Conflict must end in Sampit: Joint forum

JAKARTA (JP): The conflict in Central Kalimantan has invoked mixed reactions from Madurese and Dayaks living outside the province with some calling for peace and unity, and others swearing revenge.

A joint forum of Madurese and Kalimantan students living in Yogyakarta on Wednesday called for an end to the violence that has claimed hundreds of lives since it first erupted on Feb. 18.

"We deeply regret the violence and we beg both sides to end these useless acts as they violate human rights and religious teachings," a joint statement issued by eight associations of Madurese and Kalimantan students said.

The forum, called the Yogyakarta Madurese and Kalimantan Students' Communication Forum for Peace, also urged the government to curb the conflict.

"This forum is aimed at establishing solidarity and ending the suspicion that the Madurese will take revenge against those Dayaks who live in Java," a representative of the Madurese students Efendi Rahman said, adding that the forum would also help raise funds for the victims.

South Kalimantan student Muhammad Hafid Azmi said that similar action should be taken by Madurese and Dayak students in other areas.

But in Surabaya, Madurese figures took a more combative stance, threatening to take revenge on Dayaks in East Java if the violence in Sampit were not stopped.

"We've been patient enough. But what happened in Sampit is inhuman. We can't stay calm while our fellow Madurese are suffering," said businessman Ali Badri Zaini at a meeting of the Madurese Community Association on Wednesday.

Another Madurese, Mustofa, warned that they had listed the names of Dayak people living in Surabaya.

However, Madurese elder M. Noor called for calm and urged people to let the government and security forces handle the situation.

"But the government should be quicker and more anticipative. The government has intelligence officers. How could this tragedy happen?" he asked.

Separately on Wednesday, noted academics asserted that the Sampit unrest was a clear example of how the law was not being upheld in this country.

Achmad Ali, a law professor from Hasanuddin University in Makassar, South Sulawesi said that the disturbances had occurred because the people no longer trusted the law.

"The only way to curb such riots is for the officials to act wisely and conscionably," he told The Jakarta Post in Makassar.

Achmad's colleague, sociologist M. Darwis urged the government to handle the rioting seriously as it could be categorized as ethnic cleansing.

He regretted that President Abdurrahman Wahid had not decided to cut short his foreign trip and return home to help resolve the situation.

"The President should hurry back home. He should form an independent team to resolve the problem and quickly visit Sampit to calm the situation down," Darwis told the Post in Makassar.

Meanwhile in Semarang, Central Java, noted psychologist from Diponegoro University Darmanto Jatman said the riots were the result of the primitive general stereotyping of both ethnic groups.

"The key is interaction, starting from the top right down to the grassroots," said Darmanto.

In Purwokerto, Central Java, rector of Jenderal Soedirman State University, Rubiyanto Misman said that the government should impose a state of civil emergency to control the unrest in Sampit.

"It is because the police are unable to control the rioting. Clashes between the Dayaks and Madurese have happened too often and have never been solved just by negotiations," he told The Post by telephone.

Rubiyanto further asserted that Abdurrahman "has to return home soon. He has to be responsible," he added.

Meanwhile, 100 Madurese students from Surabaya and Malang in East Java staged a protest in front of the East Java Police headquarters, demanding that National Police chief Gen. Surojo Bimantoro resign as a result of his failure to curb the conflict.

In Semarang, 100 students marched demanding that the President resolve "conflicts of disintegration" such as the one in Sampit.(team)