470,000 refugees sheltering in Ujungpandang

470,000 refugees sheltering in Ujungpandang

JAKARTA (JP): The government says an estimated 470,000
refugees are now sheltering in the South Sulawesi capital of
Ujungpandang after fleeing unrest in the troubled provinces of
Maluku, East Timor, Aceh and Irian Jaya.

The secretary-general of the Ministry of Social Services,
Moerwanto, was quoted by Antara as saying in Ujungpandang that
the government has distributed 400 grams of rice and side dishes,
worth Rp 1,500 (21 US cents) each, for every refugee daily for 70
days.

The relief is given "in the hope it would lessen their burden,
though of course it's far from enough", he said after delivering
the aid in a ceremony on Wednesday.

The government estimate is the highest so far. In May, the
number of people fleeing sectarian clashes in Maluku and seeking
shelter in South Sulawesi and Southeast Sulawesi cities, as well
as in Southeast Maluku regency, was put at 100,000.

An estimated 100,000 Acehnese are now seeking shelter in
various towns after fleeing armed conflicts between the military
and separatist guerrillas. From East Timor, thousands have also
left their villages as tensions rose in the run-up to the self-
determination ballot planned for Aug. 30.

Meanwhile, AFP reported that Ambon was calm on Wednesday after
a renewed bout of Muslim-Christian violence that forced many
Chinese Indonesians to flee.

In the latest outbreak of violence, a man was stabbed to death
on Tuesday at the Mardika market in downtown Ambon, sparking an
angry reaction in the predominantly Muslim neighborhood of
Galunggung. Security forces moved in and fired warning shots to
prevent a fresh riot.

"The situation is almost normal but still vulnerable," Maluku
Military Command spokesman Lt. Col. Iwa Budiman said.

He said police and soldiers remained on alert and were still
deployed in places "susceptible" to violence.

"Large groups of people are only centered at Al Fatah and
Maranatha," he said referring to a mosque and church where
Muslims and Christians have sought refuge from violence.

He said "a number" of ethnic Chinese were fleeing the city on
ships and airplanes.

The Media Indonesia daily on Wednesday said at least 1,500
ethnic Chinese were fleeing the unrest.

But, reacting to the media report, Budiman said: "It's not
that many and they did not leave in one go."

The ethnic Chinese community in Ambon, which had escaped
involvement in the Muslim-Christian violence that has simmered
since January, were targeted for the first time when fresh
violence flared last week. Many of their shops in the
predominantly Christian shopping area in the A.Y. Pati
neighborhood in downtown Ambon were burned during the violence.

Meanwhile, a report by the investigation team set up by the
Maluku provincial chapter of the Justice Party described an
attack on July 25 on the hamlets of Kisar, Kampung Pisang and
Wailiha in the Batu Gong village, north of Ambon, by residents of
neighboring Hutumuri village.

The report alleged that the attackers used firearms, machetes,
spears and homemade bombs. They also burned houses and two
mosques, and forced the Muslim residents to flee, the report
said.

The report said four people were killed in the attack, 14 were
severely injured, three others went missing, and three women were
sexually harassed. The report also said one woman who was trying
to seek refuge in a factory building was gang-raped and wounded
severely. She is reportedly now being treated at the Navy
hospital of Halong.

"The report was compiled from testimonies of the victims and
witnesses to the investigation team of the Justice Party," said
Suhfi of the provincial chapter of the party, which also set up a
humanitarian team to help victims of the violence, which first
erupted on Jan. 19. (swe)