ABSTRACT
The first time it happened was in Sambas district, West Kalimantan. It was January and February 1997. Newspapers reported that indigenous Dayaks began attacking migrant Madurese in their homes in the small town of Sanggau Ledo, then moved to other small towns around the district, sending tens of thousands fleeing for their lives. Indonesians were shocked. Collective violence between Indonesian citizens over communal identity had not happened before. Or rather it had not impressed itself on the public consciousness to this extent, for there had been several 1-or 2-day riots against Christians and Chinese in Java in previous months. This was on a much larger scale. The one-sided violence went on for weeks, and ranged across several districts.
