Resettlement plan an 'insult' to Madurese
JAKARTA (JP): A legislator has protested the planned resettlement of Madurese refugees from the riot-torn Sambas regency in West Kalimantan to two islands near the provincial capital of Pontianak, saying the move is an insult to the ethnic group, Antara reported on Monday.
The news agency said Soelaiman, a member of the United Development Party faction from East Java, sent a letter to President B.J. Habibie dated April 14 with regard to the matter.
"We are disappointed and strongly object to the decision," Soelaiman was quoted as saying.
The news agency quoted the letter as saying "the planned resettlement shows a lack of respect for the rights of the Madurese refugees and is an insult to the dignity of the whole Madurese community".
Violent clashes pitting the Madurese migrant community against local Malays and Dayaks erupted in Sambas in mid-January following trivial disputes between individuals.
The violence has spread throughout the Sambas regency and has resulted in a campaign to expel Madurese settlers. At least 200 people have been killed in the violence.
Madurese property, including homes and farmland, have also been destroyed in the weeks of violence. About 29,000 Madurese settlers fled their villages or were evacuated under military guard.
West Kalimantan Governor Aspar Aswin said on Saturday the Madurese refugees, who are being sheltered at a sports hall and a number of military installations in and around Pontianak, will be moved to Padang Tikar and Tebang Kacang islands, some 80 kilometers off the provincial capital.
"We doubt the resettlement of the Madurese refugees (to the islands) will solve the problem and expect it will only create more complicated problems," Soelaiman said.
He feared there would be future instances in which the move would be implemented to respond to ethnic tension.
"We therefore appeal to the government to be wiser in this case," Soelaiman was quoted as saying.
He said the Madurese refugees should be treated equally like every other West Kalimantan resident and added they should be returned to their villages in Sambas regency.
A human rights lawyer, Munir from the independent Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), said earlier this month "the resettlement proves that the government is incapable of providing security to its citizens".
"The move is like erecting a Berlin Wall to separate two conflicting parties and this does not solve the ethnic tension in the province," Munir said.
Separately in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, Belu Regent Marsel Bere was quoted by Antara as saying on Monday that some 1,000 refugees from East Timor in Atambua refused to return to the troubled territory for fear of further violence.
Tens of thousands of settlers have fled East Timor since the government announced in January it would offer independence for the troubled territory if its people rejected Jakarta's offer of wide-ranging autonomy.
East Nusa Tenggara Governor Piet Tallo said earlier this month the number of people who had fled from East Timor and headed across the province had reached about 26,000 scattered throughout several districts.
Tallo said 6,000 refugees were in Alor subdistrict in West Timor, and identified other refugee points as the border districts of Atambua and Belo. (byg)