Pontianak tense despite lifting of night curfew

JAKARTA (JP): The atmosphere in the West Kalimantan capital Pontianak remained tense yesterday despite the lifting of the nightly curfew, local sources said.

Fully armed soldiers were out early yesterday patrolling the town in trucks, pick-ups and on motorcycles, especially in business centers predominantly occupied by people of Chinese descent.

A resident of a Dayak housing complex in south Pontianak told The Jakarta Post by phone that dozens of Madurese still hung around the complex.

"The Madurese dispersed only when a military patrol came over to answer calls made by frightened residents here.

"If the situation remains like this, how can we believe the officials who keep saying everything is secure and under control."

The resident said Dayaks in town still feared fresh attacks on their homes by migrants from Madura, an island off the northeast coast of Java.

"This keeps them wide awake every night guarding their neighborhoods and families," he said.

He said most people were unaware the authorities had lifted the curfew.

Another resident told the Post there had been rumors that fresh violence would erupt after Friday prayers yesterday.

"Thank God, it didn't happen," he said.

He said the atmosphere in Pontianak had improved, "but there are still questions in people's minds about what the real situation is in the hinterland, and whether it might spread to the capital".

In Jakarta yesterday, Armed Forces Chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung met with National Commission on Human Rights officials to discuss the riots, but was not available to speak to journalists.

An Armed Forces spokesman told reporters at his office: "The Armed Forces is not issuing any press statements on the recent unrest. We will just let the rights commission explain it".

Secretary-General Baharuddin Lopa said yesterday that no specific details about the recent unrest in various parts of the country were discussed during the meeting at the Armed Forces headquarters.

"The meeting covered state security in its general aspects," Lopa said, referring to recent violence in the East Java town of Situbondo, the West Java towns of Tasikmalaya and Rengasdengklok, and the West Kalimantan hinterland.

The meeting did not discuss the Armed Forces' analysis of the causes of unrest.

Lopa said it was too early for the commission to say how many had died during the clashes in the West Kalimantan hinterlands.

He said that the violence in West Kalimantan had different causes to that in Java. "It's about culture. There are differences of character between the Dayaks and Madurese in West Kalimantan."

The rights commission has suggested the disputing ethnic leaders sign a peace charter through mediation by the local government and the military, he said.

"The draft of the charter is being prepared by the government, the Armed Forces, and community leaders," Lopa said.

Antara quoted Army Chief of Staff Gen. R. Hartono as saying that there was no indication so far that the unrest in West Kalimantan had been "masterminded by communists".

"I am not saying we are going to get to the bottom of it," he said, adding that ethnic enmity was not the only root of the unrest.

"There have been many local development activities that have failed to involve indigenous people or minimized their rights," Hartono was quoted as saying.

According to Hartono, the situation in Pontianak was under control and that he planned to meet Madurese in the province.

Tanjungpura Regional Military Commander Maj. Gen. Namoeri Anoem, said Thursday that 68 men suspected of inciting mass unrest in the area had been detained.

"They are all under investigation by the West Kalimantan police," Anum said Thursday, as quoted by the Merdeka daily. (08/01)