25 Ambon refugees die in shelters

25 Ambon refugees die in shelters

JAKARTA (JP): Twenty-five Ambon refugees in makeshift refugee
centers in Buton, Southeast Sulawesi, died of cholera in recent
weeks, while 400 others were hospitalized with various diseases.

Antara news agency said on Thursday Buton regent Saidoe
reported the situation to Ministry of Health secretary-general
Dr. E. Sutarto on Wednesday. Saidoe said dirty water and poor
living conditions in the refugee centers were to blame for the
deaths.

He said the local administration had taken various measures to
alleviate the suffering of the refugees, including providing an
adequate number of paramedics.

Southeast Sulawesi Governor La Ode Kaimoeddin recently said up
to 42,000 Ambon refugees were being sheltered in various
locations in Buton, many living in squalid conditions.

The communal clashes between Muslims and Christians in Maluku
which erupted in mid-January have killed more than 300 people and
caused more than 50,000 to flee the province. The latest outbreak
of violence occurred in Tual, Southeast Maluku, where at least
130 people were killed.

Antara also reported a ship transporting 750 metric tons of
rice from Surabaya to Maluku failed to dock at Tual port because
of security concerns. The ship was rerouted to Fakfak in Irian
Jaya.

The news agency quoted the head of the Fakfak logistics
office, Supratman, as saying the owner of the KM Ocean Star was
too afraid to dock and unload the rice in Tual.

Meanwhile, Yacob Leuhery, alias Yopi, the 37-year-old public
transport driver reported to be responsible for triggering the
unrest in Maluku, was sentenced to six months imprisonment for
carrying a sharp weapon without a permit.

Yopi, who drove a minibus on the Mardika-Batu Merah route in
Ambon, chased Mursalim bin Abdulkadir with a machete on Jan. 19.
Mursalim allegedly extorted Rp 500 from Yopi.

According to a panel of judges presided over by A. Gasperz in
the Ambon District Court, the incident sparked violence between
two villages, which later escalated into the devastating clashes
between Muslims and Christians. (swe)