Fitri, Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara – Advocates of ethnic and religious tolerance have demanded that police immediately bring to justice those responsible for instigating an attack on Tuesday against an ethnic Balinese community in West Nusa Tenggara's Sumbawa district.

Hundreds of activists from the Indonesian People's Alliance (AKPI) rallied outside the provincial police headquarters in Mataram on Friday to demand a crackdown on what they called a worrying trend of criminal activity threatening interfaith harmony in Sumbawa.

The activists also called on residents not to be easily provoked into acts of violence against other communities.

The provincial chapter of the Parisada Hindu Dharma Indonesia, the country's highest Hindu authority, echoed the call for the perpetrators behind Tuesday's attack to be punished.

Gede Renjana, the chairman of the local PHDI chapter, said it was also important for all sides not to be baited by incitements or a desire for revenge.

"We call on all communities to quell your anger and keep the peace between communities of different faiths and ethnicities," he said. "And to the police, we ask that the perpetrators behind this violence be brought to justice and the law upheld. We hope that this is the last incident of this kind in West Nusa Tenggara."

The violence was sparked by a misunderstanding over the death of a local woman last Saturday. The woman, Arniati, was rumored to have died after her boyfriend, an ethnic Balinese police officer, allegedly raped her.

But police refuted the rumor, and an autopsy later confirmed that she died in a traffic accident when riding on a motorcycle with her boyfriend, identified as Brig. Eka Gede Suwarjana.

The officer and the victim were riding along the Sumbawa-Kanar highway when the motorcycle slipped and crashed. The officer was injured in the accident and remains in hospital.

Instigated by the rumor, however, a mob of hundreds of locals attacked targets associated with the predominantly Hindu ethnic Balinese community. They vandalized 12 homes, two shops, a hotel and a traditional market, and torched several buildings and cars. They also threw rocks at Hindu temples.

At least 3,000 members of the ethnic Balinese community have fled for Bali and Lombok. Police have since named 33 people as suspects in the case.