Unrest flares up in West Kalimantan
JAKARTA (JP): Thousands of people went on a burning and looting rampage yesterday in the West Kalimantan district of Sanggau Ledo, the aftershock of ethnic tension that broke out Monday claiming five lives.
At 6 p.m. last night, a mob of about 5,000 people were still rampaging through the streets of the districts of Bengkayang and Samalantan, and the villages of Marabu, Kampung Tengah and Jirak. A well-informed source contacted by The Jakarta Post said the mob was burning buildings and looting.
Most of the mob were men of the Dayak ethnic group. Of those who died, two were Dayaks. The other three originated from Madura Island, East Java. In addition, at least nine people were injured with varying degrees of severity.
The spread of fire from homes yesterday affected a surau (a small mosque) in Marabu village, the source said. There were also "countless" houses being burned down by rioters.
A curfew was imposed in the area yesterday. Neither the local military office nor Regent Taryo Aryanto could be contacted for confirmation last night.
A mobile brigade and members of Battalion 643 have been dispatched from the provincial capital of Pontianak, some 700 kilometers north of Jakarta, to contain the unrest.
Additional troops under chief of the Tanjungpura regional military command Maj. Gen. Namoeri Anoem were sent out yesterday evening.
The number of troops in deployment is not clear, but the last batch were sent in from Balikpapan, the capital of the neighboring East Kalimantan province, some 700 kilometers away from Pontianak.
The source also said 2,680 Sanggau Ledo residents fled on Tuesday to Singkawang, some 70 kilometers north of Sambas regency.
In Singkawang, they were met by community leaders, including Moslem ulemas and local ethnic leaders, to discuss the problems affecting them and to seek peaceful solutions.
Another 400 residents fled to the Sanggau Ledo Air Force base seeking refuge, and 284 women and children were transferred yesterday by Hercules plane to a haj dormitory in Pontianak, the source said.
The tension in Sanggau Ledo, one of the 17 districts in Sambas, was sparked Monday by a brawl, over a woman, between two groups of youths. In the incident that occurred during a folk show, a Madura man reportedly stabbed two Dayak tribesmen in the stomach.
The two Dayak men are currently being treated at Bethesda hospital in the subdistrict of Serukam. No further details are available about the Madura man.
News about the brawl circulated rapidly and prompted more violence on Tuesday and the days after.
The communities in the West Kalimantan cities have a long history of feuds between the Dayak and the migrant Maduran ethnic groups.
The daily Kompas reported that the Sanggau Ledo district, with its population of 12,000, features rubber, coconut, pepper and palm oil plantations. (01)