Communal clashes in Sampit spread<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Communal clashes in Sampit, Central Kalimantan,
\nwhich have already claimed hundreds of lives, spread to the
\ncapital of Palangkaraya on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Groups of men armed with traditional mandau swords and wearing
\nred headbands -- said to be Dayaks -- ransacked and looted houses
\nin several parts of Palangkaraya before setting them on fire.<\/p>\n
\"Several burning buildings were to be seen on Jl. Diponegoro,
\nJl. Dr. Murjani and Jl. Sisingamangaraja. Abandoned houses and
\nshops were also looted,\" a local journalist said as quoted by
\nAntara.<\/p>\n
No immediate casualties were reported in this latest outbreak
\nof violence. Palangkaraya lies some 220 kilometers east of
\nSampit, the site of a bloody pogrom perpetrated mostly by
\nindigenous Dayak people against migrant Madurese settlers. Some
\n5,000 migrants have fled their homes in the town due to fears of
\nan escalation in the violence and have headed for coastal
\nBanjarmasin in neighboring South Kalimantan province.<\/p>\n
The renewed violence came amid a visit by top security
\nofficials, led by Coordinating Minister for Social, Political and
\nSecurity Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, to Sampit on Sunday
\nafternoon. He was accompanied by Indonesian Military (TNI) chief
\nAdm. Widodo A.S., Minister of Health and Social Welfare Achmad
\nSujudi and the military intelligence chief Vice Marshall Ian
\nSantoso Perdanakusumah.<\/p>\n
The visit came on the heels of a week of bloody clashes in the
\nriverside town of Sampit which have thus far left some 270 people
\ndead, and forced some 24,000 Madurese settlers to flee the area
\nto East Java in a chaotic evacuation.<\/p>\n
Unofficial estimates, however, say that the death toll could
\nreach up to 400 as decomposing bodies have yet to be removed from
\nthe jungle and other remote sites.<\/p>\n
The delegation called on both sides to end violence and
\nordered the security forces to stop the riots from recurring and
\nmaintain their impartiality in carrying out their duties.<\/p>\n
\"The law must be upheld. Let's put an end to this humanitarian
\ntragedy. The maximum punishments must be imposed on the
\nperpetrators,\" Susilo said as quoted by the news agency.<\/p>\n
Earlier, delegation members had held a closed-door meeting
\nwith Central Kalimantan Police chief Brig. Gen. Bambang Pranoto
\nand Deputy Governor Nahson Taway at Tjilik Riwut airport.<\/p>\n
The group was slated to hold meetings in Palangkaraya later on
\nSunday night.<\/p>\n
President Abdurrahman Wahid during the opening of the third
\nsummit of Eight Developing (D-8) countries in Cairo, Egypt on
\nSunday said the government would dispatch Army Special Forces
\n(Kopassus) troops to Sampit to help restore order.<\/p>\n
\"The serious nature of the feud between the Madurese and the
\nDayak people make it necessary for us to send the Special Forces
\nthere,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Also speaking in Cairo, defense minister Mahfud M.D. said the
\ngovernment was \"closely following the situation in Sampit\" and
\nthat President Abdurrahman had called on the police to
\nimmediately seek assistance from the military.<\/p>\n
\"I will also call on the TNI chief to request immediate action
\nwithout him having to wait for a formal request from the police,\"
\nMahfud told reporters on the sidelines of the summit.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman, who is on a two-week trip to the Middle East and
\nNorth African countries, has been under mounting criticism back
\nhome for leaving behind the ethnic violence in Sampit.<\/p>\n
There are no indications, however, as to whether the President
\nwill cut short his trip due to the continuing violence in Central
\nKalimantan.<\/p>\n
Tension has been rising in Sampit and Palangkaraya as security
\nreinforcements continued to pour in and a curfew from 10 p.m. to
\nsix a.m. is still being enforced in Sampit.<\/p>\n
\"In reality, the victims of these disturbances are not only
\nMadurese but also Dayaks. Most of the victims were decapitated,
\nso we can't assume that they were all Madurese,\" East
\nKotawaringin regent Wahyudi K. Anwar said by phone from Sampit on
\nSunday, adding that eyewitnesses had testified that Dayaks were
\nalso slain during the week-long killing spree.<\/p>\n
\"This tragedy has caused suffering in both camps. It's clear
\nthat the dispute has nothing to do with religion. In the past
\nthere have been disputes between locals and migrants but this
\ntime is different. I cannot say what it is but I think the ethnic
\nissue is just a cover,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Sources said there were also reports of missing Dayak corpses.<\/p>\n
\"First we saw piles of bodies believed to be Dayaks but after
\nwe tried to evacuate them ... they were gone,\" one source said.<\/p>\n
On Sunday it was reported that some 163 bodies were still
\nlying in Murjani General Hospital in Sampit waiting for mass
\nburial by humanitarian activists from Palangkaraya.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, thousands of refugees were frantically trying to
\nboard the naval ships that will evacuate them to East Java. The
\nfirst 4,100 people fleeing the turmoil arrived in Tanjung Perak
\nport in Surabaya on Sunday evening.<\/p>\n
In Yogyakarta, People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Amien
\nRais said on Saturday that a state of civil emergency should be
\nimposed in Sampit to quickly restore order in the area.<\/p>\n
The call was echoed by the chairman of the Muhammadiyah Muslim
\norganization Syafii Ma'arif and Indonesian Democratic Party of
\nStruggle (PDI Perjuangan) legislator Soetardjo Soerjogoeritno.<\/p>\n
\"A shoot-on-site order should be issued to quell the rioting,\"
\nSoetardjo said.<\/p>\n
Amien criticized President Abdurrahman over his foreign trip,
\nsaying that the President should return home immediately to
\nhandle the disturbances.<\/p>\n
He suggested that troops be deployed to Central Kalimantan to
\nback up the police.<\/p>\n
Amien also suggested that the government stop evacuating the
\nMadurese from Kalimantan because the evacuation would only serve
\nto dramatize the situation and could incite revenge attacks on
\nDayaks and other ethnic groups associated with the Dayaks.
\n(edt\/byg\/44)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/communal-clashes-in-sampit-spread-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}