KALIMANTAN's indigenous Dayaks have turned against the Madurese
immigrant minority slaughtering hundreds of people in a spate
of bloody violence. Thousands have been evacuated from the strife-torn
areas, but the military and police seem powerless to protect
a terrified community attempting to flee.
The Dayaks are a largely non-Muslim population
who inhabit the interior of Borneo Island. The Madurese are
strict Muslims, who arrived in large numbers in the 1960s
from the island of Madura as part of a government-ordered
relocation program known as transmigrasi.
Transmigration has failed with tragic consequences
for the Madurese who have been hounded from their homes, with
many being killed and beheaded by the Dayaks. This explosion
of violence has further destabilized the government of Abdurrahman
Wahid.
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