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)