Alleged instigators of Lombok riots arrested<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Police have detained two alleged provocateurs
\nbehind last week's rioting on the island of Lombok, National
\nPolice chief of detectives Maj. Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said on
\nFriday.<\/p>\n
Questioning of the two people, identified as Isak Sesaki and
\nSuad, is underway, Da'i said. Police are also quizzing three
\nother people in connection with the unrest in the West Nusa
\nTenggara capital of Mataram, which left at least 10 churches
\nburned and thousands seeking refuge on the neighboring island of
\nBali.<\/p>\n
\"One did it with speeches, the other sparked riots on
\nstreets,\" Da'i told reporters at the National Police Headquarters
\nin South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
He refused to identify the other three people under police
\nscrutiny.<\/p>\n
Police shot five alleged rioters and looters during four days
\nof rioting between Monday and Thursday.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Indonesian Muslim Workers Brotherhood (PPMI) chief
\nEggy Sudjana turned up on Friday for questioning at the police
\nheadquarters.<\/p>\n
Speaking before questioning after the Friday prayers, Eggy
\nsaid he took his summons by the police positively. But he
\ncomplained about the police's discrimination.<\/p>\n
\"The only thing I protest is the injustice toward my Muslim
\nbrothers, who, like myself, are feeling the pressure of
\nquestioning,\" Eggy told reporters.<\/p>\n
\"My friend Al Chaedar was arrested as soon as he got off a
\nflight from Malaysia this (Friday) morning by the police.\"<\/p>\n
Eggy was unaware that Al Chaedar was not arrested by National
\nPolice detectives, but city police detectives, for his alleged
\nrole in provoking thousands of people at a rally at Monas square
\nin Central Jakarta recently.<\/p>\n
\"The Christians are allowed to kill and carry weapons but they
\nare never caught. Why are Romo (Father) Sandyawan or (former
\nfinance minister) Frans Seda never caught? My questioning will
\ninvite fresh anger and there will be fierce retaliation.\"<\/p>\n
Eggy said, however, he showed up at the National Police
\nHeadquarters to prove to detectives that \"he was never seen in
\nLombok\".<\/p>\n
\"If I was never seen there, how could I provoke anything? How
\ncan I make speeches, when I was never seen there?\"<\/p>\n
He later confessed that he had been invited to Mataram by
\nrepresentatives of PPMI's chapter in the province.<\/p>\n
\"But, I arrived late ... after the riots erupted. I wasn't
\nthere before or during the rioting. If I knew who the rioters
\nwere, I would have killed them myself,\" Eggy laughingly said.<\/p>\n
\"I wasn't even in Mataram but in Senggigi ... that's 12
\nkilometers away from Mataram. I was staying there at a hotel. I
\nwas with Taufik Hidayat ... you can ask him,\" he said, referring
\nto a former chairman of the Association of Muslim Students (HMI).<\/p>\n
Eggy added that if the country really wanted to punish
\nprovocateurs, then President Abdurrahman Wahid should \"come back
\nhome and question (former president) Soeharto.\"<\/p>\n
\"Gus Dur himself is a provocateur ... people say 'jihad'. He
\nmakes fun of the word and says 'jahit'(to sew). How can he?\"<\/p>\n
Da'i also said that after questioning five witnesses in
\nconnection with the planting of a bomb at Yogyakarta's grand
\nmosque, police found that the motive \"was to destroy\".<\/p>\n
\"The bomb-makers used TNT (the flammable toxic compound
\ntrinitrotoluene) and a detonator. Whoever planted the bomb knew
\nwhat he was doing ... he's an expert. There is a possibility that
\nindividuals from the Indonesian Army (TNI) are involved,\" Da'i
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The security authorities in the court city urged the committee
\nbehind a mass prayer planned for Sunday to cancel the gathering
\nto avoid possible unrest triggered by the finding of the bomb.<\/p>\n
\"We think it would be best to delay the mass gathering so
\nthings calm down first,\" Pamungkas Military Command chief Col.
\nBambang Suherman said.<\/p>\n
The gathering, which, it is predicted, will involve around
\n1,000 Muslims, could possibly arouse anger, Bambang told the
\ncommittee. (44\/ylt\/edt)<\/p>",
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