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.