General accused of inciting hatred<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A group formed from seven Muslim organizations
\non Tuesday demanded the Jakarta Police summon Maj. Gen. (ret)
\nTheo Syafei for allegedly spreading groundless information and
\nhatred against Islam.<\/p>\n
A leader of the Islamic Defender Association, Margiono, said
\nthe group would not file suit against the former chief of the
\nUdayana military command, but leave it to police to take action.<\/p>\n
The group claims Theo disparaged Muslims during a speech
\nbefore Christian youths at a church in Kupang, East Nusa
\nTenggara, last month.<\/p>\n
It alleges Theo said Muslims were ambitiously pursuing the
\nestablishment of an Islamic state by 2003 and would do anything
\nto achieve their goal.<\/p>\n
\"We merely want to remind police that if they fail to do
\nanything about what has been spread among the public, it will be
\ntoo late as Muslims will get angry.\"<\/p>\n
Margiono said he wished to avoid any religious conflicts
\nbetween Christians and Muslims.<\/p>\n
\"It's better to prevent possible conflicts caused by the
\nmisunderstanding now.\"<\/p>\n
Margiono said Theo's statements were shrewd and professional,
\nshowing he was a true politician.<\/p>\n
Cassettes and transcripts of the speech are reportedly in
\npublic circulation. New tabloid Abadi published the purported
\ntranscript.<\/p>\n
Margiono said police could summon Theo without the behest of
\nany group.<\/p>\n
After meeting group members, city police chief Maj. Gen.
\nNoegroho Djajoesman told reporters the police would respond to
\nthe appeal.<\/p>\n
He would not give a specific schedule on when police would
\nsummon Theo, one of the most respected figures in the Armed
\nForces.<\/p>\n
Noegroho said police had already conducted preliminary
\ninvestigations on the distributed cassettes and transcripts.<\/p>\n
\"We have already realized that the distribution of the
\ncassettes will raise tension among believers.\"<\/p>\n
Theo could face charges of violating Article 156 of the
\nCriminal Code on the spreading of hatred, which carries a maximum
\npenalty of a five-year imprisonment.<\/p>\n
Theo's housekeeper said on Tuesday he had been out of town for
\ntwo days.<\/p>\n
Theo, veteran of the Indonesian military campaign in East
\nTimor which began in 1976, no longer holds public office.<\/p>\n
He fell out of favor with the military and the government of
\nthen president Soeharto in 1997 after departing from the official
\nline on various political issues during his term as an Armed
\nForces legislator. (emf)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/general-accused-of-inciting-hatred-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}