8 more killed by Dayaks in Kalimantan

By Amit Baruah

SINGAPORE, MARCH 18. Another eight Madurese migrants have been killed by indigenous Dayak tribesmen in and around the town of Sampit in the Central Kalimantan province of Indonesia, reports from the area said.

The bodies of the eight victims, all of them said to be Madurese, have been found since Friday.

Apparently, some of the Madurese had gone into the town area to look for food from their forest hideouts when they were attacked.

Since the middle of February, there have been a series of attacks by the Dayaks on the Madurese, migrants from Madura island. These persons had been resettled in Kalimantan as part of a policy decision taken by the then Government of Gen. Suharto, Indonesia's dictator who ruled for 32 years.

Some 500 persons are said to have been killed in the ethnic attacks intended to drive the Madurese out of Central Kalimantan.

The Dayaks believe that the Madurese are responsible for their economic deprivation.

Thousands of Madurese refugees have fled or been evacuated from Central Kalimantan in the wake of the violence.

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Section  : International
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