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)