Madurese no longer wanted, say Sambas locals<\/p>\n
SINGKAWANG, West Kalimantan (JP): Minister of Defense and
\nSecurity\/ Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto visited the riot-
\ntorn West Kalimantan regency of Sambas where he met refugees,
\nresidents and troops on Thursday.<\/p>\n
He was also greeted by a demonstration protesting the shooting
\nof a number of residents by security personnel. Meanwhile reports
\nsaid dozens of refugees had died in hospitals.<\/p>\n
Representatives of an indigenous ethnic group here told
\nWiranto they could no longer live with the Madurese.<\/p>\n
In a statement addressed to Wiranto, the Sambas Dayak
\nCommunity Council said the \"culture and character of the
\nMadurese\" were not compatible with that of the locals.<\/p>\n
\"The ultimate resolution (to the conflict with Madurese
\nmigrants) is that the Dayaks, Malays, Chinese and Bugis people
\n(in Sambas) no longer want to live with the Madurese,\" read the
\nstatement signed by I. Libertus Ahie and Adrianto Alio.<\/p>\n
They cited the Madurese habit of always carrying machetes.<\/p>\n
Community leaders on Madura island have pleaded with the
\ngovernment not to send the migrants home from West Kalimantan.<\/p>\n
Kompas daily quoted on Thursday noted Madurese ulema Fuad Amin
\nImron as saying that, despite their shortcomings, Madurese people
\ngenerally get along well with people of different ethnic
\nbackgrounds.<\/p>\n
Imron called on the Armed Forces to protect the Madurese
\nwithout taking the side of any party. The conflicts erupted on a
\nmajor scale last week, pitting local Malays and Dayaks against
\nthe migrant Madurese.<\/p>\n
Scores of Madurese were reportedly victims of savage killings.<\/p>\n
Wiranto met with community figures of several ethnic groups,
\nincluding Madurese, at the local legislature in Singkawang.<\/p>\n
Sambas is home to around 800,000 people, with Madurese making
\nup about 8 percent of the total population. The embattled migrant
\ngroup is a minority after Dayaks, Malays and Chinese.<\/p>\n
As of Thursday, there were no reports of violence, nor any
\nupdate on the death toll, which the local press has put at 184.<\/p>\n
Antara reported from Singkawang that Wiranto also met with the
\npeacekeeping force recently deployed to the area.<\/p>\n
\"You are all here on a peace mission, show the people that you
\ncan carry out your duties in a sympathetic manner,\" Wiranto
\ninstructed his personnel at the Sambas Police Headquarters here.<\/p>\n
Wiranto also visited refugees waiting to be transferred to
\nPontianak.<\/p>\n
Over 15,000 Madurese refugees were being sheltered in the West
\nKalimantan capital of Pontianak, about 145 kilometers south of
\nSingkawang. Another 10,000 were still stranded at a port in the
\nPemangkat subdistrict town and in Singkawang.<\/p>\n
Families hiding in forests continued to be evacuated. \"We are
\ngrateful we are safe,\" an old man with his grandchildren told The
\nJakarta Post at the Indonesian Red Cross office housing refugees.
\n\"But I don't think we will live in (West Kalimantan) again.\" Some
\nsaid they had survived for five days on whatever they could find
\nin the forests.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Sambas police displayed hundreds of Malaysian-made
\nbullets, along with sharp weapons and homemade rifles, which they
\nsaid were confiscated from locals in an operation launched this
\nweek. An officer said the items confiscated included 405
\nMalaysian-made bullets, 192 Armed Forces' standard bullets, 36
\npellets and 91 other bullets apart from spears and daggers.<\/p>\n
Forty-seven people were arrested, Antara said. (leo\/aan)<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/madurese-no-longer-wanted-say-sambas-locals-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }