1,000 more migrants flee riot-torn of Ambon<\/p>\n
UJUNGPANDANG (JP): At least 1,000 migrants arrived in
\nUjungpandang on Sunday after fleeing the riot-torn city of Ambon,
\nwhich was still tense following days of communal clashes in the
\nMaluku province that left 65 dead.<\/p>\n
Aboard the Rinjani vessel, the group, which included 219
\nchildren, arrived at Soekarno-Hatta seaport in the South Sulawesi
\ncapital under tight military security.<\/p>\n
Local military commander Lt. Col. S. Widjanarko told The
\nJakarta Post that at least 100 security personnel were deployed
\ndue to rumors over the past few days that rioting would erupt in
\nthe city.<\/p>\n
Troops were seen guarding seaport entrances and the office of
\nstate-owned shipping company PT Pelni.<\/p>\n
Military trucks transported the migrants to their hometowns in
\nBone, Gowa, Sidrap, Maros and Bantaeng.<\/p>\n
The first batch of migrants arrived in Ujungpandang last week.<\/p>\n
South Sulawesi migrants have also left businesses and adopted
\nhomes in riot-hit places elsewhere such as Kupang in East Nusa
\nTenggara and Irian Jaya where they have been affected.<\/p>\n
One of the migrants, Mursalim, said Sunday that many people
\naboard the ship did not have tickets because they lacked funds to
\nbuy any.<\/p>\n
\"We do not have money anymore, we left Ambon just like that,\"
\nMursalim said, adding that more people from South Sulawesi were
\nstill stranded in Ambon because they could not afford to buy
\ntickets.<\/p>\n
A number of migrants said they fled because their personal
\nsafety could not be guaranteed by security personnel and there
\nhad been rumors that more violence would erupt in Ambon.<\/p>\n
A Gowa-born migrant, Nurlina, who arrived in Ujungpandang with
\nher three children, said she had nothing left after mobs burned
\ndown her house and belongings.<\/p>\n
She said she would never return to Ambon and would send her
\nchildren to school in Gowa. Nurlina added that her husband, a
\ntrader in Mardika market in Ambon, was stranded there as he had
\nno money to buy a ticket.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Benyamin Mangkoedilaga of the National Commission
\non Human Rights told the Post from Ambon that the city was still
\ntense on Sunday and that groups of people were guarding their
\nneighborhoods.<\/p>\n
\"We are staying at a guest house of the local government as
\nour personal safety could not be guaranteed at a hotel,\" Benyamin
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Benyamin, who was on a three-day fact-finding mission until
\nTuesday with fellow rights body member Albert Hasibuan, added
\nthat the team had met with locals, a number of Muslim and
\nChristian leaders and the police on Sunday.<\/p>\n
He said locals spoke of \"phone calls\" a few days before the
\nviolence in which they received \"instructions\" to start riots.<\/p>\n
Benyamin, however, said he was unable to give further details.<\/p>\n
\"We are trying to dig up more information to verify whether
\nthe violence was really instigated or not,\" Benyamin said.<\/p>\n
Several religious leaders have cited reports that thugs and
\nhoodlums belonging to a Jakarta organization were involved in the
\nriots, but they have not named the organization or its leaders.<\/p>\n
The violence was sparked by a fight between a Muslim migrant
\nand a local Christian public transportation driver on Jan. 19.
\nThe incident quickly degenerated into full-scale riots involving
\nmembers of both religious communities.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, at least 20 people have been named suspects in
\nseparate violence in Dobo, Aru Island, Southeast Maluku district
\nlast month which resulted in eight deaths, Antara reported
\nSaturday.<\/p>\n
Local officials estimate financial losses of Rp 6.56 billion
\nwere incurred during the riots in Dobo and Saumlaki in South
\nTanimbar regency.<\/p>\n
The agency also said at least two died and 12 others were
\ninjured in a brawl between youth groups in Kumai district,
\nKotawaringin Barat regency in Central Kalimantan on Friday.<\/p>\n
In Pemalang, Central Java, some 1,000 people went on a rampage
\nin Lumpang village of Bantar Balong district on Friday. One died
\nand another was injured in the melee.<\/p>\n
Local military commander Col. M. Noer Muis did not identify
\nthe casualty, but said the man died of severe head injuries.<\/p>\n
One man sustained gunshot wounds after security personnel
\nfired warning shots to disperse the crowd.<\/p>\n
The mob burned down two government offices, severely damaged
\nthree houses and slightly damaged dozens of other buildings.<\/p>\n
The unrest erupted after a number of suspected timber thieves
\nwere arrested by a forest patrol on Friday afternoon. Two hours
\nlater, hundreds of people went to the district office and started
\nto rampage.<\/p>\n
Military officials said that hundreds of troops and Mobile
\nBrigade personnel had been deployed in the area to restore order
\nand security. (byg\/27\/edt\/45)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/1000-more-migrants-flee-riot-torn-of-ambon-1447893297",
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