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)