Sambas riots

The Sambas riots were an outbreak of inter-ethnic violence in Indonesia in 1999 in the regency of Sambas, West Kalimantan province and involved the Madurese on one side and an alliance of the indigenous Dayak people and Sambas Malays on the other.

Sambas riots
Part of post-Suharto era
Location of the district (kabupaten) within the province of West Kalimantan on the island of Borneo.
Date	1999
Location	Sambas Regency, West Kalimantan, Indonesia
Parties
Malay rioters Dayak rioters Madurese rioters TNI POLRI
Casualties and losses
3,000 dead

Background

The Sambas riots in 1999 were not an isolated incident, as there had been previous incidents of violence between the Dayaks and the Madurese. The last major conflict occurred between December 1996 and January 1997, and resulted in more than 600 deaths.^[1] The Madurese first arrived in Borneo in 1930 under the transmigration program initiated by the Dutch colonial administration, and continued by the Indonesian government.^[2]

Massacres

After a Madurese mob massacred Malays in Parit Setia while they were exiting the local mosque after performing the Muslim Eid al-Fitr prayer, Malay mobs began large anti-Madurese riots. Later, Dayak mobs joined forces with the Malay.^[3] Up to 3,000 Madurese were killed, and the Indonesian government did little to stop the violence.^[4] Some of the Indonesian soldiers that were sent to quell the riots were attacked by the Sambas Malays and Dayaks due to their support for the Madurese.^{[5][6][7][8][9][10]}

Further massacres

In 2001, another conflict broke out between the Madurese and Dayak that resulted in hundreds of deaths. It became known as the Sampit conflict.^[11]

See also

• Transmigration program
• Sampit conflict
• 2010 Tarakan riot, a much smaller scale riot between Dayak Tidung and Bugis people in Tarakan
• Fall of Suharto