Road to Eternal Peace: Poso, Central Sulawesi

By Barrie | December 26th, 2007 | No Comments

It is debatable whether or not the Malino Peace Treaty has brought significant change to conflict-torn Poso in Central Sulawesi. The significance of the pact, signed on Dec. 20, 2001, in terms of its ability to bring Poso back to more pleasant days, remains unclear.

The peace pact was reached under the initiative of then coordinating minister for security and political affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the current President, and then coordinating minister for people’s welfare Jusuf Kalla, now vice president.

Despite criticism from various parties regarding the treaty, the facts on the ground show the condition in Poso is gradually improving.

Prior to the Malino peace agreement, which was devised in Gowa regency, South Sulawesi, Poso residents lived in segregation, with a clear demarcation line separating the warring Muslim and Christian denominations.

However, following the endorsement of the pact, the demarcation line gradually faded.

Today Muslim residents in Poso who were unable to cross into Kawua subdistrict in the southern part of Poso city previously, are able to do so. Christians can also interact with their Muslim counterparts in Poso city.

The Poso central market in Poso city, formerly a Muslim stronghold, is now not only a place for Muslims. It is a place where the previously warring communities shop together.

“Who says the Malino Peace Declaration has not brought change to Poso? The agreement acts as a bond between the two former warring parties,” Yus Mangun, a Poso community figure who is now a member of the Central Sulawesi legislative council, said.

Mangun said the peace process was not as easy as often imagined, but peace had been reached nonetheless.

Communal riots, which escalated into sectarian conflict, no longer exist, he said. And gone are the days when people, concentrated in large mobs, attack and burn down villages.

However, social problems still exist, impeding somewhat the road to peace.

Several groups trying to disrupt the peace process have been broken up, with members shot and killed on various occasions.

“That is the price that must be paid to achieve peace. If we want peace in Poso, there should not be any groups who want to prevent this goal from being achieved,” Mangun said.

Tahmidi Lasahido, a former Poso peace worker and sociologist at Poso’s Tadaluko University, said peace could only be reached comprehensively if every party previously involved in the conflict buried their vengeance and followed traditional Motambu Tana practices.

“My friends and I once planned to conduct a Motambu Tana ritual. We did not wish to perform it ceremonially, but we wanted to foster mutual understanding in the name of peace,” Tahmidi said.

He said the government should continuously inform every stakeholder in Poso about the need for peace in order to raise mutual awareness.

Another prevalent issue in the area is the economic empowerment of the people. After the conflict, thousands of Poso residents lost their livelihoods. Many people who were still school-aged at the time of the conflict are now old enough to work, while those who lost their jobs could undermine the peace process easily. Former skilled combatants may one day be ready to commit violence again.

“This is a very precarious situation and we urge the government to pay serious attention to this matter and create more jobs,” Tahmidi said.

Poso Vice Regent Abdul Muthalib Rimi said poor people in Poso city currently number up to 50,000, which is significant considering the city’s population is less than 200,000.

The number of low-income families in the area has risen to at least 20,000, while high school graduates who are currently unemployed number approximately 2,000.

However, in spite of these worrying figures, the situation in Poso city has improved a great deal, as evidenced by a steady flow of incoming and outgoing traffic.

It is also a rare sight to see security personnel carrying rifles while conducting patrols these days.

But it seems the road to eternal peace is still long and winding.
If the government is indecisive about devising ways to alleviate poverty and minimize unemployment, strife could easily return to Poso.

Ruslan Sangadji