Kalimantan, Indonesia's savage nightmare

CNN Jakarta Bureau Chief Maria Ressa

In this story: Decapitated head Transmigration program Kailamtan free-for-all Hundreds murdered RELATED STORIES, SITES

By Maria Ressa
Jakarta Bureau Chief

Farmer Armidin stumbled on the narrow trail we were walking single-file. He had not eaten in days as he led us to the burnt-out shell of his home deep in the jungles of Kalimantan.

It was there that the 40-year-old father and his Madurese family were attacked by ethnic Dayak tribesmen. Many of his friends and neighbors were brutally murdered, mutilated and beheaded that night.

In the confusion, he lost his two youngest children -- ages 3 and 5.

We had been walking four hours, accompanied by soldiers who kept reminding us to stay together, telling us they could not be responsible for our safety if we were attacked again.

It felt desolate in the the jungle -- I could only imagine even more so if you're being hunted, and you have no one to turn to for help.

Decapitated head

Days earlier, I walked into an open field and saw groups of boys playing soccer -- except the ball they were using was the decapitated head of an old man.

In the central marketplace of Sambas, there were gruesome scenes of celebration: on one side -- a man standing on a wooden crate holding up a decapitated head pulling entrails from the neck; on the other, a man putting a cigarette between the fingers of a dismembered hand.

Both were displaying their trophies to crowds of men, women and children. They were cheering. And there didn't seem to be any awareness among the crowds that what was happening was wrong or illegal.

Victim of the latest ethnic violence.

This was West Kalimantan in 1999. More than 1,000 people were killed during the ethnic conflict between the Madurese and Dayaks then.

Now it's happening again -- this time in Central Kalimantan. It started on February 18 -- a killing spree that lasted at least 10 days. Conservative estimates put the death toll at about 500, but most warn that does not include hundreds more killed in the more remote areas.

Tens of thousands of Madurese have evacuated their homes. They have no recourse left since authorities -- both the police and the military -- have been unwilling or unable to prevent the violence.

Indonesia's National Police Chief confirmed reports that security forces were demanding bribes before allowing refugees to board ships to safety.

It is a state of total anarchy.

Transmigration program

Indonesian authorities say the root of the conflict is a failed transmigration program that brought more than 100,000 Madurese settlers from Indonesia's main island of Java.

Aggressive settlers with their own customs that irked the indigenous Dayaks, the Madurese dominated the transportation and market sectors of the economy.

The Dayaks, once known as the headhunters of Borneo, traditionally believed they would gain an enemy's strength by eating the liver and chopping off the head. In the past three decades (and perhaps even earlier), some version of that ancient ritual would be turned against the Madurese again . . . and again . . . and again.

Under former President Suharto's authoritarian rule, the government dealt with it simply: a fierce military clampdown. It's unclear how many people died in ethnic violence during those years because the government prevented journalists and other "outsiders" from entering areas of conflict.

Armed Dayak in front of a burning Madurese house

There was a particularly large outbreak in 1987. Hundreds allegedly died, but with no independent sources, it became impossible to verify. All we had were the stories of people who would suffer the violence again, this time in 1992. And again in 1997.

By 1997, the Suharto regime had other, more pressing problems. Large-scale protests in Jakarta were pushing for a change of government. For the press corps in the capital, it became possible to sneak into Kalimantan.

Still, when I landed in the Pontianak airport, we were immediately tailed by soldiers. At one point, I was glad they followed us because they helped stop an attack by Dayak tribesmen.

Kailamtan free-for-all

In 1999, several months after the end of Suharto's rule, Kalimantan was a free-for-all.

The military didn't seem to have a clear policy for how to deal with the journalists or the violence. They were being criticized for taking a heavy-handed, brutal approach in other parts of Indonesia.

Well, in Kalimantan, it was the first time I saw Indonesian citizens say they wanted the military to take a harsh approach. I soon began to understand why.

At one point, I was riding with a military convoy which was stopping from town to town picking up Madurese who wanted shelter. They would sneak into the convoy, riding in a middle truck.

Although it was sweltering, they covered themselves with a blue tarp. It was a large convoy: several trucks and jeeps full of armed soldiers. Still, about an hour later, we were attacked by Dayak tribesmen, and the gunbattle would last nearly 20 minutes.

My point is that this ethnic violence is not an isolated incident. It is not something that has surprised the Indonesian government and military.

It has a long and very traceable history in Indonesia. It is something that has happened -- and been allowed to happen again and again.

Hundreds murdered

Eleven days after the intial killings this time, after hundreds have been murdered, Jakarta begins talking about the possibility of declaring a civil emergency. Only then did Vice-President Megawati Sukarnoputri visit Kalimantan.

Madurese refugees fighting to flee.

President Abdurrahman Wahid refused to cut short a two-week overseas trip, saying his presence was not necessary.

There is a very large gap between the terror and chaos the tens of thousands of refugees are feeling, the brutal murders that have happened -- and the slow reaction of the central government to stop that violence.

In fact, the military, by its own admission, gave up trying to control the violence. Instead, it concentrated on helping the refugees get out. How can a government not protect its people? It's happened often enough in the past in Indonesia -- and it can happen all too frequently again because then and now, there is a lack of accountability.

The people of Kalimantan cannot hold their government accountable. They have no means to at this point. And any election process is meaningless when you're talking about life or death.

The Indonesian government can give any number of excuses for why they couldn't stop the brutal murders of hundreds of people: not enough troops, not enough warning, too many other problems -- a president threatened, an economy under siege, a social system in tatters, a splintered military fighting ethnic, religious and separatist violence. In the end, they are still excuses.

There are all the reasons why Indonesia would not ask for international help: among them, the loss of national pride which could trigger a nationalist backlash. But the reality remains: this is a recurring problem. And it must have a solution.

Watching this from afar, I remember the faces of the people I met. Those faces have names. I remember their fear, and I feel a sense of moral outrage and I wonder how the Indonesian government -- and the rest of the world -- can let this happen again . . . and again.

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