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Peace pledge after 300 die in ethnic clashes

Source
Agence France Presse - February 19, 1997

Jakarta – About 300 people have been killed in ethnic clashes in West Kalimantan, according to the military, but rival groups have pledged in a public ceremony yesterday to work for peace.

The toll was given by Major-General Zacky Anwar Makarim, assistant to the army chief for security affairs to the Media Indonesia newspaper.

Until the statement, military sources had only spoken of "hundreds" dead since late December in clashes between the indigenous Dayak people and migrants from Madura, a small island north of Java.

The Jakarta Post quoted General Makarim as saying four people were being investigated over anonymous leaflets and pictures slandering certain religious and ethnic groups.

"We strongly suspect they were instigators of the latest wave of violence," General Makarim said.

He declined to identify the four people, saying only that police had questioned but not arrested them.

The head of security in West Kalimantan, Major-General Namuri Anum, said last week that 68 people had been detained over criminal actions during the unrest.

Army chief General Raden Hartono said at the weekend the military had proof of individuals travelling from East Java province to incite unrest.

A resident of the provincial capital, Pontianak, said yesterday that the city was "a bit calmer" compared with recent weeks "but there is still tension".

The source said there were fresh clashes between rival groups on Sunday in Sungai Ambawang, a town just 10 kilometres east of Pontianak.

The resident said that a curfew had been lifted, but "the city is still pretty empty at night".

Two other sources said areas north of Anjungan and east of Mandor were still under Dayak control with minimal military presence.

There were Dayak checkpoints on roads leading to Ngabang, east of Mandor, and locals spoke of Dayak parties "hunting" Madurese in the jungles, one source said.

Yesterday, a ceremony involving representatives from the Dayak and Madurese communities was held in front of the Pontianak mayor's office.

During the ceremony, attended by about 1,000 people, including local government and military leaders, a declaration was read out in which the two sides pledged to work for peace, a witness said.

While provincial officials have said that peace talks were under way, residents said they knew little about them.

Observers were sceptical about the discussions, saying they believed that a peace accord would not be able to relieve the deep-seated tension between the two groups, who have had at least eight major disputes over the past 20 years.

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