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)