"In the holy month of Ramadan, we are again shocked by a sadistic crime in Poso that claimed the lives of three school students," Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told the Associated Press (AP), "I condemn this barbarous killing, whoever the perpetrators are and whatever their motives."
The president immediately ordered the police to probe into the murders and hunt for the killers on Saturday, reported AP. In addition, more than 1,000 police have been deployed to secure the troubled city of Poso. According to Reuters, Made Rai, a police official at Poso said more than 300 additional officers are expected to arrive on Monday.
Rai told Reuters over a phone interview on Monday, "So far no witness has been questioned and no suspect arrested."
Sources say Poso has been a place of Muslim-Christian clashes from 1998 through 2001 and violence has killed around 2,000 people.
According to Jakarta Post, the Indonesia government has blamed the nationwide violence, especially those against Christians, on terrorist groups. The moderate image of Indonesia – the world’s most populous Islamic country – has been breaking down after waves of alleged terrorist attacks over the recent years, Reuters reported.
Meanwhile, Yewangoe, chairman of PGI, urged the Indonesian president Yudhoyono to immediately capture the perpetrators of last Saturday’s triple murder and unearth the real motive behind the crime, according to Jakarta Post.
Yewangoe lamented that President Yudhoyono has not kept the promise that he made ahead of last year’s presidential election, to deal with the uprising violence across the country, Jakarta Post reported.
"I remember that it was during a meeting on Aug. 23rd last year, that I reminded Susilo that weak law enforcement was the key problem to dealing with escalating tension among religious adherents in this country. We asked him to address the issue accordingly after he won the election," Yewangoe stated, however "violence has continued to occur. There is no other way to stop it but to impose stiff legal sanctions against the perpetrators."
ICC, in a statement, has called on all concerned individuals to contact the Indonesian embassy to request for the protection of Christians in Poso as well as to end the pattern of Church closings in West Java.
Eunice Or
Christian Today Correspondent
