Posted on 12/03/2001 12:51:39 PM PST by Pericles
Monday December 3, 4:29 PM
Attacks on Christian villages force 13,000 to flee in Indonesia's Sulawesi
Armed Muslim groups have burnt down six Christian villages in Indonesia's Central Sulawesi province and forced some 13,000 people to flee.
The residents were evacuated to other villages or fled into the forest after Muslim groups attacked and razed the villages in the area around the town of Poso in Thursday, the Reverend Erna Makarensi told AFP from the provincial capital of Palu on Monday.
Reports have said at least seven people were killed in fighting over several days last week, including two of the attackers.
Four soldiers were wounded, two of them critically, during clashes between troops and the Muslim groups in the area on Saturday evening and early Sunday, a hospital nurse and police said.
Makarensi said she herself helped evacuate people from the villages.
"There were no security personnel in the area on the day of the attack and the evacuation was fully assisted by the churches," Makarensi said, adding that some 400 soldiers and police have since been deployed in the Poso area.
She said the villages of Betalemba, Patiwunga, Tangkura, Padalembara, Dewua and Sanginora had now been completely burnt down.
About 300 extra police -- including 200 from Jakarta -- were sent to the area on Friday and Saturday, a provincial police spokesman said.
Adjunct Senior Commissioner Agus Sugianto said the military sent two companies (about 200 men) from Gorontalo in North Sulawesi to Poso on Sunday.
A police officer at the Poso district office, Fa Aslin, said there had been no new clashes between troops and Muslim gangs since Sunday morning.
A nurse at the local hospital said one soldier was shot in the head and another in the stomach.
Poso has been the scene of almost two years of sectarian fighting between Muslims and Christians in which more than 300 people have died.
Michael Elmquist, deputy United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator, said Tuesday that a recent mission to the province had found an "extremely tense" situation, with a "depth of hatred" between Christians and Muslims.
He said up to 7,000 members of Laskar Jihad -- a Java-based armed Islamic group which has waged a "jihad" (holy war) against Christians in the Malukus -- had moved to Poso to continue their battle.
Reports from the Vatican quoted the Bishop of Manado in North Sulawesi, Joseph Suwatan, as saying that as many as 50,000 Christians had fled their homes. He could not immediately be reached for confirmation.
The Koran Tempo daily said that among the refugees were 1,300 Balinese settlers in the villages which were attacked. They were taken to Tolai, another Balinese settlement in the neighbouring district of Donggala.
THAT number was based on the number of christians living in that Poso district that Laskar Jihad had decided to "cleanse." The process is well under way, supposedly to be accomplished by the end of Ramadan.
I noticed that Laskar Jihad has taken down the "ONWARD TO POSO!!" banner of their recruitment website, but they are still soliciting donations. It might be a good idea to figure out what bank(s) they're using and start some pressure to get their accounts frozen or disrupted.
somantri@embassyofindonesia.org
..please be polite but direct.
Regards,
No, the Lippos don't seem to be behind it, but you can wire transfers to Laskar Jihad's accounts at 2 banks: BNI, which claims to be the largest bank in Indonesia, and "Bank Muamalat" which is controlled by the Saudis:
Founded in 1992, Bank Muamalat is Indonesia's first Islamic bank. It operates according to the tenets of the Koran and Sharia law, which prohibit charging interest on loans and paying interest on deposits. Muamalat (1999 assets: $88.3 million) typically gets between 6% to 8% of its clients' sales, on top of regular repayment of the principal it is owed.
Yes, they are a silent bunch when their terrorists commit atrocities. The only time we ever hear from a Mullah is when they incite their masses with hatred for anything non-Muslim. Islam is like a rabid dog, foaming at the mouth, asking to be put down.
You are so right. This is all that it would take to appease the "peaceful" Muslims. I am sure the Muslims there feel slighted by Christian support for Israel and it must hurt their feelings.
Bill Heybels is probably working on an oil deal with his new found Islamic buddies.
I could never figure out back then why we would want to take the side of the Muslims in that conflict. You know with Clinton there is some dirty rotten reason. Perhaps this explains it.
Yep, Islam proves to be the only religion that is incapable of co-existing with other religions. They screwed with the wrong country on 9/11. When we are done with them they will wish the never uttered the word “jihad”. The PLO attacks on Israel over the weekend are yet another reminder that there will be no peace in this world until Islam is beaten into the ground.
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