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Web-only Exclusives
November 30, 2000

From Our Correspondent: Hirohito and the War
A conversation with biographer Herbert Bix

From Our Correspondent: A Rough Road Ahead
Bad news for the Philippines - and some others

From Our Correspondent: Making Enemies
Indonesia needs friends. So why is it picking fights?

Asiaweek Time Asia Now Asiaweek story

Kalimantan's Killing Fields

Local ethnic conflicts have erupted into war

By Susan Berfield and Keith Loveard / Jakarta


Go to a breakdown of Indonesia's major ethnic groups

IN WEST KALIMANTAN THESE days, the Dayaks are resurrecting an old practice. They pass a clay bowl filled with rice, turmeric and chicken blood from village to village. The reason is that tribe members have been threatened and attacked. These as-saults must be avenged. The mangkok merah -- "red bowl" -- is a Dayak call to arms. It is being heeded. Young men have picked up their spears, machetes and muskets. In the province's countryside, the blood is flowing.

The battle is between the Dayaks and immigrants from Madura, a densely populated island in the center of the Indo-nesian archipelago. The indigenous Dayak tribes and the Madurese settlers have long been wary neighbors, and clashes between the groups have scarred Kalimantan for more than 30 years. But none have been as savage as those in the past two months. Thou-sands of Dayaks have been raiding towns and villages to drive out the Madurese. At least 300 people have died. More than 1,000 houses have been destroyed and tens of thousands have fled their villages. The army has sent in some 3,000 soldiers to bolster the local garrisons.

"It's like the killing fields," says a missionary based in the area. He and other witnesses to the carnage have been shocked to see severed heads, victims with hearts and livers torn out and burned bodies thrown into open graves. The Dayaks, once known for their head-hunting, have reportedly walked through villages under attack with heads on poles. "Some of these young Dayak warriors have smeared their faces with the blood of the people they've killed, " says the missionary. "This is war."

The Dayaks and the Madurese share little but proximity and hostility. The government began moving people to Kali-mantan in the 1960s to ease overcrowding on Madura. The settlers still account for less than 8% of the province's population. The Dayaks and Malays each comprise 40%; the ethnic Chinese 12%. The Dayaks are Christians and animists. The Madurese are Muslim. But religion does not cleave them. Poverty does. Economic power in the area is held mainly by the Chinese, who are more established and assimilated than the Madurese. The fight is for what's left. The settlers have moved into the lower rungs of the economy, crowding out the Dayaks. The rainforest the Dayaks relied on has been replaced by rice fields and plantations.

The tension has gotten so bad that Malaysia had to close its border with Indonesia

Ethnic explosions, usually sparked by economic resentment, have shaken much of Indonesia during the past year. The West Kalimantan troubles provide more stark evidence that prosperity can do much to bind a nation like Indonesia, whose motto is "unity in diversity." And disparity can do much to divide it. Juwo-no Sudarsono of the National Defense Institute, warns that the country could be torn apart if opportunities are not widened.

Some in the government admit that the Dayaks have not had a say in how their land is developed. "There is no Dayak with a rank higher than bupati [a local government administrator]," says one Jakarta official. "We should have seen this sort of problem coming and done more to make sure they had a role to play."

The conflict broke into the open in late De-cember. It happened at a pop concert. Soon after, five Madurese died in clashes around the village of Sanggau Ledo, and thousands were forced to flee their homes. They took refuge at a nearby military airfield and in the regional capital of Pontianak, the only city where Madurese outnumber Dayaks. On Jan. 29, Madurese attacked a Christian dormitory in Pontianak, injuring two women. The government imposed a curfew and troops went on alert. "We sleep with knives under our beds," said one Pontianak Dayak. But in the countryside, it was the Madurese who began fearing for their lives. The Dayaks were passing the red bowl.

The violence has continued this month. Malaysia closed its land border with Kalimantan for 9 days. Some 17 soldiers are believed to have died since January, and reports suggest that in many areas troops have not been able to prevent Dayaks from rampaging through the area north of Pontianak in their search for the Madurese. Indonesia's National Commission on Human Rights sent a mission, and then another, to help negotiate a peace treaty. On Feb. 18 representatives from the warring sides signed.

But those who signed the ceasefire do not have the authority to enforce it. "The indigenous people of Kalimantan don't have any figure who is seen as a leader," says a sociologist in Jakarta. The day the treaty was signed Dayaks attacked the villages of Dusun Sekep and Kunyit Hulu. Dozens of Madurese were reported to have been killed.

The Ministry of Information now requires foreign journalists to apply for travel permits to enter the province -- which puts West Kalimantan in the same "troubled" category as East Timor, Irian Jaya and Aceh. Casting off that label could take years.


INDONESIA'S ETHNIC BREAKDOWN

Indonesia has more than 200 ethnic groups.

Some of the main ones:

Javanese. The "peak" culture, yielding the leadership class, including President Suharto, of course. Often indirect in the way they approach issues. The East Javanese, who encompass the Madurese, are regarded as blunter.

Dayak. All-purpose name for a variety of tribes who once practised head-hunting. Inhabit the inland areas of the island of Borneo.

Minang. Strongly Islamic people of western Sumatra. Their culture features an unusual characteristic: matrilineal descent.

Acehnese. Fiercely proud of their Muslim heritage. Resent lack of opportunities in their northwestern Sumatra province's rich resource-based economy.

Ambonese. Highly musical. Disliked in pre-Independence era for their service in the Dutch army. Solidly Christian.

Balinese. Hindu group found only on the island of Bali and the western part of neighboring Lombok. Renowned for their arts.

Irianese. The Melanesian inhabitants of Irian Jaya. Many groups in isolated areas stilll maintain a tribal lifestyle.

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