Minister suggests outlawing sorcery<\/p>\n
SEMARANG (JP): Minister of Justice Muladi said on Thursday
\nthat sorcery, known locally as santet, should be made an offense
\nunder the Criminal Code because of its potential to stir up
\nunrest in superstitious communities.<\/p>\n
The minister said that black magic and witchcraft needed to be
\nbrought under the criminal law urgently.<\/p>\n
\"The impact of the issue is very disturbing and it often
\nclaims innocent victims,\" Muladi said after attending a
\ngraduation ceremony at Diponegoro University here.<\/p>\n
Muladi said that anyone openly claiming to have the ability to
\nkill or hurt other people with black magic must be punished.<\/p>\n
\"That would be one way to resolve the witchcraft issue,\" said
\nMuladi.<\/p>\n
Munir, the coordinator of the respected Commission for Missing
\nPersons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) said last week that at
\nleast 147 people had been killed in regencies in East Java,
\nincluding 110 in Banyuwangi alone. Some of the earlier victims in
\nthe murder spree were people accused of practicing sorcery,
\nhowever many victims were later found to be Moslem preachers and
\nKoranic teachers.<\/p>\n
Some of the murders were committed by angry neighbors, but
\nmost were perpetrated by groups of unidentified men wearing
\nninja-like dark clothing and masks.<\/p>\n
Leaders of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) said many of the victims
\nbelonged to the organization's Banyuwangi, Situbondo, Pasuruan,
\nJember, Lumajang and Madura chapters.<\/p>\n
National Police Spokesman Brig. Gen. Togar Sianipar, however,
\ninsisted that only one preacher was among the 95 deaths so far
\nrecorded by police.<\/p>\n
\"The police must give a thorough explanation to public. They
\nmust state whether the murders were plotted, and if so who
\nmasterminded them,\" Muladi said.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday night an angry mob destroyed a police station in
\nSemampir, Surabaya, because they believed an alleged shaman
\ncalled Solikhan had taken refuge there.<\/p>\n
\"People become suspicious of just about anything nowadays,\"
\nNorth Surabaya Police chief Lt. Col. Sunaryono said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Separately, the chairman of the East Java chapter of the
\nIndonesian Ulemas Council (MUI), K.H. Misbah, urged the Armed
\nForces (ABRI) to take stern and transparent measures to bring the
\nmassacre to an end.<\/p>\n
\"If the security forces do not take any action and even allow
\nthe terror to continue then we will face even more severe
\ndanger,\" Misbah said after meeting with East Java Governor Imam
\nUtomo.<\/p>\n
Black magic is still common in Indonesian society. Javanese
\npeople call it santet or teluh, the Balinese call it leyak, and
\nBatak people call it begu ganjang.<\/p>\n
Mysticism surrounding the practice of black magic has it that
\nsorcerers are obliged perform to vile acts such as rape a certain
\nnumber of virgins to obtain their evil power.<\/p>\n
In rural areas villagers suffering from common diseases are
\noften believed to be the victims of black magic.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Indonesian Committee for World Moslem
\nSolidarity (KISDI) said on Thursday that it deplored the
\nconflicting statements made by government officials and
\npoliticians on the problem. The organization said the statements
\nhad worsened the situation.<\/p>\n
The organization's chairman, H.A. Sumargono, said local
\nofficials and police in East Java appeared to be reluctant to
\ntake steps to calm the situation.<\/p>\n
Sumargono said KISDI sent a six-member fact finding team to
\nEast Java last week.<\/p>\n
They found that only 24 of the 114 victims they counted in
\nBanyuwangi were shamans.<\/p>\n
\"The rest were teachers or ulemas,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Antara reported on Thursday that the chairman of
\nMUI's West Java chapter, Totoh Abdul Fattah, had urged people to
\nstep up their guard to prevent a similar situation developing in
\nthe province.<\/p>\n
\"We must not tolerate any murder on the pretext of santet and
\nwe must not allow it to happen in West Java,\" Abdul said.<\/p>\n
He said the public had no right to punish suspected sorcerers
\non their own and should instead take them to the police.
\n(har\/nur\/prb)<\/p>",
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