'Black magic' killings may be organized: Dayat<\/p>\n
SURABAYA (JP): East Java Police chief Maj. Gen. M. Dayat has
\nsaid he suspected a mysterious murder spree in several East Java
\ntowns was the result of \"organized crime\".<\/p>\n
As many as 100 Islamic teachers and others accused of
\npracticing \"black magic\" have been killed to date.<\/p>\n
\"It's probably an organized movement, but it's still under
\ninvestigation,\" Dayat was quoted by Antara as saying here on
\nMonday. So far, the questioning of dozens of suspects already
\ndetained by the Banyuwangi Police indicate that the killings were
\nmotivated by either personal feuds or financial rewards.<\/p>\n
\"People bearing grudges against certain individuals then hired
\nkillers to commit the murders. So far, that's all we know about
\nthe motives for the killings,\" he said, adding the suspects were
\nnot only from Banyuwangi but also from neighboring Jember,
\nPasuruan and Probolinggo.<\/p>\n
The police and the military are currently sheltering 277
\npeople who fear they may be targets. Many of the victims were
\nalso ulemas from Indonesia's largest Moslem organization,
\nNahdlatul Ulama (NU).<\/p>\n
Brawijaya Regional Military Commander Maj. Gen. Djoko Subroto
\nseparately denied public accusations the military had been slow
\nin handling the killings.<\/p>\n
He said the murders of people suspected of dabbling in black
\nmagic had started in January and had become rampant in August and
\nSeptember.<\/p>\n
\"Security personnel are now taking measures which are showing
\nresults. We have sent troops to support the police (in
\nsafeguarding the towns),\" he said. \"It's not true that we're late
\nin handling the situation.\"<\/p>\n
Police have reported that knife-wielding killers, wearing
\nninja-like black dress and masks, had been attacking victims at
\nnight over the past two months in Banyuwangi regency, about 200
\nkilometers east of here.<\/p>\n
Some of the bodies were reportedly mutilated, their throats
\nslashed. Several were reportedly tossed into mosques or hung from
\ntrees.<\/p>\n
Separately, Col. Budi Utomo, the police chief of Besuki --
\nwhose jurisdiction covers Banyuwangi -- had ordered his men to
\nshoot the killers on the spot.<\/p>\n
Police source said 45 suspected killers had been arrested,
\nalong with 7 others suspected to have paid for the murders. So
\nfar, 87 crime scenes had been found but some of the detained
\nsuspects only admitted to have committed killings in 11 places.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, it was reported that Banyuwangi turned into a ghost
\ntown as residents stayed home. Locks were reinforced with wood
\nplanks and doors were barricaded with barb wires following a
\nreport that on Sunday four more bodies were found hanging on two
\ntrees in Seruni village in Kabat district.<\/p>\n
Revenge<\/p>\n
Moslem scholar Nurcholish Madjid separately said he suspected
\nthat revenge was behind the gruesome murders. \"This is really
\nstrange. I suspect there's a factor of revenge (behind them) just
\nlike in 1965,\" he said as quoted Antara.<\/p>\n
He was referring to the bloodbath that took place following an
\naborted coup attempt in 1965 blamed on the outlawed Indonesian
\nCommunist Party (PKI). Thousands of people were killed in the
\nmurder frenzy following the political tension.<\/p>\n
Pointing at the \"order\" with which the killings were
\ncommitted, Nurcholish speculated that a kind of \"collective
\nrevenge\" was actually behind the spree.<\/p>\n
\"I am afraid there's a kind of collective memory or group
\nanimosity at work. It's really strange that the Islamic teachers
\nbecame the victims,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"Communism as an ideology may have collapsed, but the group
\nsentiment still exists and people should be aware of it,\" he was
\nquoted by Antara as saying.<\/p>\n
Nahdlatul Ulama chairman Abdurrahman Wahid had earlier been
\nreported to demand that the military move quickly to halt the
\nseries of murders.<\/p>\n
Ma'wah Masykur, a NU leader in South Kalimantan, was quoted by
\nAntara as saying in the capital city, Banjarmasin, that he
\ndeplored the fact that the National Commission on Human Rights
\nhad been silent over the killings.<\/p>\n
\"Why is it still silent even though it is clear the killings
\nwere violations of human rights?\" he said, adding that the
\ncommission should not be discriminatory in the cases it
\naddressed. (nur\/swe)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/black-magic-killings-may-be-organized-dayat-1447893297",
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