Refugees scramble to leave Sampit
JAKARTA (JP): It was a mad scramble as thousands of refugees trying to escape the riot which has swept Sampit, Central Kalimantan, on Saturday rushed to board a navy ship taking them away from ethnic violence which has claimed over 210 lives.
But to the dismay of some 20,000 refugees who had gathered, only one ship, KRI Teluk Sampit, was docked and ready to be boarded at Samuda, some 40-kilometers south of Sampit. The ship had a capacity of less than 2,000.
The refugees traveled under tight security from the residence of the East Kotawaringin regent before day break and embarkation began at about 7 a.m.
The refugees, mostly Madurese migrants, must now await the arrival of the KRI Teluk Ende which has also been dispatched from Surabaya, East Java, or any other ship that the government might send to take them back to Java or Madura Island.
Antara reported that a PT Pelni passenger ship, KM Tilung Kabilah is also expected to arrive on Sunday.
East Kotawaringin Regent Wahyudi K. Anwar immediately made a plea for the government to send more ships to transport the desperate refugees.
"The condition of the refugees is alarming. The central government must send more ships, security personnel and food aid," he said in Sampit.
The ethnic violence in Sampit first erupted last Sunday morning. After a brief respite it escalated in the middle of the week into surrounding areas.
Kalimantan has been the scene of repeated ethnic clashes with the latest fury pitting migrant Madurese against local Dayaks.
Police initially reported that the latest conflict was provoked by local officials who paid several men to incite an ethnic riot so they could regain their positions in the regency.
On Saturday the death toll drastically jumped as open clashes began to subside and relief operations could begin collecting the bodies which had been left lying on deserted streets.
Wahyudi said that based on medical records there were at least 210 dead.
The latest casualties on Saturday resulted not from physical clashes but out of neglect as four refugees died in the midst of the poor conditions they had been living under for the past week.
Two adults and two children died and were buried in the front yard of the regent's official residence where they had been seeking shelter.
Meanwhile some four companies of Army soldiers using C-130 transport planes flew out of Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, to be stationed in Central Kalimantan.
One company each is due to be deployed to Palangka Raya and Pangkalan Bun, while two companies will be posted in Sampit.
With the latest reinforcements it is estimated that a total of nine companies gave been assigned to quell the riots.
Separately in Palangka Raya, Central Kalimantan Deputy Governor Nahson Taway maintained that the recent outbreak in the province was purely an inter-ethnic clash without any religious overtones.
"In the conflict in Sampit we did not find any destruction of places of worship or religious schools," he said.