Tension grips Pontianak as four die in clashes

Tension grips Pontianak as four die in clashes

JAKARTA (JP): Tension continued to grip the West Kalimantan
capital of Pontianak on Tuesday, as Madurese refugees refused to
be relocated following clashes with locals that claimed four
lives.

A team of negotiators sent by the local administration met
with about 120 refugees at the Sutan Syarief Abdurrahman Stadium
on Tuesday. The negotiators failed to persuade the refugees to
leave their destroyed camps and relocate to areas in Sungai Asam.

"They insisted that they want to mend ties with the people in
Sambas and Pontianak. That's the reason why they refused to be
relocated," the spokesman for the negotiating team, Tatang Isya
Iskandar, was quoted by Antara news agency as saying.

Meanwhile, local residents continued to demand that local
authorities relocate the refugees, whom they claimed were
responsible for trouble in the area.

Tension between the refugees and locals flared following the
killing of a six-year-old boy during a robbery late on Saturday
near the stadium where the refugees are sheltered.

Local residents set ablaze the makeshift houses erected by the
refugees in the stadium compound. This was followed by clashes
between locals and refugees, leaving four people dead and
numerous others injured.

AFP reported that all four of the deceased were Madurese
refugees, two of whom were found in a storm drain in Pontianak.
Both victims died from slash and stab wounds.

Meanwhile, Antara news agency reported that three people,
including two women, were shot to death while they were passing
near the haj dormitory where the Madurese refugees took shelter
after their makeshift houses were set ablaze by local residents.

It was not clear who fired the shots and Antara did not report
whether the victims were Madurese refugees or locals.

Armed refugees guarding their camp blocked off Jl. Sutoyo,
forcing dozens of people living along the street to take refuge
in a police station, located some 200 meters away from the haj
dormitory.

An estimated 63,000 Madurese refugees are currently sheltering
in four sports halls in Pontianak and the haj dormitory. The
migrant settlers fled clashes in Sambas in 1999.

Security personnel conducted sweeps in several locations in
Pontianak in search of weapons. Motorists were also stopped and
their vehicles searched for weapons.

The authorities also deployed security personnel along roads
connecting Pontianak to other towns, following rumors that
indigenous Dayaks from outside the city planned to travel to
Pontianak to attack the Madurese refugees.

"We have coordinated with other military commands to prevent
any mass mobilization to Pontianak," Pontianak Military District
Commander Lt. Col. Zainal Arifin said.

In North Pontianak district, local residents, armed with sharp
weapons, were seen gathering near their housing areas in
anticipation of possible attacks.

Meanwhile in Poso, Central Sulawesi, the chief of the Tadulako
Military Regional Command, Col. Suwahyuhadji, expressed his
outrage over the murder of an Army sergeant by unknown gunmen who
stormed Kawua village in the early hours of Sunday.

"I will hunt down the brutal group wherever they go and hide,"
Suwahyuhadji said on Tuesday.

The body of First Sgt. Rudy Ilam was found outside his house,
which was located near the local military headquarters.

Suwahyuhadji said he was prepared to aid the police in
safeguarding Poso from attackers. (24/emf)