Business as usual in Pontianak, says governor

JAKARTA (JP): West Kalimantan Governor Aspar Aswin said yesterday the provincial capital Pontianak had returned to normal and residents had resumed daily activities.

He refuted reports that the widespread clashes over the past two months between indigenous Dayaks and migrants from Madura island in East Java had disrupted the economy and caused food shortages.

"The situation is fine for residents to return to usual routines," Aspar said during a break at a meeting of Indonesia's 27 governors at the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Staple goods, the distribution of which was interrupted due to the tense situation following the prolonged ethnic unrest, are again reaching the regions previously affected by the unrest.

An expert on Dayak culture, Stephanus Djuweng, told The Jakarta Post that children preparing to return to school on Thursday from their holidays was the first proof of normalcy in the province.

Business activities had resumed and residents were again moving around freely at night, Stephanus said. The curfew was lifted last week.

Remnants of the tension that gripped the region since late December are still evident however at military checkpoints. Security personnel continue to maintain their guard on roads surrounding Pontianak, with many of them checking residents for sharp weapons including knives, machetes and traditional swords from Kalimantan.

Stephanus said that Dayaks and Madurese were no longer mounting guard their security posts to check one another for weapons.

He hailed the military efforts to maintain peace in the province "in the fairest manner possible."

He was unable to confirm the number of people arrested for their involvement in the riots and clashes or the conditions they were being held in.

Ethnic clashes erupted and swept through the villages of at least seven regencies late December, sparked originally by a brawl during a folk concert between youths over a woman.

Five Dayak people were killed then. A total of 21 people went missing following the unrest.

The second wave of clashes began in Pontianak and surrounding areas on Jan. 29, less than a month after the two groups had agreed to a peace deal.

Local residents said the latest unrest erupted following reports of an attack by 40 masked men, believed to be Madurese migrants, on a foundation that manages Catholic schools in the Siantan Tengah district. The attackers wounded two women living nearby, damaged school buildings and burned two motorcycles and a truck inside the foundation compound.

The disputing ethnic groups agreed to end their "battle" last week, when "leaders" of both ethnic tribes signed a second peace agreement.

The second agreement failed to stop the two groups from attacking each other however. Riots went on, especially in West Kalimantan's hinterlands.

Aspar said yesterday the two ethnic groups were now working on yet another peace agreement. This time, no government officials are involved in the process and the agreement is being prepared solely by the two groups.

"I don't know the content of the agreement. They are making the arrangements on their own. The local administration is not involved," he said.

Stephanus called for greater dialog between the two groups, with the support of formal and informal leaders, to promote greater understanding of their respective cultures. (imn/01)