Tual calm after renewed clashes, military says

Tual calm after renewed clashes, military says

JAKARTA (JP): The Southeast Maluku regency town of Tual was
reportedly calm on Sunday, after a fatal outbreak of communal
clashes that killed at least three people and injured about 10
others on Friday, Antara said.

Speaking in Ambon, Maluku provincial military commander Col.
Karel Ralahalu said he would soon dispatch a special team of
peacemakers comprising middle-ranking officers to Tual to help
locals resolve their disputes.

Violence in Tual erupted again last week, after almost a month
of calm reigned following earlier religious-related conflicts
that left nearly 200 dead.

Of the military's team, Karel said: "They've been given a
month to complete their tasks. But it is extendible in the event
that violence remains."

He said the officers would be of local origin.

Following earlier communal clashes in the province capital of
Ambon -- in which at least 200 were killed -- Armed Forces
Commander Gen. Wiranto also deployed a special peacemaking team.

The team, which is still stationed in Ambon, also consists of
indigenous officers.

On tasks of the latest team for Tual, Karel said they would be
deployed on Tuesday and assigned to meet local religious figures
and community elders to help them work for peace.

Karel said the situation in Tual was calm on Sunday. Security
personnel continued operations to confiscate various traditional
weapons from locals.

As of Sunday, the number of people injured in a series of
violence was 11, the news agency said. Weapons the warring groups
used to fight one another ranged from arrows, guns to handmade
bombs, it said.

Violence in Maluku has escalated since it first erupted in
Ambon in mid-January. The Banda Islands in Central Maluku joined
the list of hot spots last week, with at least six people killed.

The nature of the violence across the province is similar in
that it pits local Muslims against Christians. Apart from damage
to mosques and churches and houses, the clashes triggered
hundreds to a thousand people to flee the hit areas.

ICRC

Meanwhile, a visiting team of the International Committee of
the Red Cross (ICRC) in Ambon said on Sunday it had yet to decide
whether to lend a hand to refugees in the recently riot-stricken
areas, the news agency said.

While vowing the team would also pay attention to Tual and
Banda, ICRC delegation chief Alexandre Faite said the team's
current funding -- of Rp 2 billion (about US$230,000) approved by
its Geneva headquarters -- was for refugees in Ambon only.

In Ambon, the number of refugees is about 17,000 who are
sheltered in 45 separate refugee camps.

In Tual, Antara said hundreds to a thousand refugees were
presently sheltered in 12 refugee camps. Many are reportedly in
need of food and medical supplies, it said.

An official of the Maluku Indonesian Red Cross, Jhon Tomasoa,
said his team, the ICRC team and the Maluku military commander
(Col. Karel) would soon visit the camps in Tual.

Meanwhile, in West Kalimantan's capital of Pontianak, Governor
Aspar Aswin said on Saturday that Jakarta had earmarked Rp 90
billion for the relocation of over 30,000 Madurese refugees in
Pontianak and its surroundings to Padang Tikar and Tebang Kacang
islands, 80 kilometers off Pontianak.

He said the relocation would soon commence.

Recently in the province's Sambas regency, local Malays and
Dayaks clashed with migrant Madurese. About 200 people were
killed in the interethnic clashes, displacing thousands of mostly
Madurese women and children. (aan)