Feisal downplays border closure

Feisal downplays border closure

JAKARTA (JP): Armed Forces Commander Gen. Feisal Tanjung said
yesterday there was no problem with Malaysia closing its border
checkpoints with Indonesia following ethnic riots in West
Kalimantan.

Malaysia, Feisal said before attending a cabinet meeting, has
every right to close the border and Indonesia should not be
offended.

"We should not be offended if our neighbor closed their door
for security reasons. We have no right to raise objections to
it," the general said.

Malaysia reportedly closed 12 border checkpoints in Sarawak
earlier this week following reports of sporadic, ethnically
motivated clashes involving native Dayaks and Madurese migrants
in West Kalimantan.

Sarawak also has a large Dayak population. The Malaysian
government is worried the continuing conflict might spill over
the border.

A major conflict erupted in Sanggau Ledo in late December.
Four people were killed and another 21 are still missing. In
addition, hundreds of houses and shops were burned, prompting
more than 5,000 people to flee.

Malaysian officials said yesterday the border posts will be
reopened only once after the ethnic violence has calmed down on
the Indonesian side.

"We are still monitoring the situation in Kalimantan. We will
only open up the roads once the situation is declared safe by the
Indonesian authorities," the National Security Council in Sarawak
state said in a statement as quoted by AFP.

"They (the Malaysians) have Dayaks and others there (in
Sarawak). That (border closure) is not our business," Feisal
said.

The general stressed that the authorities were determined to
take harsh action against convicted rioters, irrespective of
their backgrounds.

On the same occasion, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas
said he hoped Malaysia would reopen the border checkpoints as
soon as the situation was brought under control.

"I hope that this (border closure) is temporarily," he said,
adding that the situation in West Kalimantan was improving.

Thousands of Indonesians have reportedly been stranded in
Sarawak and Malaysians in West Kalimantan.

Meanwhile, Antara reported from Kuala Lumpur that the
Malaysian government has deployed more troops to secure the
closure of the whole border between Sarawak and West Kalimantan.

Quoting government sources in the Sarawak city of Kuching,
Antara said the troops secured all checkpoints along the border,
including the one in Tebedu, the busiest border post. (pan)