General information
Part of Conflict: n/a
First Battle Related Death: 1997-01-01
Date when dyad reached 25 battle releated deaths: 1997-01-07
Comment on date when dyad reached 25 battle related deaths: The non-state conflict between Dayak and Madurese is first included in UCDP data in 1997, when violence beginning in January of that year resulted in over 25 battle-related deaths.
Conflict issues
Annual information
This section contains annual information systematically collected by the UCDP.
1997
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 374 |
| Best | 361 |
| Low | 361 |
Secondary Warring Support:
Side A (Dayak): n/a
Side B (Madurese): n/a
2001
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 663 |
| Best | 496 |
| Low | 496 |
Secondary Warring Support:
Side A (Dayak): n/a
Side B (Madurese): n/a
Dyad Archive
This section contains annual information no longer systematically collected by the UCDP.
1997 Dyad Archive
Comment on Active: Violence between the Dayaks and the Madurese broke out as a result of an incident occurring during a concert on 30 December 1996, when two Dayak youths were stabbed by a group of Madurese in Sanggauledo, Western Kalimantan. This triggered a series of violent reprisals, as the Dayaks and Madurese clashed in increasingly violent attacks. Houses belonging to members of both communities were torched, inflammatory messages were shouted and Dayaks from neighbouring villages were brought in by truck to aid the small urban Dayak community. Between 1 and 8 January 1997 violence spread to the nearby countryside, causing approximately 20 deaths and over 1000 houses to be burnt down. By the middle of January, the Indonesian authorities intervened, by putting roadblocks in place and dispersing the violent crowds, bringing a temporary lull in violence. However, both communities remained highly tense, the Dayaks expecting a resumption of fighting as soon as the Ramadan ended.
The second, far more violent phase of the conflict started during the night between 28 January 1997 and 29 January 1997, when a group of Madurese attacked a Dayak foundation and a nearby hostel in Pontianak, wounding two Dayak girls. This triggered a quick escalation of violence, where both group created road-side checkpoints, beating or killing anyone belonging to the enemy group. Further, the violence quickly led to substantial retaliations from the Dayaks. In one such event, taking place on 31 January 1997, Dayaks killed 148 Madurese, by rounding up a large group of people in a barn and setting it on fire. In another clash, on 1 January 1997, a large group of Dayaks stormed a Madurese village. While the Madurese were prepared, the Dayaks possessed superior firepower (such as machine guns), and the clash resulted in 131 deaths. A typical tactic employed by the Dayaks was the creation of a large warring group from multiple villages (through a traditional call to battle known as the red bowl) followed by the assault of a Madurese neighborhood at the edge of a town or in another village.
By early February, the Indonesian police and military intervened by setting up roadblocks in order to prevent the movement of these Dayak armed groups and to further offer protection to the Madurese. This intervention, while causing a number of deaths, managed to at least temporarily calm down the situation. No reports of deaths related to Dayak-Madurese conflict and occuring in 1997 exist after March that year.
Terminated: NO
2001 Dyad Archive
Comment on Yearly Battle Related Deaths: As events of February 2001 unfolded extremely rapidly, accounts of the exact number of deaths vary widely and can only be treated as approximations. The most quoted death toll as a result of the Dayak - Madurese conflict in 2001 is 469. This number produced by Asmawi Agani, the Governor of Central Kalimantan, and reported by Megawati, the Prime Vice-President of Indonesia, only covers events occurring before 1 March 2001. Further, that number is not used by the UCDP, as it is uncertain whether it includes deaths taking place as a result of the intervention of the Indonesian military on 27 February 2001.
Comment on Active: Violence between the Dayaks and the Madurese began on 18 February 2001, when a group of Dayaks attacked a Madurese house in the mainly Madurese town of Sampit. This attack triggered a series of intense retaliations from the Madurese, and on 19 February 2001, the town was covered in anti-Dayak propaganda. By 20 February, Dayaks responded by surrounding the town with reinforcements brought in from the countryside. With little police presence, fighting quickly turned into a massacre, as the Dayaks set ablaze Madurese houses and killed any Madurese they could find on the streets, with the stated goal of ethnically cleansing the town of Madurese. Reports exist of multiple atrocities, such as the Dayaks’ resort to traditional head-hunting. As a result of the massacre, between 19 February 2001 and 28 February 2001, approximately 400 Madurese died. Over 100 000 Madurese fled, some into the jungles of Kalimantan, others to the islands of Java or Madura.
By 25 February, the provincial government of Central Kalimantan began making arrangements to guarantee safe-passage and transport for those fleeing outside Kalimantan – however, the poorly planned proceedings led only to more deaths. As such, on 25 February 2001, 118 Madurese were killed on the road to the capital, Palangkaraya, as their police escort ran away in front of a Dayak mob. Further, the conflict spread out, with reports of killings and burning of houses appearing in Palangkaraya on 27 February 2001. Only the intervention of the military on 27 February 2001, and the visit of Prime-Vice President Megawatti ended the massacre in Sampit, guaranteeing the evacuation of the Madurese from Central Kalimantan in safety.
However, while the presence of the army and the almost total evacuation of Madurese from Central Kalimantan did reduce the number of deaths, reports of fighting continued into March and April, mainly from the previously calm Kuala Kapuas area, approximately 200 km from Sampit. Further reports of deaths come from refugee camps in Madura, where Dayaks were killed in revenge.
As a result of fighting, by April 2001, only a few thousand Madurese were still present in Central Kalimantan out of a total population of over 150.000 at the beginning of the year.
Terminated: NO
