Local official warns Buton a ticking time bomb<\/p>\n
Jupriadi, The Jakarta Post, Buton<\/p>\n
Buton's Deputy Regent Kasim looked flushed and flustered when
\nasked about his administration's stance toward efforts to expel
\nthe refugees at the Wakonti Baru camp, Wolio district in Bau-Bau,
\nButon regency.<\/p>\n
\"I was installed only a day after the clash between Wakonti
\nrefugees and the locals. Honestly, we are still having talks with
\nthe two sides,\" he said when met at Buton regency administration
\noffice.<\/p>\n
Kasim and Buton Regent, La Ode Muhammad Syafei Kahar, were
\ninstalled by Southeast Sulawesi Governor La Ode Kaimoeddin on
\nOct. 7, 2001, just a day before the recent violent clash. It was
\nthe fourth clash so far between Wakonti Baru refugees and the
\nresidents of Bataraguru and Tomba sub-districts.<\/p>\n
Kasim said the situation was under control now but that he was
\ncurrently talking to local leaders to ensure that they would not
\ncarry out their threat to expel the refugees. \"It's true it's a
\ndifficult situation. The issue is whether to comply with the
\nlocals' wishes or not. If we comply, we will be violating the
\nrights of the refugees, if we don't it will boomerang on us,\" he
\nsaid, looking troubled.<\/p>\n
He said he would continue to approach the locals to try to
\nconvince them to quit their plan to expel the refugees despite
\nthe agreement that all refugees had to leave the present
\nlocation. \"Anything can happen, but everything is still at the
\nstage of appealing (to the refugees) and not coercion,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Kasim had good reason to lose his temper with the locals, as
\nresidents, particularly in Bataraguru and Tomba, had blockaded
\nthe city roads for two weeks. They put up barbed wire, wooden
\nboards, tables and chairs to block the roads. On top of that,
\nafter the incident on Oct. 8, hundreds of locals stormed state-
\nowned Pelni vessels from Ambon docking at Murhum harbor seeking
\nnew migrants.<\/p>\n
The raids claimed the life of one passenger, La Mulia (41),
\nwho came from the Maluku town of Banda Naire on board the
\nRinjani, who was stabbed to death on Oct. 17.<\/p>\n
\" We will continue to blockade the roads and carry out raids
\nuntil all Wakonti refugees leave Buton,\" said Rais, one of the
\nTomba locals. For him, refugees are like a thorn in the side and
\ndeserve no mercy.<\/p>\n
Rais is not alone. Uga (25), a shop owner in Bau-Bau town has
\nhad bad experiences with the refugees. The refugees, he said,
\noften took things from his shop without paying.<\/p>\n
\"It's terrible when they get drunk. They do anything they
\nwant,\" Uga said, \"how can we not be provoked; they are always
\ndisturbing our peace. Anyone, not just a Butonese, will get angry
\nif his peace is disturbed.\"<\/p>\n
Rais and Uga agreed that the presence of the refugees was a
\nreality but they understood why some locals refused to allow any
\nrefugees to enter Bau-Bau.<\/p>\n
Wakonti refugees, however, remain defiant. Djamaluddin, for
\none, said he would not budge an inch from Wakonti even if it
\nmeant risking his life.<\/p>\n
\"Look at things case by case,\" said Djamaluddin, camp leader
\nof Wakonti Baru refugees.<\/p>\n
Obviously, the refugee problem is a dilemma for the regency
\nadministration.<\/p>\n
\"It's a very difficult situation indeed,\" said Buton Police
\nchief, Adj. Chief Comr. Sarbini, adding that things could get
\nworse in view of the very low level of awareness of the law among
\nBau-Bau residents.<\/p>\n
He said that he himself could not do anything. Rallies are
\nstaged every day at our place, he said.<\/p>\n
\"At present, we are concentrating on safeguarding the town,\"
\nhe said adding that it was up to the local administration whether
\nor not to let the refugees stay.<\/p>\n
If the local administration fails to show prudence, it may as
\nwell face its own residents. On the other hand, it may be accused
\nof violating the law.\"<\/p>\n
\"The regency administration has no right to expel the
\nrefugees. Whatever the reason may be and regardless of their bad
\nbehavior, they are still Indonesian citizens,\" said Andi
\nRudiyanto Asapa, president of Makassar Lawyers' Club in Makassar.<\/p>\n
Andi said he was prepared to provide legal assistance to the
\nrefugees in Wakonti if the locals forced them to leave. Expelling
\nthem means violating the right of a citizen to stay anywhere
\nwithin the country, he noted.<\/p>\n
The real problem now, he said, is how to prevent an open clash
\nbetween the locals and the refugees. If rioting breaks out on a
\nlarger scale, it may become a very huge time bomb. \"We are all
\nreally worried about the situation,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Darwis, a sociologist of Hasannudin University,
\nsaid the local administration had to seek a compromise, keeping
\nan equal distance from the refugees and the locals.<\/p>\n
\"I believe, the local administration must establish
\ncommunication between the two groups. If it reaches a dead end,
\nit may seek the help of the mass media to accommodate the demands
\nof both sides.\"<\/p>\n
But some reporters in Bau-Bau said that they would not report
\nany clashes for fear of intimidation.<\/p>\n
\"We are in a difficult position here. If we report the
\nclashes, the security forces will intimidate us. That's why all
\nthese cases are rarely exposed. In fact, the enmity between the
\nlocals and the refugees has already taken root,\" said one of
\nKendari reporters in Bau-Bau, who requested anonymity.<\/p>\n
He said certain parties tried to cover up this case. \"We don't
\nknow what the motive is. In fact, the relationship between locals
\nand the refugees has been tense for a long time. When this
\ntension degenerated into a clash, people panicked, but even then,
\nthe case was still covered up. I know that I am hated. That's why
\nI do not dare leave the house at night,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said he hoped that this case could be exposed and discussed
\non a national scale. If the central government fails to solve
\nthis problem in time, it will assume a greater magnitude. \" Of
\ncourse, the central government must intervene. Otherwise, things
\nwill get worse and the victims will be those from these social
\ngroups themselves,\" he said.<\/p>\n
As a native of Bau-Bau, he said that a peaceful life was far
\nmore important than being involved in a continuous clashes.<\/p>\n
\"Don't let hope give way to despair, and eventually, anger,\"
\nhe said, \"we are really tired of the clashes and sufferings. We
\nlong to see Bau-Bau as it was before: a peaceful place to live
\nin.\"<\/p>\n
Nur Maya (22), an employee in Bau-Bau agreed that Bau-Bau
\nresidents were longing for the peaceful life they had. For her, a
\npeaceful life is more important than anything else.<\/p>\n
\"How can we live in peace if we are traumatized by the
\noutbreak of clashes everywhere. I take pity on the Buton people
\nas they have to live in fear,\" she said, adding that her mother
\nand her sister moved to Kendari when Buton was jolted by the
\nclashes between locals and the refugees.<\/p>\n
For most residents, Buton is now no longer as beautiful and as
\npeaceful as it used to be.<\/p>",
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