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)