Journalists in East Java receive death threats<\/p>\n
SURABAYA (JP): Following threats made to Moslem preachers by
\nunidentified people here, journalists have been warned that they
\nwill be among the next victims in the killing spree which has so
\nfar claimed more than 150 lives in East Java.<\/p>\n
The threats were printed on flyers and circulated widely among
\nthe public in the provincial town of Jember.<\/p>\n
\"We have been smeared by reports of the killings, so it will
\nbe better if we eliminate the reporters from Jember,\" one of the
\nunsigned flyers said. East Java Governor Imam Utomo said Tuesday
\nhe would guarantee the personal safety of journalists reporting
\non the gruesome murders.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, witnesses said that dozens of mysterious drifters
\nrecently turned up in Jember, Banyuwangi, Surabaya, Malang and
\nPasuruan. They were reportedly handed over to the authorities by
\nlocal residents. In a gruesome wave of revenge, angry mobs
\ndecapitated a number of people suspected of being \"ninja killers\"
\nand carried their severed heads on poles through village streets
\nin Malang on Sunday and Monday.<\/p>\n
Vigilante groups were formed after more than 150 people were
\nmysteriously murdered by what witnesses have said were masked
\nkillers dressed in black. Many of the victims were preachers and
\nothers were accused of practicing witchcraft.<\/p>\n
Following frustration over the apparent inability of the
\npolice and the military to bring the mysterious murder spree to
\nan end, there have been numerous reports of mob violence and
\nkillings of suspected \"ninjas\" in recent days.<\/p>\n
Police have arrested dozens of people in connection with the
\nmurders, but say they have been unable to established a motive
\nfor the killings that first began in August. Minister of Defense
\nand Security\/Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto said in Jakarta
\non Monday that 69 of the 157 suspects so far detained were
\nmembers of Nahdlatul Ulama -- the country's largest Islamic
\norganization whose members appear to have been targeted by the
\nso-called \"ninja killers.\"<\/p>\n
NU leaders have called for calm and have condemned revenge
\nkillings by vigilantes. Wiranto has also said that conflict among
\nthe country's political elite might be behind the murders.<\/p>\n
In Jakarta, Antara reported that Achmad Tirtosudiro, the
\nchairman of the Association of Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals
\n(ICMI), expressed regret on Tuesday over allegations made by
\nNahdlatul Ulama chairman Abdurrahman Wahid, who on Sunday said
\nthat at least one Cabinet minister was involved in the killings.<\/p>\n
\"A Moslem figure should have not talked like that,\" Achmad
\ntold reporters at the State Palace after meeting President B.J.
\nHabibie.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman, better known as Gus Dur, said on Saturday his
\ngroup had identified the mastermind behind the wave of killings
\nbut mentioned no names. Achmad said that after learning from
\nsources that Abdurrahman was referring to cooperatives minister
\nAdi Sasono, he checked with the minister.<\/p>\n
\"Gus Dur's statement was absurd and impossible. Adi Sasono
\nsaid Gus Dur was joking,\" he said. (nur\/byg)<\/p>",
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