly relatives of each other, appeared to have regretted their role in the conflict.
Saaf said the conflict should not have broken out among these people because they were all brothers. "This agreement must be respected. I hope you (the detainees) sincerely fulfill this peace agreement to sustain a peaceful life in the future and make sure there are no more victims," the provincial police chief said.
The Mamasa conflict has simmered for over two years, since a law was passed in 2002 to split Polewali Mamasa into two regencies.
At least three people were killed when a clash first erupted in Mamasa in September 2003. It continued in July and August of 2004.
The latest spate of violence took place last month from Oct. 15 to Oct. 18, when opponents of the regency's creation attacked pro-split residents in North Aralle village. The riot spread to nearby villages, killing three people in three days.
Muslim residents, who are mostly grouped in the three districts of Aralle, Mambi and Tabulahan, protested the split, on the grounds that they would be the minority in the new regency of Mamasa, which is predominantly Christian. The protest fell on deaf ears at the central government level, which enacted the controversial law.