Sambas refugees ordered out of stadium

PONTIANAK, West Kalimantan: The Pontianak municipal administration issued a final warning to hundreds of Madurese people taking refuge in the city's stadium, saying it would use force to remove the refugees if necessary.

"The sports stadium must be cleared before June 17, and if any of the refugees ignore the order they will be removed from the arena by force," Yakob Mochsin, the spokesman for the municipal administration, said here on Wednesday.

Yacob said the local administration had issued three warnings for the refugees to vacate the stadium.

Some 23 refugee families are still in the sports stadium while their children complete their schooling in the city.

The majority of the refugees, who took shelter in the stadium during the ethnic conflict between the Madurese and the Melayu and Dayak locals three years ago, have joined the government- sponsored resettlement program. -- Antara