Reinforcements arrive in Pontianak

Reinforcements arrive in Pontianak

JAKARTA (JP): The National Police dispatched on Friday
reinforcement troops to West Kalimantan's troubled capital of
Pontianak and took stricter measures to quell the ongoing
interethnic clashes there.

National Police Chief Gen. Surojo Bimantoro said in Surabaya
that one battalion of Police's Mobile Brigade departed from
Jakarta on Friday for Pontianak with a mission to help local
security authorities restore order and disarm the warring groups.

The elite police reinforcements arrived at Supadio airport in
the afternoon.

The additional personnel will join forces with hundreds of
local police and Army, Marine and Air Force personnel who have
already been deployed to the equatorial city.

Bimantoro likened the latest communal conflicts in Pontianak
with those of other provinces, saying the upsurge of violence is
probably rooted in past social problems which have not been
properly addressed.

"What happened in West Kalimantan indicates that there are
problems which need to be settled at once. Most of them require
help from experts from other institutions. That is why we will
establish coordination with related institutions," he was quoted
by Antara as saying.

Bimantoro was in Surabaya to induct East Java Police chief
Insp. Gen. Sutanto, who replaced Insp. Gen. Da'i Bachtiar.

At least six people have been killed after three days of
clashes involving indigenous Malays and migrant settlers of
different ethnic origins. The clashes were sparked by a dispute
between a migrant driver and an indigenous motorcyclist.

Bimantoro said the police have arrested 14 people for their
alleged involvement in the conflict.

In Pontianak, West Kalimantan Police chief Brig. Gen. Atok
Rismanto issued a shoot-on-site order as hostilities continued on
Friday.

He held a closed-door meeting with Governor Aspar Aswin and
Pontianak Military Commander Col. Sumurung Simanjuntak. Also
present was operational assistant to the National Police Maj.
Gen. Sutiono.

Aswar expressed his disappointment on Thursday over local
community leaders' failures to maintain security and calm the
angry residents.

He added that he had asked local security authorities to
properly handle the unrest to prevent it from spreading to other
areas.

While suspecting the presence of provocateurs behind the
violence, Aswin blamed the clashes on misunderstandings between
the two warring communities. He said both groups had accepted
unreliable information, which eventually pitted one against the
other.

Tension remained high on Friday, with people seen massing at a
number of locations, namely Jl. Perintis Kemerdekaan, Jl. Gusti
Situ Mahmud, Jl. 28 Oktober, Tanjung Raya area, Jl. Tanjungpura,
Jeruju and Sungai Jawi areas.

The crowds, armed with various sharp weapons and homemade
rifles, also set up roadblocks.

Heavily armed security personnel were on duty at all the hot
spots to prevent further violence. Several tanks and armored
vehicles were also present.

Angry migrants attacked and set fire to at least six kiosks
belonging to indigenous residents on Jl. Merdeka and Jl. Hasyim
on Thursday night, an apparent retaliation for the burning of
dozens of kiosks belonging to migrants earlier in the day.

Security personnel were forced to fire warning shots to
disperse crowds at the Jl. 28 Oktober and Jl. Gusti Situ Mahmud
crossroad on Friday morning.

As of Thursday evening the fighting had claimed at least six
lives and at least 10 people have been injured.

Public transportation has not operated since the clashes
erupted on Wednesday.

Months of interethnic clashes rocked West Kalimantan town of
Sambas in 1997, leaving hundreds dead. (edi/lup)