ABSTRACT
In April 1999, attacks were made on the street sellers of Kuta, who are mainly from East Java. These attacks were carried out by people dressed in Balinese costume, but local leaders would not admit that they were members of the traditional organization (desa adat) of the town of Kuta. I have since heard that this action was organized by the local Intelligence Bureau (Intel). The reporting of these events in the local Balinese media reflects what issues were at stake, and reveals much about the state of Balinese society in the wake of the national crisis that began with a run on the Rupiah and saw four changes of presidents in 4 years.
The Peace of Kuta is Disturbed Denpasar (Bali Post) The calm of the atmosphere of Kuta, long praised as a place that is more than capable in guarding and keeping peaceful 1 its mix of occupants, was disturbed around 2 am, early on Thursday (29/4). Hundreds of market kiosks and pushcarts owned by members of the Kuta Footpath Traders Association (PPKLK) which had been left overnight by their owners on the edge of and on the sidewalk along Jalan Melasti and part of Jalan Bakung Sari Kuta, were taken to the beach and burned by dozens of people in traditional costume (pakaian adat). Some were destroyed where they stood. […] It is not yet known who carried out these actions […] while the Bendesa Adat [Head of the traditionally-defined community] of Kuta, Made Wendra, emphasized that the traditional village (desa adat) he heads had never planned anything like this. The traditional village considered the members of PPKLK to be also people of Kuta (warga Kuta). But, he did not completely deny that those involved 2 were not also citizens of Kuta (warga Kuta). [the article goes on to explain that there had been attempts to reach an agreement to curb the operating hours of the street traders. The traders later protested to the office of the Head District Official (Bupati), wanting revenge, and asking for responsibility to be taken for the actions. The spokesman for the PPKLK was Zainudin. The Bupati took part in the discussions, stressing that it was not clear that those who carried out the actions were from Kuta].
(Bali Post, 30 April 1999) 3