October 16, 2006
House commission holds closed-door meeting on Poso

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The House of Representatives` Commission I for defence, information and foreign affairs on Monday held a closed-door meeting with a number of government officials to discuss latest developments in formerly conflict-torn Poso district.The meeting led by Commission I chairman Theo Sambuaga was attended by National Defence Forces (TNI) Chief Air Marshal Djoko Suyanto, National Police Chief General Sutanto, Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Widodo AS, Social Services Minister Bachtiar Chamsyah, Law and Human Rights Minister Hamid Awaluddin and State Intelligence Agency (BIN) Chief Syamsir Siregar.A low-explosive bomb exploded in Poso town in the eastern Indonesian province of Central Sulawesi late last week but it claimed no casualty nor material damage.The bomb, planted under the fence of the Poso district head`s office on Jl. Pulau Sulawesi on Saturday night (Oct 14), exploded with a bang that could be heard within a radius of 1 km.Chief of the Poso Police Resort Adjunct Chief Commissioner Rudy Sufahriadi confirmed the incident saying the blast originated from a low explosive bomb.
"There was no report of human casualties or significant material damage due to the blast," he said.He said the incident was a form of terror committed by irresponsible persons with the ultimate aim of creating unstable conditions in the formerly conflict-torn Poso.The bomb terror is the seventh to occur in Poso in the past three weeks.Meanwhile, BIN Chief Syamsir Siregar said the media had exaggerated the incident in Poso district."The press has exaggerated the situation in Poso," he said in Palu last Tuesday. (*)
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