Over 60 killed in Sambas unrest

PONTIANAK, West Kalimantan (JP): Over 60 people in Sambas, mostly Madurese migrants, have been killed and more than 1,000 houses burned down as ethnic clashes in the West Kalimantan regency escalated on Friday, security authorities said.

Since intensifying on Tuesday, the unrest has forced at least 5,000 Madurese, mostly women and children, to flee their villages and take shelter in the Pasir Panjang coastal area. More than 1,000 others have been evacuated to the capital here.

The chief of the Tanjungpura military command overseeing Kalimantan, Maj. Gen. Zainuri Hasyim said the death toll was at least 64, while West Kalimantan police chief Col. Chaerul Rasyidi put the number at 55.

In a live interview with TV station RCTI on Friday, Governor Aspar Aswin appealed for calm.

"Please do not let more people fall victim," the governor said.

Aswin said the latest violence escalated after the death of an indigenous Dayak tribesman on Monday, allegedly at the hands of Madurese.

Dayaks have taken revenge for the killing, Aswin said.

"There's been accusations the Madurese broke their word (not to start any violence against other parties)," he said.

Separately, Rasyidi told Antara the unrest began to escalate soon after the Monday killing.

A group of Dayak men from the predominantly Dayak Samalantan regency returning from work on Monday passed Parapakan village in the neighboring Pemangkat regency. A group of men believed to be Madurese stopped the truck and attacked the Dayaks. One Dayak was killed while the rest of the men were able to escape.

As of Friday, violence against the Madurese -- reportedly carried out by mobs of Malay and Dayak ethnics -- had reportedly spread to predominantly Madurese villages in Samalantan, Sanggauledo, Jawai, Tebas, Pemangkat and Selakau subdistricts.

Dozens of police and military troops were seen on guard across the Sambas capital of Singkawang, some 145 kilometers north of here, to maintain order in the predominantly Chinese town.

There are 19 subdistricts in Sambas, a regency with a population of some 800,000. The regency predominantly consists of Dayaks, Malays and Chinese-Indonesians with the Madurese being the minority migrant ethnic group along with the Bugis, Minangkabaus and others.

Zaenal Abidin, a Madurese legislator representing the United Development Party (PPP) in the regency legislature, said he could not understand why the latest violence broke out.

"It's become a second Ambon tragedy... I really don't know why they (Dayaks) involve themselves," he told The Jakarta Post by phone from Singkawang on Friday.

He said over the past few months tension was felt among the Malays, whom the Madurese had fought with in previous months.

"We Madurese have restrained from fighting back. We've admitted we, although not all of us, have been wrong," he said of the killing of the Dayak man.

Zaenal said he just returned from the funeral of his 60-year- old uncle whose throat was slashed on Thursday as he tried to flee Tembuk village in Selakau where he lived.

He said his uncle was "lucky" because another Madurese was beheaded the same day.

Zaenal also said many predominantly Madurese villages were being vandalized.

The legislator said the Armed Forces should take stern actions against rioters and should impose a shoot-on-sight order as they did in 1997 when 300 were killed in clashes between Dayaks and Madurese.

Zaenal said even though the Madurese were small in number, "ants will bite when cornered".

Police chief Col. Rasyidi in Singkawang on Friday called on the Madurese to refrain from fighting, vowing that security personnel would protect them.

"If the Madurese take action, other ethnic groups would take actions (against them)," Rasyidi told Antara.

Rasyidi toured the affected areas along with Governor Aswin, Maj. Gen. Zainuri, and Pontianak military chief Col. E. Kadarusman.

In Jakarta, the chief for general affairs at the Armed Forces, Lt. Gen. Sugiono, said that the military was ready to send reinforcements if needed.

Around 1,900 troops already have been deployed to Sambas. (edt/35/aan)