Over 100 dead bodies left untransported<\/p>\n
SAMPIT, Central Kalimantan (JP): Over 100 dead bodies were
\nfound in separate spots in the Sampit area, Central Kalimantan,
\non Monday, while fresh troops and aid for the prolonged communal
\nconflicts arrived by air.<\/p>\n
Comr. Tato Suharto, chief of Central Kalimantan Police Control
\nUnit (Sabara) said the number of dead bodies found on Monday
\ntotaled 118. All of the corpses were dumped and untransported at
\nthe front yard of the Parenggean district head's office located
\non the main road connecting Sampit and Palangkaraya.<\/p>\n
Authorities speculated that all the dead bodies were of
\nMadurese men, who had sought ways to leave Sampit.<\/p>\n
The finding of the dead bodies made the conflict areas more
\ntense. Transportation from Sampit to Palangkaraya -- four hours
\nby car -- was practically halted. No public transport vehicles,
\nincluding taxis, had the courage to operate.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, fourteen tons of food, medicines and blankets
\narrived aboard a military Hercules plane for thousands of victims
\nof the Dayak-Madura ethnic violence that by official count has
\nleft at least 300 dead over the last week.<\/p>\n
Two Hercules military transport planes dropped off 650 Army
\nStrategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) crack troops at the city's
\nairport, to be deployed in Palangkaraya and the coastal city of
\nPangkalan Bun, 440 kilometers west of Sampit.<\/p>\n
Two more military battalions have been deployed to Sampit to
\nassist existing police and military troops there.<\/p>\n
President Abdurrahman Wahid said, "I have already consulted
\n(Coordinating Minister for Political, Social and Security Susilo
\nBambang Yudhoyono and National Police Chief Bimantoro) whether I
\nshould return to Indonesia, but they both said that I should
\ncontinue my overseas trip."<\/p>\n
He said the two were consulted after he got calls from home
\ncalling on him to cut short his trip.<\/p>\n
Susilo told a media briefing at Tjilik Riwut airport in
\nPalangkaraya on Monday that the deployment of the troops was to
\nanticipate the situation in that city (Pangkalan Bun), "because
\nthere is a greater chance of potential violence there."<\/p>\n
No violence has so far been reported in Pangkalan Bun.<\/p>\n
"We will focus the protection towards refugees and non-
\nrefugees that are facing a life-threatening situation," he said.<\/p>\n
Reports from the South Kalimantan capital of Banjarmasin
\nsaid that trucks loaded with refugees from Palangkaraya kept
\nentering the city until Monday evening.<\/p>\n
Husein, one of the refugees, said he and his family left
\nPalangkaraya on Monday after rumors had it that Madurese people
\nliving in Palangkaraya would also be cleansed.<\/p>\n
The existing refugees in Sampit as of Monday numbered at
\naround 10,000 as thousands of others have fled by navy ships to
\nEast Java; they have been living in squalid conditions and been
\nhit by water and food shortages.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, thousands of Madurese migrants arrived at the
\nSurabaya seaport of Tanjung Perak from Sampit on Monday.<\/p>\n
The Navy warship Teluk Ende carrying a total of 3,296 people
\narrived at the port at 6 a.m. on Monday, while another vessel
\nTilieng Kabilah with 200 people arrived at noon, making a total
\nof Madurese refugees entering Surabaya to more than 10,000 since
\nSaturday. Another 14 thousands were still in Sampit.<\/p>\n
East Java Deputy Governor for people's welfare Imam Supardi
\nsaid that the refugees needed mental rehabilitation. "They have
\nbeen too terrified."<\/p>\n
Medical officials, however, said that lots of casualties have
\nbeen thrown into the river. "So actually we'll never be able to
\nknow the real number of victims," Minister Achmad Sujudi said.<\/p>\n
Sujudi also revealed that an emergency post has been set up
\nand one could dial (0536) 30665 - 30688 and fax 24153.<\/p>\n
Chairman of the Indonesian Medical association (IDI) Achmad
\nDjojosugito also expressed IDI readiness of paramedic and doctors
\nto cope with post riot situation.<\/p>\n
In Sampit and Palangkaraya, however, truckloads of thousands
\nof armed Dayaks roamed on Monday through the city, torching,
\nsmashing and looting Madurese shops and houses.<\/p>\n
The East Kalimantan Dayaks' Association Martinus F. Tennes and
\ntraditional tribesmen leader Ladeng Mering dismissed allegations
\nthat their groups had sent armed Dayaks to Central Kalimantan.<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>\n
Soon after arriving in Jakarta, Minister Susilo Bambang
\nYudhoyono said on Monday that the central government had asked
\nthe local authority, -- the governor, the local police chief, and
\nthe local military commander, to estimate within three days
\nwhether they needed to settle the emergency status in the
\ntroubled area in Central Kalimantan.<\/p>\n
A similar call was also made by the Speaker of the House of
\nRepresentatives (DPR), Akbar Tandjung.<\/p>\n
"The government will support every effort taken by the local
\nauthority, including the imposition of a civil emergency, in
\norder to restore security there and to avoid a further conflict.<\/p>\n
Also in Jakarta, National Police chief of detectives Insp.
\nGen. Engkesman Hillep said on Monday that police were still
\ninterrogating three suspects arrested over the Sampit clashes,
\nand were positive that these three men had taken part in the
\n"careful planning" of the clashes.<\/p>\n
Sr. Comr. Timbul Sianturi, head of the National Police's
\nGeneral Information service, had earlier said that the three
\nsuspects, one of whom is an official of the local forestry
\noffice, had reportedly paid Rp 20 million to six men, to provoke
\nthe clashes in a bid to retain their civil service posts. (team)<\/p>",
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