by Mathias Hariyadi

The suicide bomber blew himself up in the early morning, during the flag raising. There are no casualties or injuries among the police and civilians. Civil society increasingly concerned about the marked similarities between Indonesia and Iraq. The gesture seen as an attempt at revenge for the anti-terrorism blitz that led to the death of seven extremists.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) - A suicide bomber blew himself up this morning near the police headquarters in Poso, Central Sulawesi province. Today's attack is the latest in a long series of violent incidents that have characterized the last few weeks in Indonesia. A phenomenon that has raised alarm among institutions and concerns within civil society, which fears a progressive "mutation" of the archipelago into a country like Iraq, battered by violence and civil war. The suicide bomber was on a motorcycle and on being ordered to stop by one of the guards detonated the device before he could reach the front door of the building.

From initial reports there are no casualties or injuries among the police. The explosion took place in conjunction with the flag raising ceremony, with dozens of police present in the square. This leads investigators to believe that the bomber wanted to cause serious casualties, not only among police but also among civilians given that many civilians attend the morning ceremony.

Suhardi Alius, police spokesman in Jakarta, confirmed that the bomber was carrying two devices, the first of which "smaller" and the second more powerful, which caused "a loud explosion." So far there are no official claims, however, suspicions converge on the Islamic extremist groups that have targeted the police, to avenge the raid of the past weeks in which at least seven fundamentalists were killed. Among these, the group's leader Abu Roban, responsible for trafficking of arms with the southern Philippines.

Other details also emerge from the attack early May against the Burmese embassy in Jakarta in response to the violence against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. It seems that the terrorists had used an explosive (hexamine) far more powerful than those used up to now, the discovery was made during a raid against an extremist cell, led by Islamist leader Sigid Indrajit.

Poso has been the scene of renewed sectarian violence. The port city has seen attacks against Christian-owned buildings, including places of worship. Two law enforcement agents have also been murdered under mysterious circumstances. They went missing whilst investigating a recent attack against a prominent member of the Christian community. Their bodies were found after eight days on the side of a road near a training centre connected to an extremist Muslim group.

Between 1997 and 2001, Christians and Muslims were involved in a violent conflict on Sulawesi Island and neighbouring Maluku Islands. Thousands of people died and hundreds of churches and mosques were destroyed. Thousands of homes were also razed. About half a million people found themselves homeless, 25,000 in Poso alone.

On 20 December 2001, the two sides reached a truce that was signed in Malino, South Sulawesi, following a peace initiative by the government. The local population is evenly split between Christians and Muslims.

Despite the peace deal, terrorist incidents continued on and leaving a trail of innocent victims. One of the most horrific cases, which caused indignation around the world, was the beheading by Muslim extremists in October 2005 of three Christian girls on their way to school.

 

• Indonesia Islam fundamentalism
• violence
• bombings bomb attacks