DENPASAR, Bali (JP): A sixty-year-old man was killed and five

DENPASAR, Bali (JP): A sixty-year-old man was killed and five others were severely injured on Tuesday morning during a violent attack by hundreds of residents of Desa Adat Culik traditional village against the residents of Banjar Kebon in Karangasem, some 80 kilometers northeast of here, a report said.

The attackers also burned down at least 30 houses and two motorcycles belonging to Banjar Kebon residents.

The victims were all residents of Banjar Kebon, with the dead man identified as Nengah Migun.

The attack, which occurred at around 7 a.m., occurred so suddenly that the outnumbered residents of Banjar Kebon were not able to defend themselves. Most of them fled to the safety of nearby hills and villages.

The attack was apparently triggered by the recent openly- expressed desire of the residents of Banjar Kebon to secede from Desa Adat Culik and establish a new Desa Adat of their own. Desa Adat is an autonomous territorial-based traditional community group comprising several smaller traditional neighborhood units, known as a Banjar.

Residents of Banjar Kebon and Desa Adat Culik have been involved in a bitter legal feud for years over the ownership of 600 hectares of land. Angered by the rebellious stance of Banjar Kebon's residents, Desa Adat Culik expelled them from the Desa Adat's membership last April.

Security troops were unable to immediately reach the site of the incident because the 1.5-kilometer road that leads to Banjar Kebon was blocked at numerous points with huge trees apparently felled by the attackers prior to the attack. The presence of groups of men armed with sharp weapons at various points along the road also hampered the movement of the troops.

Only after reinforcements from the police's elite Mobile Brigade joined them from Denpasar, did security forces manage to reach the village. -- JP

Medan loses its historical buildings

MEDAN, North Sumatra: The capital of North Sumatra, Medan, will soon lose its rich legacy of historical buildings because they are being demolished at an alarming rate, say non- governmental organizations (NGOs).

Medan city administration has failed to heed provincial ruling No. 6/1988 which bans demolition of historical buildings, Hasti Tarekat told reporters in Medan on Tuesday after meeting the head of provincial legislators.

The executive director of the Sumatra Legacy Body was accompanied by representatives of seven other NGOs.

Hasti said almost 90 percent of Medan's 42 buildings under government protection had either been modified or demolished. The local government declared 42 buildings and areas to be of significant historical value or only about half of the 73 buildings and areas that the body considered should be untouchable.

In their meeting with legislator Tom Adlin Hajar, the activists cited three buildings that have been demolished; Kerapatan building on Jl. Brig. Jen. Katamso, a bank building on Jl. Pemuda and the Public Works office on Jl. Listrik.

One building the body believes to be of historical value but had not been protected by the provincial government was the Mega Eltra building, which was constructed in 1912 and belonged to a resident.

The city government claimed it was not on the list of protected buildings and so had been sold for Rp 26 billion to make way for a shopping center. The building has now been completely demolished. --JP