Jakarta – National Police chief Gen. Surojo Bimantoro said on Saturday that police had arrested 158 people in connection with the killings of Madurese settlers, including the three people who allegedly provoked the riots.

Surojo did not identify the suspects but said the three had been transferred to the National Police Headquarters for further questioning.

"We suspect the three were the provocateurs. They allegedly gave Rp 20 million to certain people to perpetrate the violence," he told reporters in Surabaya, the capital of East Java province.Surojo was meeting with elderly figures from Madura.

The media would be allowed to interview the suspects after the police have completed their questioning scheduled for Tuesday.

At least 469 people have been killed in the 13 days of unrest in the town of Sampit in East Kotawaringin regency, Central Kalimantan.

Surojo also said that police had yet to come up with other motives for the killings and lootings except that it was purely a communal conflict and not based on religion. "But our officers on the ground are continuing the investigation," he added.

Separately, a Madurese senior figure, Mohammad Noer, aired his concerns over refugee evacuations from Sampit to East Java, saying the steps will not solve the problem and will only justify the belief that the Madurese migrants had no right to live in the island.

"We want the evacuations to be stopped. The local government can shelter the refugees in safe places, and in the meantime try to solve the problem," said Mohammad who was a former East Java governor.