Jakarta – Madurese settlers in Indonesia's West Kalimantan province have asked the local government to give them two weeks to persuade thousands of Madurese refugees to leave their camps in Pontianak, an official said yesterday.

The request was made by Mr Sulaiman of the Madurese Community Association during a meeting at the governor's office in Pontianak, the provincial capital, on Wednesday.

Said Ms Utin Srilena, a staff member of the mayor's office: "The Madurese community asked for two weeks' time ... to encourage the Sambas refugees to be relocated." On Wednesday, Pontianak officials said youth groups from the Malay and Dayak communities told the 40,000 refugees to leave by Saturday or face forcible eviction. The youth groups had extended their ultimatum by one day, said Ms Srilena. "So the deadline is now Sunday," she said.

She said the situation in Pontianak had calmed down since Monday, when at least four Madurese, two of them settlers, were hacked to death by Malays. She added that the current talks also involved officials from the Pontianak chapter of the National Commission on Human Rights.