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Police halt fresh outbreak of ethnic violence
Police in the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan said Wednesday they have quelled a fresh outbreak of ethnic violence in which members of the local Malay community attacked migrants from Madura island. "The police acted quickly and were able to prevent the violence in Karimunting from spreading further on Monday," said West Kalimantan police spokesman Didi Hardi. He said angry Malay villagers had set three houses of Madurese ablaze after a Madurese man stabbed a Malay. Some 200 Madurese fled their homes and police were now trying to get them to return. The man who stabbed the Malay following a misunderstanding was now in police custody in the nearby town of Singkawang, Hardi said. The wounded Malay is recovering in hospital in the province on Borneo island. An estimated 3,000 people died in 1999 during months of clashes in the province between indigenous Dayak tribesmen, supported by Malays, and the Madurese. Similar bloody clashes erupted in the neighbouring province of Central Kalimantan in 2000. Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2003-07-02 |
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