Unrest flares up in West Kalimantan
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)