'Krespo' to voice Poso's young generation
Ruslan Sangadji, The Jakarta Post, Palu, March 8, 2007

When Poso was hit with sectarian conflict between 1998 and 2001, both local and foreign groups took great interest in the problems of the Central Sulawesi town. They worked to win projects and attempted to reconcile the respective Christian and Muslim communities at the center of the conflict.
The then coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, now the country's President, and the then coordinating minister for the people's welfare, Jusuf Kalla, now Vice President, managed to appease the two warring parties.
They conciliated the groups by sponsoring the Malino peace pact at the end of 2001. The meeting attempted to set in stone 10 points of agreement, referred to as the Malino Declaration. Accordingly, tensions gradually died down, despite sporadic eruptions to this day.
Following the declaration, the government then held peaceful ceremonies in the villages across Poso. Local peace activists set up non-governmental organizations (NGO) and continued peace efforts by organizing cultural meetings and discussions in the villages of both opposing communities.
The respective Christian and Muslim communities were able live side by side until now, thanks to the tedious reconciliation process.
Director of foreign NGO Cardi, Decy Sophan, said the current situation must be maintained and gradually improved as it was back in 2001.
"I think one of the efforts required to maintain the non-violent situation is an open communication between the former warring parties, since it would be very dangerous if communication was restricted or purposely hampered," he told The Jakarta Post recently.
In the spirit of maintaining a non-violent situation, the group planned to publish a bulletin for Poso called Krespo.
Prior to publishing the bulletin, the group will recruit two potential reporters from each of Poso's eight districts.
"We will train them in Poso, before publishing Krespo," said Decy.
According to the director, the bulletin is later expected to allow Poso's youth an opportunity to voice their opinions in a journalistic capacity and engage in media management.
Decy criticized a number of local and national media outlets for sensationalizing news on Poso.
The journalists, he said, would "attack" Poso when it was struck by acts of terror. But after the blood had dried and people in the villages converged and held peace meetings, the town would be snubbed by the press.
"That's what I call sensational. News on Poso is regarded as exciting only when there is blood and death," Decy said.
He said he hoped that local reporters and national media correspondents in Central Sulawesi would change this paradigm in order to inform the public that Poso was safe and not as turbulent as reported in the media.
Decy said the public was appalled by the violent nature of news from Poso. "The Krespo bulletin will not feature such news," he said assuredly.
Meanwhile, chairman of the Central Sulawesi chapter of the Indonesian National Youth Committee (KNPI), Hardy Yambas, told the Post his group would hold a national workshop on conflict resolution in April. Participants would include KNPI leaders from across the country.
He said the youth committee planned to invite President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to officiate the event and deliver its keynote speech. Also on their invite list was State Minister for Youth and Sports Affairs Adhyaksa Dault and a number of other local and national leaders.
"We have prepared everything, including the invitation for the President and minister. But they have not yet fixed the right time to attend," said Hardy.
The seminar will focus on key solutions not only to problems in Poso, but also to matters at a national level.
"I perceive there is something being ignored in the peace process, since the conflict has not been totally resolved up to now," Hardy said. "What's actually behind the conflict? I hope the seminar can uncover everything."