Police patrol villages after four deaths

Police patrol villages after four deaths

Oyos Saroso H.N., The Jakarta Post, Kotabumi, North Lampung

Police remained on guard on Tuesday in the border area between
the villages of Panaganratu and Panaganjaya, North Lampung
regency, two days after at least four people were killed in a
brawl between local residents following a land dispute.

Lampung Police spokesman Adj. Comr. Yusep Arpan said
investigators were also patrolling the riot scene to search for
agents provocateurs of the unrest on Sunday.

He was quoted by Antara as saying security had returned to
normal after community leaders from the villages had met to agree
to stop the attacks.

The local police arrested more than 10 villagers charged with
involvement in the deadly clash, to prevent more violence and
casualties. The suspects were being questioned.

A number of machetes and other sharp weapons, as well as the
remains of two burned motorcycles, were also seized as evidence
in the investigation.

Eyewitnesses said the brawl was triggered by a long-standing
dispute over seven hectares of land in Panaganjaya between the
families of 50-year-old Mat and Imam Kasturi, 52.

Kasturi controlled the land for a few years after he had
allegedly bought it from Mat.

Mat's son, Wandali, and his rival, Kasturi, had agreed to try
to resolve the dispute through the mediation of head of
Panaganjaya village Mansyur, who produced a land certificate in
favor of Kasturi.

But Kasturi failed to show up at Mansyur's office on Sunday
afternoon. Wandali later went to Kasturi's home, along with four
of his friends.

They discovered Kasturi at the house of Panaganjaya
neighborhood head Sugianto, where Wandali and his friends, all
residents from Panaganratu, became involved in an altercation
with Kasturi.

A clash was later inevitable when other local residents became
involved. Wandali, 29, and his three friends, Subomo, 39, Wiji,
35, and Sumaji, 30, were killed instantly at the scene.

Meanwhile, Kasturi, 52, and three other villagers, Safari, 28,
Sugimin, 52, and Surip, 28 -- all from Panaganjaya -- were
seriously injured and are now being treated at Ryacudu general
hospital, Kotabumi, the main town of North Lampung.

Police officers arrived about an hour after the killings and
immediately fired warning shots to stop the violence from
deteriorating or spreading.

After the situation was brought under control, the police
deployed dozens of personnel to the border area between
Panaganjaya and Panaganratu, East Abung subdistrict, to prevent
revenge attacks by either side.

Police also provided tight security for the four injured
victims being cared for at the hospital.

Lampung Police chief Brig. Gen. Sugiri immediately visited the
scene later on Sunday and ordered his officers to resolve the
case as soon as possible.

"All the perpetrators must be dealt with firmly. If not, more
unrest could break out again," he said.

"Some suspects have been detained at North Lampung police
station and witnesses are being questioned. I ask local residents
to exercise self-restraint and not take the law into their own
hands," Sugiri added.

In 2001, at least three people were killed in a similar clash
also triggered by a land dispute elsewhere in East Abung.

Riots also broke out in September 1998 and spread to Labuhan
Maringgai and Jabung subdistricts, East Lampung, as well as
Bandarjaya, Central Lampung, at which hundreds of shops belonging
to local residents of Chinese descent were set ablaze.