Dayak leaders help escort trucks carrying Madurese
JAKARTA (JP): Chiefs of the Dayak tribe in the conflict-torn town of Sambas, West Kalimantan, helped on Monday escort 28 trucks transporting more than 5,000 Madurese fleeing to safer ground in Singkawang, West Kalimantan.
The safety escorts provided the Madurese displaced by conflicts between the indigenous Dayaks and Malays and the migrant Madurese were, according to Antara, the result of peace talks among Dayak and Malay leaders in Sambas.
Liber Ahi, the chairman of the council for Dayak leaders in Sambas, said in Menpawah the council guaranteed the safety of the Madurese refugees.
He also said the Sambas administration would assist the Madurese if they wanted to go back to their home island of Madura in East Java.
Thousands of Madurese, many of whom were born in West Kalimantan, are now housed in various makeshift refugee centers, including in the provincial capital city of Pontianak. At least 200 babies have been born in the unhealthy environs and facilities of the centers.
Col. Chairul Rasyid, chief of the West Kalimantan Police, hailed the Dayaks gesture, calling it proof of their goodwill.
He also promised to gradually withdraw security personnel deployed to quell the unrest in Sambas which so far has killed more than 200 and displaced more than 30,000 people.
Meanwhile, 73 houses left vacant by Madurese refugees who fled violence in Sambas were burned by angry mobs. The arson took place in two separate attacks in the Sungairaya subdistrict, and a charred body was later found among the ruins.
Corp. Widianto of the Sungairaya Police confirmed the incident but denied there had been any casualties.
Meanwhile in Maluku, leaders of indigenous peoples on the islands of Saparua and Nusalaut in Central Maluku held a meeting on Monday. They agreed to a reconciliation to end the prolonged violence which broke out in Maluku during the Islamic holiday of Idul Fitri in January.
Antara reported the meeting also was attended by Maluku Deputy Governor Brig. Gen. Paula Renyaan, local officials and Commodore Franklyn Kaihatu and Col. Otto Nendissa, two members of the Armed Forces' special team assigned to control unrest in the province.
Governor Saleh Latuconsina hailed the planned reconciliation, saying it would smooth the way for a grand reconciliatory meeting of warring groups planned for April 30.
"Several other regions in the province also will stage such a move," he said in a written address read out by Paula. He added that with reconciliation achieved, the campaign for rehabilitation could start.
He also asked for the commitment of community leaders to revive the province's traditional religious harmony.
Community leaders attending the meeting asked security authorities to be transparent in their handling of the unrest and those suspecting of masterminding the violence.
More than 300 people were killed, over 39,000 migrants from South and Southeast Sulawesi fled Maluku and thousands of houses and other buildings were damaged in the religious violence.
From the Southeast Sulawesi provincial capital of Kendari, Antara reported that the provincial office of the public works ministry might not be able to keep its promise to build 1,000 houses for refugees from the Maluku riots because the site chosen for the houses was in dispute.
A local has claimed ownership of the site earmarked by the provincial administration for the housing development.
Southeast Sulawesi Governor La Ode Kaimuddin promised to look into the matter and seek an alternative site if needed. The administration plans to build a total of 3,000 houses for some of the more than 39,000 refugees. (rms)