Andi Hajramurni, Makassar – Law enforcers in the conflict-prone Central Sulawesi town of Poso have committed human rights violations by omission for allowing a string of violent events to occur in the past three weeks, the National Commission on Human Rights announced on Thursday.

Albeit not categorized as gross violations, the failure to stop the violence has deprived local people of their basic rights to live, to security, justice and the possession of belongings.

"We didn't see any law enforcement here ... perpetrators of the murders, arson attacks and vandalism, and even the people who provoked the violence, are roaming free and [their cases] are not yet being legally processed. These people are even continuing with their acts of terror. This is a definite violation of human rights [on the part of law enforcers]," head of the commission's team assigned to probe the Poso violence, Achmad Ali, said.

The team recently completed a field investigation into the violence, which occurred within the past three weeks despite the strong presence of security personnel in the town.

At least 100 elite police troops were sent to Poso to join the 2,000 police and military officers there after a bomb attack on Saturday, which left six people dead. Over two weeks earlier a village chief was beheaded and a public transportation driver, shot dead.

"The rights violations began when the sectarian conflict broke out in this area. If this kind of violence continues, it could lead to gross violations of human rights," he said.

The recent violence has renewed fears of the possible return of sectarian conflict in the regency. In 1999, the conflict resulted in the deaths of at least 2,000 Muslims and Christians and the displacement of thousands of others.

Achmad said it would take the comprehensive and concerted efforts of the local administration, the central government and the police to resolve the ongoing conflict in the regency.

"We cannot just adopt a sporadic and temporary solution to this problem, continuous efforts have to be made. The government not only has to address the conflict, but to find ways to manage the thousands of refugees who have fled the area," he said.

He said the government-brokered Malino peace agreement signed by religious leaders in the regency in December 2001 would not warrant an end to the conflict if the police took action only when a new incident happened.

"What we observe here is a deep-rooted conflict that could reoccur anytime because the concrete actions mandated in the peace agreement are not heeded by the local people, particularly law enforcers," he said.

Achmad also urged the government to investigate the root of the conflict in Poso, saying he was not certain it was triggered by religious issues.

"They had been living together for a very long time and no conflict ever really happened before. I'm sure there are certain parties who intentionally try to create public unrest by exploiting religious issues for a specific purpose. This is what the government and the police must find out," he said.

Achmad added the commission had sent its recommendation to the National Police and was mulling further investigation into the violence.