Refugees scramble to leave Sampit

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.