1,000 more migrants flee riot-torn of Ambon

1,000 more migrants flee riot-torn of Ambon

UJUNGPANDANG (JP): At least 1,000 migrants arrived in
Ujungpandang on Sunday after fleeing the riot-torn city of Ambon,
which was still tense following days of communal clashes in the
Maluku province that left 65 dead.

Aboard the Rinjani vessel, the group, which included 219
children, arrived at Soekarno-Hatta seaport in the South Sulawesi
capital under tight military security.

Local military commander Lt. Col. S. Widjanarko told The
Jakarta Post that at least 100 security personnel were deployed
due to rumors over the past few days that rioting would erupt in
the city.

Troops were seen guarding seaport entrances and the office of
state-owned shipping company PT Pelni.

Military trucks transported the migrants to their hometowns in
Bone, Gowa, Sidrap, Maros and Bantaeng.

The first batch of migrants arrived in Ujungpandang last week.

South Sulawesi migrants have also left businesses and adopted
homes in riot-hit places elsewhere such as Kupang in East Nusa
Tenggara and Irian Jaya where they have been affected.

One of the migrants, Mursalim, said Sunday that many people
aboard the ship did not have tickets because they lacked funds to
buy any.

"We do not have money anymore, we left Ambon just like that,"
Mursalim said, adding that more people from South Sulawesi were
still stranded in Ambon because they could not afford to buy
tickets.

A number of migrants said they fled because their personal
safety could not be guaranteed by security personnel and there
had been rumors that more violence would erupt in Ambon.

A Gowa-born migrant, Nurlina, who arrived in Ujungpandang with
her three children, said she had nothing left after mobs burned
down her house and belongings.

She said she would never return to Ambon and would send her
children to school in Gowa. Nurlina added that her husband, a
trader in Mardika market in Ambon, was stranded there as he had
no money to buy a ticket.

Meanwhile, Benyamin Mangkoedilaga of the National Commission
on Human Rights told the Post from Ambon that the city was still
tense on Sunday and that groups of people were guarding their
neighborhoods.

"We are staying at a guest house of the local government as
our personal safety could not be guaranteed at a hotel," Benyamin
said.

Benyamin, who was on a three-day fact-finding mission until
Tuesday with fellow rights body member Albert Hasibuan, added
that the team had met with locals, a number of Muslim and
Christian leaders and the police on Sunday.

He said locals spoke of "phone calls" a few days before the
violence in which they received "instructions" to start riots.

Benyamin, however, said he was unable to give further details.

"We are trying to dig up more information to verify whether
the violence was really instigated or not," Benyamin said.

Several religious leaders have cited reports that thugs and
hoodlums belonging to a Jakarta organization were involved in the
riots, but they have not named the organization or its leaders.

The violence was sparked by a fight between a Muslim migrant
and a local Christian public transportation driver on Jan. 19.
The incident quickly degenerated into full-scale riots involving
members of both religious communities.

Meanwhile, at least 20 people have been named suspects in
separate violence in Dobo, Aru Island, Southeast Maluku district
last month which resulted in eight deaths, Antara reported
Saturday.

Local officials estimate financial losses of Rp 6.56 billion
were incurred during the riots in Dobo and Saumlaki in South
Tanimbar regency.

The agency also said at least two died and 12 others were
injured in a brawl between youth groups in Kumai district,
Kotawaringin Barat regency in Central Kalimantan on Friday.

In Pemalang, Central Java, some 1,000 people went on a rampage
in Lumpang village of Bantar Balong district on Friday. One died
and another was injured in the melee.

Local military commander Col. M. Noer Muis did not identify
the casualty, but said the man died of severe head injuries.

One man sustained gunshot wounds after security personnel
fired warning shots to disperse the crowd.

The mob burned down two government offices, severely damaged
three houses and slightly damaged dozens of other buildings.

The unrest erupted after a number of suspected timber thieves
were arrested by a forest patrol on Friday afternoon. Two hours
later, hundreds of people went to the district office and started
to rampage.

Military officials said that hundreds of troops and Mobile
Brigade personnel had been deployed in the area to restore order
and security. (byg/27/edt/45)