Bali's Kediri returns to normal after riot

I Wayan Juniartha, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar

After the torching of 30 homes in Abiantuwung Village, Kediri Subdistrict, some 15 kilometers west of the city on Tuesday, the situation in the village was returning to normal on Wednesday as local police continued to question 29 suspects in relation to the incident.

Most residents chose to remain at home while two companies of security personnel remained on guard throughout the subdistrict. Local police said the deployment of security personnel would continue until the situation had returned to normal.

"We won't allow the conflict to continue and spread to other villages in the subdistrict and will prevent it from affecting foreigners visiting the tourist resort," said a member of the security forces.

Adj. Sr. Comr. Y. Suyatmo, spokesman for the Bali Provincial Police, agreed and said the police were still investigating 29 youths suspected of involvement in the torching of the houses.

He said the police had no authority to interfere in the prolonged internal dispute among Yangapi residents that had triggered the incident.

"We hope informal leaders in the Yangapi community will take the initiative to resolve the prolonged friction," he said.

Tension within the Yangapi community boiled over on Tuesday when scores of youths ransacked and burned down 30 houses belonging to residents opposed to the planned sale of a one- hectare plot of communal land to a local businessman.

The rift first arose last November when the majority of village residents gave their backing to the land sale but were met with opposition from a smaller group who argued that the communal land should be farmed to finance maintenance on the village temple.

The suspects belong to a group of 45 families that is in favor of selling the land.

Witnesses said the attack seemed well-organized.

Sources at the local police station also revealed that the mob had been drinking a local alcoholic beverage known as arak on Monday evening in the hours leading up to the attack. At midnight on Monday, several of the attackers daubed the targeted homes with yellow-colored rice.

"And at around 01.00 a.m. the attackers turned off the lights and sounded the traditional alarm to start their action. Fortunately, all the members of the smaller group who opposed the planned sale of land managed to escape the attack," said Suyatmo.

Provincial Police Chief Brig. Gen. Budi Setyawan expressed his deep concern over the incident, saying he could not imagine how such an incident could have happened in the highly traditional communal village.

"We will ask the local administration and community leaders to find a cultural and social solution to the problem immediately. But we will continue to handle the legal aspects of the incident," he said, adding that of the 36 people questioned on Tuesday evening, 29 were still being held as suspects pending further investigations.