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Worldwide Consternation At Indonesia's Incapacity To Quell Unrests
by Kazi Mahmood
KUALA LUMPUR, March 1, (IslamOnline) - Wednesday, the U.S., Britain, Malaysia and a variety of human rights groups around the world, condemned the manner in which Indonesia is handling
a murderous spree in Sampit.
Countries around the world are seemingly in a state of shock at the turn of events in Kalimantan province.
The U.S. was most vociferous, claiming the Indonesian government has been "ineffective" in tackling rampant ethnic and religious violence, despite making progress towards accountability in politics.
The British and Malaysian ministers on Thursday also expressed concern at mounting violence in Indonesia, but ruled out foreign intervention as in East Timor. They said they feared for the integration of the giant republic, currently showing its Achilles tendon - the deep rifts between different ethnic groups.
Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputeri made a brave, but ineffective, visit to Sampit, weeping publicly at the stories of horror and hatred she heard from victims.
Megawati heard gruesome tales of how Dayaks pitilessly rounded up 188 Madurese settlers, including innocent women, children and the elderly, onto a soccer field and, despite guarantees of protection and police escort, hacked them to death.
The vice-president came saw the reality on the ground and was informed of reasons why the police in Kalimantan did not react promptly towards degeneration of a racist conflict engaging the local dayaks, many of whom have turned to Christianity, and Madurese Muslim settlers.
Megawati surveyed the scene in Kalimantan as Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid claimed reports of extreme violence had been exaggerated and said the situation in Sampit was under control.
The vice president was also given first hand information concerning the brief shootout between local police and the army.
The shootout is being blamed by settlers on the fact that both security force entities were extorting money from refugees in order to allow them board military ships coming to rescue them.
The Madurese are rich settlers, who have worked hard to achieve what they posses in Kalimantan. They were displaced from their island of Madura, off the coast of Java, in a much criticized transmigration policy since the 1930's.
Observers say, however, that it is not the transmigration policy that is to blame, insisting that Indonesia did not fail in attempts to relocate people from overcrowded areas into the vast extent of Kalimantan in Borneo.
They say it is the Dayak hatred for anything foreign that has resulted in the current situation, adding that deep-rooted Madurese habits of not mixing with Dayaks and Malays in Kalimantan aided tensions in the region.
The crisis in Kalimantan has widened speculations that Wahid's end is nearing. Mounting pressure concerning his visit abroad, threats that he would be impeached on his return home and criticism from foreign allies, are not welcome news.
The situation in Kalimantan is now calm, news report say, after a team of Indonesian officials negotiated a halt to the murderous spree with the Dayaks, promising them that Madurese settlers would leave the area for good.
On Monday, mobs of Dayaks had moved in on the provincial capital Palangkaraya, 220 kilometers by road, northeast of Sampit, and burned and looted Madurese settler homes.
But by Tuesday, an AFP reporter there said that although smoke could still be seen, the violence had subsided.
Security on both Palangkaraya's and Sampit's main roads are also under control, with no more people standing in groups on the roadside sweeping passing vehicles.
Dayak tribesmen reportedly said they would not stop the killings and burnings, as long there were Madurese settlers in Kalimantan. Madurese settlers, many of whom have lost everything in Sampit and other areas where they were attacked, vowed to exact revenge.
Observers in Kalimantan said the government had best position itself as a mediator in talks between the Madurese and ethnic Dayaks in order to end the conflict.
Indonesian negotiators said meetings should not be held in Central Kalimantan, but rather at another neutral area. Aside from that, figures from the two ethnic communities should at once enter the field to stop violence, they said.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the National Human Rights group, Bambang W. Suharto, has also made similar observations as analysts. "I have observed the situation in Sampit myself. What is lacking still is a situation free from fear," he said.
Victims in the ethnic confrontation at Kotawaringin (Kalimantan) numbered around 400, according to the Komnas HAM (human rights), which noted that the killing spree was over for now, prompting authorities to rule out placing the region in a state of civil emergency.
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