General says Pontianak calm following riots
JAKARTA (JP): Pontianak and West Kalimantan are under control and there is no curfew, Armed Forces Spokesman Brig. Gen. Amir Syarifuddin said yesterday.
"We did not order a curfew there, we just appealed to local residents not to leave their homes between 9:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m.," he said.
Amir questioned Malaysia's policy of closing its border over fears that the rioting would spill over into Sarawak.
"The riots were far away from the border, why should they close the checkpoints?" he told The Jakarta Post in a telephone interview.
AFP news agency reported from Kuching, the capital of Sarawak, yesterday, that the local authorities had temporarily sealed parts of the border with Indonesia amid a wave of ethnic rioting in West Kalimantan.
The news agency quoted a senior police officer in the Malaysian city as saying: "We have advised travelers not to cross the border into Indonesia. The situation on the Kalimantan side is not very stable."
Reports said the Jan. 29 riot started when a group of people wearing masks attacked and looted a dormitory housing 50 students.
Fifteen minutes later the masked mob went to a nearby house and tortured two female workers.
Terror campaign
The authorities have declined to identify the gang members that waged the terror campaign. They only said that several troublemakers have been arrested and the investigation is still continuing.
News of the torture spread immediately throughout Pontianak's hinterland. The two girls' families were enraged by the news and their reactions triggered riots in the districts of Darit, Karangan, Menjalin, Mandor and Sui Pinyuh.
The Armed Forces quickly deployed troops to calm the situation. Amir said that no extra personnel had been sent to the province as reported by a foreign news agency,
"The only troops deployed were from the local battalion," he said.
A major clash between Dayak people and immigrants from Madura hit the town of Sanggau Ledo in late December, forcing more than 5,000 people to flee their homes to Singkawang and nearby subdistricts for refuge.
Four people died and more than 300 houses were razed in the incident. Military authorities in West Kalimantan have said that 21 people are still missing.
The Sanggau Ledo violence was triggered by a brawl over a woman. Dayaks went on the rampage after hearing rumors that two of their tribespeople had been killed in the fight.
Total damage caused in the unrest was estimated at Rp 13.6 billion (US$5.7 million). (05)