Irian Jaya authority impounds Maluku refugee boat 'Dobonsolo'
Irian Jaya authority impounds Maluku refugee boat 'Dobonsolo'
JAYAPURA, Irian Jaya (JP): Authorities here impounded on
Sunday a ferry laden with some 1,000 refugees fleeing bloody
sectarian unrest in the Maluku islands.
Military and civilian leaders in the port of Jayapura were
forcing the ferry KM Dobonsolo to remain anchored in Yos Sudarso
bay, approximately one mile away from the port in this provincial
capital.
The authorities allowed passengers bound for Jayapura to
disembark only after undergoing a thorough check.
The elderly, pregnant and sick would also be allowed to leave
the ferry for medical treatment, but all passengers with no
identity documents or tickets would be barred from landing.
The ferry, which had stopped over in Ambon, the main town in
Maluku, where thousands of people have died in bloody clashes in
the past 18 months, was carrying 968 people.
Most had no tickets, only documents indicating they were
refugees.
Irian Jaya deputy governor Abraham O. Atururi said that the
decision to impound the ferry was to prevent similar communal
clashes from spreading to Irian Jaya.
The Dobonsolo will be detained in Jayapura until the central
government gives a date for the settlement of the unrest in
Maluku, local authorities said.
President Abdurrahman Wahid's government would also have to
outline its plans for the hundreds of thousands of refugees that
have fled Maluku for other parts of Indonesia, including Irian
Jaya.
Irian Jaya legislator Kormat was quoted by Antara as saying
that the decision to impound the state-owned ferry was expected
to be signed by the leaders of the provincial administration and
the legislature and sent to the central government.
Harbor towns in Irian Jaya, including Sorong, Manokwari and
Jayapura, have been growing ever more reluctant to accept
refugees from Maluku over fears that their regions could be used
to foment further unrest.
They also fear weapons and explosives carried by some refugees
could be used in Irian Jaya.
In Ambon, the capital of ravaged Maluku, armed rioters halted
their attacks on the Urimesing, Diponegoro Atas and Mangga Dua
areas but continued ransacking the already deserted villages
nearby.
"We saw rioters go through the ruins of the villages, sorting
out valuable items. Most of the houses in the area have already
burned down, but they still took away furniture and electronic
devices which they found," a local journalist said.
Gunfire and explosions were still heard in parts of the city
on Sunday evening, but occasional rain halted possible open
clashes.
Elsewhere in the strife-torn town of Poso, Central Sulawesi,
activists as well as local authorities urged the police to
intensify the protective arrangements for Fabianus "Cornelis"
Tibo, the suspect and key witness in the Poso riots of May which
left at least 130 people dead.
Tibo is currently being detained at Palu Police Headquarters
after being questioned by the military officers who captured him
on Thursday at Tadulako Military District office.
According to Tibo's lawyer Robert Bofe, Tibo confessed that
there are four other masterminds of the riots.
"Tibo said that he was just an operator, just like Dominggus
Soares who is still at large now. There are higher commanders
here," Robert said, refusing to give the four names.
Meanwhile, deputy speaker of the House of Representatives
(DPR) AM Fatwa said in Makassar on Saturday he suspected that
both domestic and foreign conspirators were behind the series of
communal conflicts in the archipelago.
"My reason for saying so is because most of the clashes have
followed a similar pattern," Fatwa told hundreds of people
attending a Muslim gathering at the Hasanuddin University mosque.
Fatwa, from the National Mandate Party (PAN) in the House,
demanded that the Abdurrahman Wahid administration be more
proactive in dealing with the clashes. (49/34/27/edt/byg)