Madurese flee villages in West Kalimantan

Madurese flee villages in West Kalimantan

JAKARTA (JP): Some 1,200 migrant Madurese in West Kalimantan's
Pemangkat subdistrict of Sambas regency have fled their villages
to avoid more clashes with locals, Antara reported on Thursday.

Quoting West Kalimantan Police chief Col. Chaerul Rasjidi, the
agency said the refugees were temporarily sheltered at the
coastal Pasir Panjang area in Singkawang, 145 kilometers north of
the capital, Pontianak.

The number of refugees increased from an initial 500 after
another clash broke out on Tuesday. They would soon be moved to
Pontianak, the police chief said.

Chaerul could not confirm local reports of three deaths,
saying he had to first report to National Police chief Gen.
Roesmanhadi. A number of homes were also reportedly torched.

Local police in Sambas precinct said their chief, Lt. Col. M.
Nurdin, was not available for comment.

A military officer in Sambas told The Jakarta Post the
situation was under control. He said the violence was similar to
that which occurred in Tebas subdistrict on Feb 21.

"It's the same story ... it's calm now," chief of the local
military command's intelligence unit, Capt. J.E. Simanjuntak,
said. He was reluctant to give more information.

He confirmed the number of refugees and that they would be
transferred to Pontianak.

The violence came shortly after a display of solidarity
between West Kalimantan residents and Madurese, when West
Kalimantan provincial legislature members symbolically handed
over generators to traditional Muslim boarding schools in
Pamekasan, Madura, to ease the impact of the electricity blackout
there.

Last month a number Madurese and Malay locals were killed in
sporadic clashes in Sambas regency.

Bus fare

On Wednesday, Reuters quoted a police officer as saying
Tuesday's violence was triggered by the refusal of a bus
passenger to pay his fare to the driver, a Madurese. The clashes
last month were caused by a similar incident, however the driver
was a Malay and the passenger was from Madura.

"The passenger got into a fight with the driver. After that
groups from either side attacked each other's villages and the
burning spread to neighboring towns," the news agency quoted the
police officer as saying.

In 1997, Madurese clashed with indigenous Dayaks in Sambas
hinterland subdistricts. At least 300 were killed.

Meanwhile, in the Kampar regency of Riau, one person was
killed and at least 25 houses were torched. The deceased was
identified as Ucok, 40.

The homeless victims left for nearby Pasir Pangaraian town to
take refuge, while authorities investigated the incident.

The violence occurred in the early hours of Thursday in Dalu-
dalu village, Antara reported.

A local community figure said the violence broke out after
some migrant plantation workers attacked the village.

Earlier, villagers evicted the workers for plowing the land,
on which they had planned to plant oil palms. The source, Al
Azhar, questioned whether the private plantation company was
involved because attackers had reportedly come in company trucks.

Kampar police chief Lt. Col. Iskandar Zulkarnain said the
situation had returned to normal.

In Irian Jaya, Antara reported violence broke out Monday and
Tuesday when an armed "security disturbance" group attacked
villagers in Muting subdistrict of Merauke regency.

Four people were injured, including an Army officer, Second
Lt. Daswad. The other three were civilians. (aan)