No signs of reduction in clashes

No signs of reduction in clashes

SAMPIT, Central Kalimantan (JP): There have been no signs of
abatement in the bloody ethnic attacks perpetrated by the
indigenous Dayaks on Madurese migrants in Sampit, Central
Kalimantan, despite the fact that the mayhem, which has claimed
hundreds of lives, mostly Madurese, entered its tenth day on
Tuesday.

The largest town in the province was still crippled, while
some 20,000 Madurese "trapped" in the district of Samuda, some 40
kilometers north of Sampit, were unable to leave the area.

There were still 118 corpses dumped in the front yard of the
Parenggean district head's office that had yet to be buried. They
were all covered in shrouds, but a mass grave was only due to be
excavated on Tuesday.

The feeling on the ground among the residents of Sampit and
neighboring towns was that the bloodletting would continue, a
reporter based in the provincial capital of Palangkaraya said.

In Palangkaraya, the remains of seven Madurese were found on
Tuesday evening, while the torching of Madurese houses continued
unchecked.

Groups of people were seen looting the abandoned homes of
Madurese families while the security forces stood idly by.

Waves of Madurese refugees were continuing to flee
Palangkaraya for the South Kalimantan capital of Banjarmasin.

Madurese families living in the regency of Kapuas were also
fleeing in the direction of Banjarmasin following rumors that the
ethnic cleansing operation conducted by the Dayaks would reach
Kapuas, which is 70 kilometers away from Banjarmasin.

Violence also erupted at the Madusa seaport, some 40
kilometers south of Sampit, on Tuesday afternoon when Police
Mobile Brigade troopers and Army soldiers traded shots.

No fatalities were reported, but seven Brimob troopers, four
soldiers and one Dayak man were injured in the daylight gunfight.

A Madurese man, who asked for anonymity, told The Jakarta Post
at the port that the incident took place after the soldiers tried
to stop more Madurese refugees from embarking on the KM Binaya
which was ready to sail for Surabaya.

"We had already paid the police officers to be allowed to
board the ship, even though it looked overloaded, but the
soldiers wouldn't let us on. Suddenly, a police officer fired a
shot and the gunfight erupted," the Madurese said, adding that he
had canceled his plan to go by ship.

Ten vehicles, including seven Army trucks, were damaged in the
violence.

Ethnic clash

In Jakarta, Coordinating Minister for Political, Social and
Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Muslim scholar
Nurcholiosh Madjid reiterated that the Sampit disturbances were
part of an ethnic conflict that had nothing to do with religion.

Susilo was responding to the Islamic Defense Institute (LPI)'s
statement that the riots were a sectarian conflict between the
Christian Dayaks and the Muslim Madurese.

Around 150 Muslim youths from the LPI staged a demonstration
at the House of Representatives (DPR), urging the government to
deport all foreign Catholic clerics whom they said had provoked
anti-Madurese sentiment in Central Kalimantan.

"I regret that some parties are trying to politicize the
conflict and to twist the reality that the clashes are not
sectarian," Susilo said before attending a meeting with the
House's special committee on national unity on Tuesday.

Separately, Nurcholish said that the seeds of the ethnic
conflict had been planted during the Soeharto era. "But
Soeharto's iron fist apparently deterred those who wanted to
start trouble. This shows us that the harmony we had in the past
was an illusion."

After attending the committee meeting, Susilo expressed his
anger at the various criticisms levied by politicians at the
government's handling of the Sampit crisis.

"In such a difficult situation, politicians shouldn't just
criticize. Go there and see what is happening and what the
government has done to deal with the conflict."

Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Amien Rais
blasted the government on Tuesday, saying that it had failed to
curb a series of conflicts across the archipelago, including
Sampit.

When asked to comment on Amien's statement, Susilo said, "I am
responsible for everything (concerning the conflict). But I have
no obligation to report to Amien Rais. I'm responsible to the
President and Vice President."

The death toll rose to around 400 on Tuesday and is expected
to rise further. National Police data indicated that as of 11
a.m. on Tuesday, 321 people had been killed and more than 500
houses burned to the ground.

Central Kalimantan Governor Asmawi Agani said on Tuesday that
his administration had not yet decided to declare a state of
civil emergency in the riot-torn area.

"Things are gradually calming down and we do not want to rush
into anything. We are intensifying the dialog. A civil emergency
is the last resort as it could bring about unintended
consequences," he said by phone from Palangkaraya.

In Bandung, National Police chief Gen. Surojo Bimantoro said
that the declaration of a state of civil emergency, "is still
being carefully considered but will only be happen if the
situation deteriorates further," Antara reported.

Surojo further said that a total of 174 rioters had been
detained while hundreds of weapons had been seized from a hotel
in Palangkaraya.

Also in Bandung, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Endriartono Sutarto
said that, "the TNI commander is not yet planning to deploy
Kopassus special forces as the most important thing now is how to
stop the conflict, restore security and uphold the law," the news
agency said.

Separately, National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Didi Widayadi
said that the police were ready and on alert should the Central
Kalimantan administration declare martial law.

Some 50 people from the Solidarity with the Madurese in
Indonesia (Somasi) group protested outside National Police
Headquarters on Tuesday, demanding that Gen. Surojo Bimantoro
quit his post if he felt he was unable to control the "bloody
war" in Sampit. (team)