Local official warns Buton a ticking time bomb

Local official warns Buton a ticking time bomb

Jupriadi, The Jakarta Post, Buton

Buton's Deputy Regent Kasim looked flushed and flustered when asked about his administration's stance toward efforts to expel the refugees at the Wakonti Baru camp, Wolio district in Bau-Bau, Buton regency.

"I was installed only a day after the clash between Wakonti refugees and the locals. Honestly, we are still having talks with the two sides," he said when met at Buton regency administration office.

Kasim and Buton Regent, La Ode Muhammad Syafei Kahar, were installed by Southeast Sulawesi Governor La Ode Kaimoeddin on Oct. 7, 2001, just a day before the recent violent clash. It was the fourth clash so far between Wakonti Baru refugees and the residents of Bataraguru and Tomba sub-districts.

Kasim said the situation was under control now but that he was currently talking to local leaders to ensure that they would not carry out their threat to expel the refugees. "It's true it's a difficult situation. The issue is whether to comply with the locals' wishes or not. If we comply, we will be violating the rights of the refugees, if we don't it will boomerang on us," he said, looking troubled.

He said he would continue to approach the locals to try to convince them to quit their plan to expel the refugees despite the agreement that all refugees had to leave the present location. "Anything can happen, but everything is still at the stage of appealing (to the refugees) and not coercion," he added.

Kasim had good reason to lose his temper with the locals, as residents, particularly in Bataraguru and Tomba, had blockaded the city roads for two weeks. They put up barbed wire, wooden boards, tables and chairs to block the roads. On top of that, after the incident on Oct. 8, hundreds of locals stormed state- owned Pelni vessels from Ambon docking at Murhum harbor seeking new migrants.

The raids claimed the life of one passenger, La Mulia (41), who came from the Maluku town of Banda Naire on board the Rinjani, who was stabbed to death on Oct. 17.

" We will continue to blockade the roads and carry out raids until all Wakonti refugees leave Buton," said Rais, one of the Tomba locals. For him, refugees are like a thorn in the side and deserve no mercy.

Rais is not alone. Uga (25), a shop owner in Bau-Bau town has had bad experiences with the refugees. The refugees, he said, often took things from his shop without paying.

"It's terrible when they get drunk. They do anything they want," Uga said, "how can we not be provoked; they are always disturbing our peace. Anyone, not just a Butonese, will get angry if his peace is disturbed."

Rais and Uga agreed that the presence of the refugees was a reality but they understood why some locals refused to allow any refugees to enter Bau-Bau.

Wakonti refugees, however, remain defiant. Djamaluddin, for one, said he would not budge an inch from Wakonti even if it meant risking his life.

"Look at things case by case," said Djamaluddin, camp leader of Wakonti Baru refugees.

Obviously, the refugee problem is a dilemma for the regency administration.

"It's a very difficult situation indeed," said Buton Police chief, Adj. Chief Comr. Sarbini, adding that things could get worse in view of the very low level of awareness of the law among Bau-Bau residents.

He said that he himself could not do anything. Rallies are staged every day at our place, he said.

"At present, we are concentrating on safeguarding the town," he said adding that it was up to the local administration whether or not to let the refugees stay.

If the local administration fails to show prudence, it may as well face its own residents. On the other hand, it may be accused of violating the law."

"The regency administration has no right to expel the refugees. Whatever the reason may be and regardless of their bad behavior, they are still Indonesian citizens," said Andi Rudiyanto Asapa, president of Makassar Lawyers' Club in Makassar.

Andi said he was prepared to provide legal assistance to the refugees in Wakonti if the locals forced them to leave. Expelling them means violating the right of a citizen to stay anywhere within the country, he noted.

The real problem now, he said, is how to prevent an open clash between the locals and the refugees. If rioting breaks out on a larger scale, it may become a very huge time bomb. "We are all really worried about the situation," he said.

Meanwhile, Darwis, a sociologist of Hasannudin University, said the local administration had to seek a compromise, keeping an equal distance from the refugees and the locals.

"I believe, the local administration must establish communication between the two groups. If it reaches a dead end, it may seek the help of the mass media to accommodate the demands of both sides."

But some reporters in Bau-Bau said that they would not report any clashes for fear of intimidation.

"We are in a difficult position here. If we report the clashes, the security forces will intimidate us. That's why all these cases are rarely exposed. In fact, the enmity between the locals and the refugees has already taken root," said one of Kendari reporters in Bau-Bau, who requested anonymity.

He said certain parties tried to cover up this case. "We don't know what the motive is. In fact, the relationship between locals and the refugees has been tense for a long time. When this tension degenerated into a clash, people panicked, but even then, the case was still covered up. I know that I am hated. That's why I do not dare leave the house at night," he said.

He said he hoped that this case could be exposed and discussed on a national scale. If the central government fails to solve this problem in time, it will assume a greater magnitude. " Of course, the central government must intervene. Otherwise, things will get worse and the victims will be those from these social groups themselves," he said.

As a native of Bau-Bau, he said that a peaceful life was far more important than being involved in a continuous clashes.

"Don't let hope give way to despair, and eventually, anger," he said, "we are really tired of the clashes and sufferings. We long to see Bau-Bau as it was before: a peaceful place to live in."

Nur Maya (22), an employee in Bau-Bau agreed that Bau-Bau residents were longing for the peaceful life they had. For her, a peaceful life is more important than anything else.

"How can we live in peace if we are traumatized by the outbreak of clashes everywhere. I take pity on the Buton people as they have to live in fear," she said, adding that her mother and her sister moved to Kendari when Buton was jolted by the clashes between locals and the refugees.

For most residents, Buton is now no longer as beautiful and as peaceful as it used to be.