Sulawesi has seen intermittent violence between Muslims and Christians the last two years, and recent clashes prompted a resumption of peace talks led by the country’s chief welfare minister. A peace agreement was signed by local Muslim and Christian leaders in December; this current meeting was called to review security arrangements since that time and to discuss ways to avoid further violence. Just three days before the talks an Italian tourist was killed when a bus in which he was riding was attacked near Poso, the region where most of this violence has occurred. He was traveling from Tanah Toraja, a well-known tourist area, to Palu, the capital of the province of Central Sulawesi. Many of the recent incidents have been attacks on buses.
