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Indonesian Muslim Group Blasts Government For Failure To End Rampage
by Kazi Mahmood
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 27 (IslamOnline) - A delegation from the Madura Indonesian People Solidarity group (Somasi) today lambasted the Indonesian government and security forces in Kalimantan, Borneo for the ongoing rampage in Sampit.
The group, visiting Sampit and other regions in Kalimantan hit by an ethnic Dayak murderous spree against Muslims, urged Indonesian police to act with fairness and stop the violence.
Somasi say they observed that, several days after the initial outbursts of violence on the island, police and armed forces in the region have yet to act with strength and fairness.
Muhammad Rawi, head of Somasi for Sambas in Kalimantan Barat, Sampit, and Palangkaraya, said security forces should provide any opportunity for those creating chaos, and murdering, Madurese. He added they should act on the spot and shoot without warning.
He also said the Human Rights Association of Indonesia (HAM), and other enforcement bodies from Surabaya, Madura and Jakarta, should come to Kalimantan to see for themselves the human tragedy occurring in Sampit.
The police chief in Kalimantan Didi Widayadi said security forces were given orders to act quickly in the face of the un-ending rampage.
Reports say Dayaks have an upper hand in the conflict due to the wait-and-see attitude adopted by police forces, thus placing Madurese settlers at the mercy of murderous gangs.
Police said they shot five Dayaks yesterday, killing one, when they were found ransacking the houses of settlers that had fled into the nearby forests, abandoning their shops and homes.
An official police report said 321 people have been killed in the conflict, 79 wounded and 84 arrested.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian Special Forces found hundreds of Muslim Madurese settlers hiding in forests, fleeing the ongoing ethnic cleansing in central Kalimantan.
The town of Sampit, where the violence sparked on Sunday, is currently controlled by marauding Dayak elements in search of Madurese settlers, whom they have beheading after mutilating their bodies.
The Dayaks have vowed to clean Kalimantan of Madurese settlers, whom they resent for being favored by the Indonesian government during the Suharto regime.
Hundreds of houses have been burned down in a terrible outburst of ethnic violence that has so far created 25,000 refugees who are being repatriated by the Indonesian navy, with many more possibly hiding in the forests.
Police say they are currently interrogating three officers who allegedly provoked the ethnic riots in Kalimantan. They have been brought to police headquarters for further questioning.
The Head of Investigation Unit, Inspector General Engkesman Hillep, said the suspects were brought to Jakarta due to the decreasing security condition in Sampit.
Initial investigations indicate that the riot was designed and the action planned. But the provocation remains in a process of assessment.
Engkesman added that information provided by the suspects is not yet final. All of them, who are from the Dayak tribe, have been categorized as middle-level actors. Those in charge and who gave orders to attack remain at large, police said.
Meanwhile, a group of students born in Central Kalimantan's Sampit Regency yesterday staged a peaceful protest at Parliament, urging the government to restore order in the riot-torn district immediately.
The protesting students also urged the government to provide people in Sampit staple foods and clothes.
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