Bombings in Central Sulawesi

Indonesian news today talks about a bomb in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. That part of the country has had violence before, most recently the beheading of 3 school girls.

Sulawesi is a popular destination for scuba diving, particularly in Manado, in NE Sulawesi. Recenlty I talked to Sinta, owner of Kuta Spa, who is from southern Sulawesi. She told me people get on well down there and there is never trouble.

Central Sulawesi has a mixed Muslim / Christian population, that for years has got on well. Trouble makers from Central Java went up there in 2000 and stirred up tensions, resulting in 1,000 deaths. They are doing the same things again, and with little security, the place could be ripe for more cross cultural aggression.

Sinta said that the countryside is very pretty in Sulawesi. I haven’t been but will sometime in the future. Sulawesi falls on the eastern side of the ‘Wallace Line‘, which is the line that roughly separates Asia from Australasia. Kalimantan and Sulawesi are separated by a deep sea trench, as are Bali and Lombok. The flora and fauna to the west are Asian in character, whereas on the eastern side, in Sulawesi and Lombok you start to see a more Australasian character.

If I make it to Central Sulawesi I’ll try to keep a low profile.