Communists targeted over murders<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Defense and Security\/Armed Forces
\nCommander Gen. Wiranto warned on Tuesday against exploiting and
\npoliticizing the mysterious murder spree in East Java to disrupt
\nnational stability.<\/p>\n
\"Many people have questioned the mysterious murder spree and
\npoliticized it by connecting it with other problems so that now
\nhas the potential to threaten stability at home and in the
\nregion,\" Wiranto said after a meeting with President B.J. Habibie
\nand U.S. Security Agency Director K. Lieberthal at the Merdeka
\nPalace here.<\/p>\n
He said the government and security authorities would
\n\"empower\" people in East Java and other provinces to be active in
\nmaintaining security in their own areas. This, he said, would
\navoid more victims and prevent the killings from spreading to
\nother areas.<\/p>\n
Separately, National Police chief Lt. Gen. Roesmanhadi
\nreiterated the police would direct their investigation into the
\nkillings toward members of the banned Indonesian Communist Party
\n(PKI).<\/p>\n
He again insisted that revenge was behind a number of the
\nmurders committed by relatives of former PKI members.<\/p>\n
Speaking in Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan, on Monday, he
\nsaid police have arrested 169 people in connection with the
\nmurder spree and said they would be intensively interrogated to
\ndetermine the motives behind the killings.<\/p>\n
He said the number of victims has now reached 153 spread
\nthroughout 11 regencies of East Java, 85 of which were from
\nBanyuwangi, 23 from Sumenep, 17 from Jember, eleven from Pasuruan
\nand six from Sampang.<\/p>\n
Banyuwangi Regent H.T. Purnomo Sidik warned against jumping to
\nconclusions on motives for the mysterious murder spree, saying
\nthat \"misinterpretation\" could trigger new problems in the
\nprovince.<\/p>\n
Sidik met with Maj. Gen. Djoko Subroto, the chief of the
\nBrawijaya Military Command which oversees East Java, in
\nBanyuwangi on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Included in Djoko's entourage were East Java Provincial Police
\nchief Maj. Gen. Moch Dayat, deputy governor Imam Supardi and
\nseveral members of the provincial legislative council.<\/p>\n
He denied that ulemas, Koranic teachers and Islamic boarding
\nschool leaders have been specifically targeted in the killings.<\/p>\n
He also denied that the killings were committed by relatives
\nof former communist party members.<\/p>\n
He acknowledged that revenge was behind the murder spree and
\nthat it had to do with cultural problems in the affected
\nregencies.<\/p>\n
\"Black magic had been developing robustly in Banyuwangi and
\nlocals took pride in the reputation it bestowed upon them. Black
\nmagic has claimed many lives in the region. It had been like that
\nfor years,\" he said, adding that relatives of the victims felt it
\nwas now time for them to take revenge against the practitioners
\nof witchcraft.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, it was reported that the killings have spread to
\nCentral and West Java.<\/p>\n
In Wonorejo village in Demak, Central Java, Moslem teacher
\nRochmadi was killed by a mob while saying his evening prayer at a
\nmosque near his house.<\/p>\n
In Margasana village, Serang, West Java, on Monday, a 55-year-
\nold farmer identified as Jajul bin Suhaemi was forced under water
\nin a mosque's water tank then beaten to death by an angry mob on
\nMonday, Antara reported yesterday.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, ulemas representing the country's largest Moslem
\norganizations, Nadhlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah, and the
\nIndonesian Ulemas Council (MUI), held a meeting with East Java
\nGovernor Imam Utomo in Surabaya to seek an end to the mysterious
\nmurder spree.<\/p>\n
M. Hasyim Manan of the East Java MUI chapter said afterward
\nthat ulemas had tried to make the governor accept responsibility
\nfor the tragedy.<\/p>\n
He said the police have arrested 113 suspects, five of whom
\nhad allegedly paid others to kill on their behalf.<\/p>\n
Two politicians from Purwokerto in Central Java have expressed
\ndeep concern over the slaughter, saying it has been politicized
\nto discredit Nadhlatul Ulama and its followers.<\/p>\n
Noor Iskandar al-Barsany, an NU ulema and chairman of the
\nNational Awakening Party's (PKB's) Central Java chapter, said the
\nmurders were not just ordinary crimes because they were committed
\nin a chain, professionally, and most of the victims were ulemas
\nand NU supporters.<\/p>\n
Noor Iskandar said he was aware of the situation in Banyuwangi
\nand insisted that the number of black magic practitioners in the
\nregency was less than 100.<\/p>\n
He also said he believed the murderers were not former members
\nof the PKI.<\/p>\n
Rubiyanto Misman, the rector of the state University of
\nSoedirman, concurred and said the government should take tough
\naction against those found guilty of murder in the tragedy which
\nhas tarnished the nation's image.<\/p>\n
\"The government should investigate the tragedy thoroughly and
\nbring the suspects to court,\" he said. (nur\/har\/45\/rms)<\/p>",
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