(9 Mar 2001) Indonesian/Nat
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President Abdurrahman Wahid - who had travelled to Palangkaraya on Thursday hoping to bring peace to Central Kalimantan province where Dayaks have slaughtered about 450 settlers - appealed for calm on Friday.
Wahid also shrugged off growing calls for him to quit.
He blamed the violence between Dayaks and migrants from Madura island on a small group of agitators and said most people in the province wanted to live in peace.
His mission to quell ethnic tensions in Kalimantan on Thursday went tragically wrong when Dayak protesters threw rocks at riot police who responded with gunfire just minutes after Wahid flew out of the region.
Media reports said six men died in Thursday's clash.
However, police said four civilians and one policeman were killed.
The bloodshed was a further blow to Wahid, who is fending off calls for his resignation over a range of crises and scandals as Indonesia struggles with its uneasy transition to democracy.
Adding to Wahid's woes was continuing violence elsewhere in the country, and a sharp drop in the value of the national currency due to the prolonged turmoil.
The rupiah sank below the psychologically important 10,000 rupiah to the dollar mark for the first time since the 1998 Asian financial crisis.
Wahid discounted the importance of the currency plunge, saying the economy was improving and consumer spending remained strong.
SOUNDBITE: (Bahasa Indonesia)
"If something happens like in central Kalimantan, the government has to solve that problem. We know in our country there are so many people who have extreme views who want independence but that's only a small number of people."
SUPERCAPTION: Abdurrahman Wahid, President of Indonesia
SOUNDBITE: (Bahasa Indonesia)
"There's an ethnic misunderstanding between the Madurese and Dayaks. God willing we can handle and put an end to it. Yesterday we met with the leader of the Dayaks, who said that if the Madurese people want to return to Kalimantan they should wait for a while until the situation has calmed down."
SUPERCAPTION: Abdurrahman Wahid, President of Indonesia
SOUNDBITE: (English) Tom Wright, Dow Jones
"Basically, in investors' minds as well, this means that the currency is doing as badly as it was in those dark days for Indonesia."
SUPERCAPTION: Tom Wright, Dow Jones
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