All faiths in Poso want peace
Jkt Post, December 04, 2006

POSO, Central Sulawesi: Followers of all faiths in Poso, which has suffered through years of sectarian conflict, want to live side by side again, Religious Affairs Minister M. Maftuh Basyuni said Saturday.
"Everybody I met agreed that Poso residents have to join hands and rebuild peace," Maftuh told Antara after meeting with Muslim and Christian leaders.
Maftuh said the conflict, which was on and off from 1998 until last year, was essentially political in nature but provocateurs had managed to add a religious element to it.
The conflict in Poso, where the number of Muslim and Christian population is about equal, has claimed more than 1,000 lives on both sides.
Syahadat, chairman of the Poso Inter-Religious Forum, called on the government to help rebuild the local economy, which has been shattered by the fighting. -- JP