VZCZCXRO6006
RR RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJS #0013/01 0311110
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 311110Z JAN 08
FM AMCONSUL SURABAYA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0147
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 0071
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEHDT/AMEMBASSY DILI 0010
RUEHJA/AMEMBASSY JAKARTA 0135
RUEHPB/AMEMBASSY PORT MORESBY 0019
RUEHJS/AMCONSUL SURABAYA 0152
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0023
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 0069

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SURABAYA 000013 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, INR/EAP, DRL, EAP/PD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV KPAO EAID SOCI PTER
SUBJECT: CENTRAL SULAWESI: POSO FEELING SECURE, BUT WORRIED ABOUT THE 
PACE OF ECONOMIC RECOVERY 
 
REF: A. 07 SURABAYA 85 (POST-CONFLICT TENTENA AND POSO) 
 
     ¶B. 07 JAKARTA 2597 (CENTRAL SULAWESI SECURITY) 
     ¶C. 07 JAKARTA 2598 (CENTRAL SULAWESI ECONOMY) 
 
SURABAYA 00000013  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
This message is sensitive but unclassified.  Please protect 
accordingly. 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary: On a January 18-20 visit to Central Sulawesi, 
Surabaya Pol/Econ officer spoke with NGOs, journalists, 
academics and local residents about the current state of 
post-conflict recovery in Poso. All agreed that the outlook is 
positive overall; however there is an equally clear consensus 
that fundamental vulnerabilities remain -- due to a lack of 
economic opportunity and frustration over the pace of recovery 
-- which could trigger violence if not addressed.  A sense of 
security is particularly important to convince small business 
owners now living elsewhere to return to Poso and assist in the 
region's economic recovery. End Summary. 
 
Divisions Remain, But Re-Integration is Gaining Ground 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
--------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  Surabaya Pol/Econ officer traveled to the cities of 
Palu and Poso, Central Sulawesi, January 18-20 to evaluate the 
effectiveness of reconciliation and economic development efforts 
in this conflict-plagued region. While inter-religious violence 
has ceased, economic recovery is proceeding more slowly than 
hoped. During a wide-ranging discussion about ongoing recovery 
efforts in Poso, five members of the Center for Conflict 
Resolution and Peace (PKRP) described ameliorating residual 
psychological effects of the conflict as one of two key factors 
to current recovery efforts, but complained these effects were 
often overlooked by authorities. 
 
¶3. (SBU) PKRP and other Poso NGOs have formed discussion groups 
to help witnesses to extreme violence address their own feelings 
and recognize the suffering of others.  Children are 
particularly vulnerable to the psychological effects of the 
years of conflict, according to one PKRP worker.  He said that 
without intervention of some sort, traumatized children are 
vulnerable to recruitment as willing fighters in a new cycle of 
violence once they become adults.  These discussions are taking 
place in Poso and, although communities remain largely separated 
along post-conflict religious lines, many Christian and Muslim 
residents of formerly integrated communities now feel safe to 
return to their old villages. 
 
Slow Pace of Economic Development 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The PKRP activists highlighted economic development as 
the second key factor.  The 2001 Malino Declaration for Poso 
sets out the path to recovery in its ten points.  According to 
one PKRP worker, the most destabilizing gaps are contained in 
three points of the agreement: a) the right of property 
ownership; b) the right of residents to return to their original 
homes and; c) the intention that the government will restore 
infrastructure and promote economic development.  The timing, 
specific mechanisms, and government bodies responsible for 
implementing the declaration were not spelled out. 
 
¶5. (SBU) PKRP workers said that corruption and inefficiency in 
the Poso Regency is slowing disbursal of aid and increasing the 
possibility of renewed violence.  During a separate meeting, 
Kamil Badrun, Chief Editor of Radar Sulteng (the area's major 
newspaper), echoed this assessment, adding that progress on the 
fundamentals, particularly legal reform and economic 
development, will ensure a full recovery.  Prof. Tahmidy 
Lasahido of Tadulako University in Palu also highlighted the 
importance of economic and educational opportunities for denying 
radicalism a point of entry into the community.  For Lasahido, 
himself a participant in reconciliation efforts, targeting 
outreach to ex-combatants is the surest means to forestall 
future conflict. 
 
Visible Signs of Progress Amid Reminders of Conflict 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Construction of the Pondok Pesantren Ittihadul Ummah 
Poso, a major Islamic boarding school in Tokorondo, Poso 
Pesisir, appears nearly complete and ready for its scheduled 
 
SURABAYA 00000013  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
March 2008 opening.  Pol/Econ Officer had previously viewed the 
construction site in early November 2007 when only the frames 
and foundations were visible.  The cornerstone of this pesantren 
was laid by President Yudhoyono in May 2007.  Presidential 
attention and funding has ensured that construction stays on 
track.  The school is intended to provide students with a 
cost-free, ideologically moderate alternative to another area 
pesantren was has been blamed for spreading radical ideology. 
If Ittihadul Ummah is a bright spot along the coastal road, 
charred and empty buildings visible nearly everywhere stand as 
stark reminders that there is still a long way to go towards 
normalcy. 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  Poso residents told Pol/Econ officer said that 
despite a sense of physical security, a sense of economic 
stability has yet to return.  While international aid 
organizations and local NGOs carry out development projects and 
local leaders seek large-scale investment, residents complain 
that many small businesses, which predate the conflict, have yet 
to receive the attention they deserve.  Rows of shops in the 
city of Poso remain empty, many burned and gutted, while still 
others are abandoned and shuttered. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Local shopkeepers said that the bulk of the empty shops 
were owned by Sino-Indonesians who fled during the conflict and 
have yet to return.  According to the owner of one grocery, this 
has provided an opportunity for local people to buy shops at 
bargain prices.  One hotel, burned and gutted during the 
conflict, was owned by a Sino-Indonesian.  The new owners from 
nearby Palu, purchased the hotel at a bargain but are struggling 
to find guests.  Absentee owners, now living in Makassar, 
Surabaya and Jakarta are reportedly waiting for the right time 
to return.  Residents and shop-owners speculated that both 
absentee shop-owners and customers would return once they are 
convinced that Poso is safe. 
MCCLELLAND