Bali's Kediri returns to normal after riot

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.