Govt urged to investigate armed militia in Poso
Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, 1 Feb 2007

An alliance of student associations asked the government Wednesday to thoroughly investigate militias in Poso, which they say are behind the violence in the Central Sulawesi regency.
The National Forum for Indonesian Youths (FKPI) representing the Association of Nahdlatul Ulama Students, the Association of Muhammadiyah Students, the Association of Indonesian Catholic Students, the Indonesian Students Movement and Indonesian Buddhist Student Association said the government should not only arrest the most wanted criminals but also the masterminds behind the violence, and investigate where militias may have obtained their guns.
"The government should arrest the criminals alive. The police should be able to the obtain necessary information from the criminals on who arms them and what their interest is in maintaining tension in the regency," FKPI spokesman Goklas Nababan said in a meeting with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) on Wednesday.
The students expressed similar concerns in their meetings with the National Awakening Party (PKB), the National Mandate Party (PAN) and the Golkar Party respectively.
Indonesian Nationalist Students Movement (GMNI) Secretary General Rendra Valentino said authorities had failed to restore security in Central Sulawesi following the 2001 peace agreement.
"After making a field tour to Poso and meeting with numerous people, we came to the conclusion that the most wanted people were not just criminals, but people trained and armed by an elite group in Jakarta who are playing a political game in Poso," he said.
Effendi Choirie, a PKB legislator and member of the House's special committee for Poso, said he appreciated the students' concern over the mounting tension in Poso and asked them watch how the government handled it.
"The House handed over the result of the special committee's investigation into the Poso conflict to the government two years ago and recommended security authorities use a comprehensive approach in handling the conflict.
"But the government has instead used the security approach, with security authorities looking less professional in handling armed civilians," he said.
Separately, National Police deputy chief Insp. Gen. Makbul Padmanegara said Wednesday that the police had yet to set a deadline for the completion of their investigation into the Jan. 22 police raid in the regency.
"There may be more insurgents to be added into the police's 29-person wanted list," Makbul told reporters after a meeting with the head of the House's monitoring team on Poso, RK Sembiring Meliala.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the Poso monitoring team of the National Commission on Human Rights, Zoemrotin K. Soesilo, said police violated human rights during raids on Jan. 11 and 22 in Poso.