Police arrest 'mastermind' of riot in Sampit

JAKARTA (JP): Police on Tuesday arrested a local government official, described as one of the two masterminds of the ethnic riot in Sampit, Central Kalimantan, which has now claimed 17 lives.

National Police Chief Gen. Surojo Bimantoro said the suspect was an official at the local office of the Ministry of Forestry, and not the office head as reported earlier.

"We're still hunting for the other suspect," Bimantoro told reporters on Tuesday.

Bimantoro had placed blame for the Sampit riot on two local officials who had both been recently disappointed by losing their jobs and incited a riot as a means of regaining their professional positions.

He said the two men were believed to have paid six men Rp 20 million to provoke Sunday's riot.

Antara reported on Tuesday, that the other suspect still at large was an official at the local administration's development office.

The latest ethnic violence is believed to have been an attempt to pit migrant Madura settlers and local Dayak ethnics in Sampit, located about 214 kilometers west of the province's capital Palangka Raya.

Ethnic tension has been a cause of concern in Kalimantan for several years.

An ethnic riot in Sambas regency, West Kalimantan, left hundreds dead in 1997.

In December intercommunal conflict erupted about 100 kilometers from Sampit leaving at least one dead.

Although Bimantoro reiterated that the situation in Sampit was under control, tensions reportedly remain high with the death toll reaching 17 as new bodies are found.

At least three houses belonging to migrant settlers in Parit village, some 78 kilometers from Sampit, were burned by mobs on Tuesday.

Reported sweeps of migrants were also reportedly taking place forcing thousands to flee the area.

Using dozens of trucks and buses, the migrants sought shelter in Palangka Raya. Many are staying at Central Kalimantan's governor's office and the provincial police headquarters.

Many of those seeking shelter in Palangka Raya were reportedly civil servants and their families who had been assigned to the Sampit area.

Another group of migrants, mostly Javanese, decided to travel east towards the town of Pangkalan Bun and from there headed to Kumai harbor where they plan to take a boat back to Java. (jun)