L

ampung Police have arrested five men, identified only by their initials as D, DM, NH, RH and ZA, who are believed to have provoked the interethnic clashes that took place in South Lampung on Oct. 29 and 30.

Police arrested ZA in Panjang subdistrict, Bandar Lampung early on Thursday, after obtaining information from dozens of witnesses, while the four others were apprehended in different locations in Bandar Lampung.

As of Thursday evening, ZA had been named a suspect, while the four other men were still being questioned by investigators.

Police said they strongly believed the five had incited the attack on Balinuraga village, during which 12 people were killed, hundreds of homes were destroyed and looted. Lampung Police officers have so far questioned 60 witnesses.

“We have questioned ZA and named him a suspect. He encouraged residents in South Lampung to launch an attack on Balinuraga village. We hope to discover the network or group [behind this attack] to help us solve the case,” Lampung Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Sulistyaningsih said.

He added that the communal conflict between Agom villagers, who are mostly indigenous Lampung people, and Balinuraga villagers, who are primarily Balinese, would not have escalated into such a massive riot had it not been for provocateurs.

“We will trace the ringleaders behind the riot after interrogating these suspects,” he said.

An increasing divide between rich and poor and religious issues are said to be the triggers of conflicts in the province. Under such conditions, the most trivial of incidents can prove sufficient to incite hotheaded villagers into attacking and killing one other.

The most recent conflict, for instance, was sparked by a misunderstanding after some Balinuraga youths tried to help two Agom girls who fell from their motorcycle.

A week after the incident, the South Lampung administration, representatives from the police and military, and ethnic group leaders drafted a nine-point peace agreement. On Wednesday, the agreement was codified by residents from both villages in a declaration of peace in Agom village. The declaration was marked by a traditional ceremony attended by residents of both villages.

A legal observer from Lampung University, Tisnanta, said police should investigate horizontal conflict in South Lampung.

He added that there was a risk that the South Lampung riots would be politicized ahead of the Lampung gubernatorial election in 2013. By way of explanation, he said the riots had occurred as part of a sequence.

South Lampung has been tense since January, when a clash took place between members of the ethnic Balinese and Lampung communities in Sidomulyo district. This was followed in April by the demolition of a statue of former Lampung governor Zainal Abidin Pagar Alam, and in early July, a riot in Kalianda city.

“The tearing down of the statue was due to a dispute between South Lampung Regent Rycko Menoza and indigenous Lampung residents in Kalianda. The cause of the riot in Balinuraga may likely be related to the anti-regent movement,” said Tisnanta.

“A number of Balinuraga villagers who witnessed the recent killings said the assailants were not from Agom village. In fact, they were sure Agom villagers would not have carried out such attacks as residents of both villages often work together on a daily basis,” added Tisnanta.

Lampung University sociologist Hartoyo said the inter-ethnic conflict in South Lampung, which led to the violence, was rooted in dysfunctional traditional values and norms and a weak hierarchy between local communities and higher institutions.