Indonesian police call for calm in Poso after riot

JAKARTA, Nov. 17 — Indonesia's police chief called for calm in remote Poso regency on Monday after thousands of people rioted and killed three Christians following a police shooting of a Muslim man.

The shooting came after a police raid on a group of Muslims allegedly involved in the October attacks on Christian villages near Poso, in Central Sulawesi province, which killed at least 10 people.
Rumours police had gunned down Hamid Sudin without warning led to a protest by thousands of Muslims who besieged a local police station on Sunday.
A leading church activist told Reuters the mob's anger went out of control and later prompted the killing of three Christians who passed by Muslim enclaves around the area.
''The mob, which crowded on the road when Oranye Tajoja and his nephew passed, stopped the car and dragged them out and tortured them to death. Their faces were unrecognisably damaged,'' said Noldy Tacoh, head of the Christian Crisis Centre in Poso's Christian enclave of Tentena.
''I think the mob did not know who they were. They just would strike on anybody who was around. I am now hearing news that attackers have tried to penetrate some villages,'' he said.
Tajoja was the treasurer of one of the largest churches in Poso. Tacoh also said the mob hacked another Christian who was in a Poso market.
Police in Central Sulawesi province confirmed both incidents but declined to reveal the identities or religions of the dead victims.
National police chief General Da'i Bachtiar insisted the violence had been contained and there was no need for residents to become agitated.
''In a police raid, one man was shot which then was followed by other events... including the two men who died in a car. All officers in Poso are now on alert. The people in Poso should remain calm and put their faith in the legal apparatus,'' Bachtiar told reporters.
He added an additional 100 men from the police elite mobile brigade had been sent to Poso.
Poso, located in rugged Central Sulawesi province, is a large jungle-clad regency with an underdeveloped and tiny town centre. Clashes between Christians and Muslims in this area have killed more than 2,000 since 1999.
There had been a period of calm in Poso after a peace deal reached in late 2001, but a mysterious series of attacks last month opened old wounds.
Police have been reluctant to link the fresh flare of violence in Poso to any specific group but the country's leading news magazine Tempo reported last month that Jemaah Islamiah, a Muslim militant network blamed for several bombings in Southeast Asia, had played some kind of role.

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