Batam residents return home after violence

JAKARTA (JP): Many residents of Batam industrial island who fled recent armed clashes between members of the Batak and the Flores ethnic groups have begun to return home.

National Police chief Lt. Gen. Roesmanhadi said here on Wednesday that 14 people were killed in the violence among Batak and Flores public transportation drivers who quarreled over control of a bus route. Earlier reports said at least 20 people had been killed since July 24 when the tension first erupted.

Thousands of refugees crammed the main police and military stations, mosques and churches on the island, some 35 kilometers southeast of Singapore, to escape the violence.

Most of the refugees have returned home following the signing of a recent peace agreement between the groups, a witness said.

"It was uncomfortable to live in the temporary shelters and children were missing school," refugee Damanik said as quoted by Antara.

Roesmanhadi said police had questioned 12 people suspected of starting the violence and detained four of them for further questioning. "About 45 people were seriously or slightly injured and (the violence) damaged four houses," he said.

The Singaporean government has expressed concern over the violence because most tourists to the island come from Singapore. Official statistics shows 992,226 tourists visited in the first 11 months of last year. Singaporean tourists constituted the largest group, although their average length of stay was only one to two days.

Batam attracts many job seekers due to rapid economic growth there.

However, behind the success, a number of social problems lurk. The migration level from various regions in Indonesia to Batam during 1998 was 35 percent. This figure exceeded the average growth rate of 17 percent a year.

It is estimated that 200,000 migrants flocked to Batam over the previous two years. The majority of them lack adequate employment skills.

Batam Mayor RA Aziz estimates that Batam has a population of 500,000, of which 300,000 people are registered. Bantam's capacity -- according to the Batam Authority Master Plan 2006 -- is a population of 700,000.

Meanwhile on Wednesday, about 15 Flores people who reside in Batam visited the National Commission on Human Rights in Jakarta. They demanded the commission help protect the ethnic community in Batam from further attack.

"We must check your reports to get accurate information," commission member Sugiri told the protesters. (emf/edt/prb)