Sudomo criticized for blaming riot in Islamic group<\/p>\n
SEMARANG (JP): The chairman of the Supreme Advisory Council,
\nSudomo, has been challenged in public and in court for his
\nstatement suggesting that an Islamic group was behind last
\nmonth's rioting in the West Java town of Tasikmalaya.<\/p>\n
In Yogyakarta, a group of young Moslem students announced
\ntheir intention to file a complaint of libel against Sudomo. They
\nhave already asked the Yogyakarta office of the Legal Aid
\nInstitute to help represent them in court.<\/p>\n
In Semarang, scholars questioned Sudomo's inference that
\nremnants of an outlawed Moslem organization had instigated the
\nriot.<\/p>\n
Sudomo, a Navy admiral who once headed the fearsome Kopkamtib
\ninternal security agency, said on Jan. 15 that many of the recent
\ndisturbances were the work of extremists.<\/p>\n
In the case of Tasikmalaya, he reportedly singled out the
\nremnants of Darul Islam\/Tentara Islam Indonesia (DI\/TII), a group
\nwhich staged a rebellion in 1949 to establish an Islamic
\norganization in the young republic at the time.<\/p>\n
It was his inference that an Islamic organization, rather than
\nthe organization itself, had sparked the riot that drew anger
\nfrom some people and questions from scholars.<\/p>\n
Eduard Depari, a mass communications expert from the
\nUniversity of Indonesia in Jakarta, told The Jakarta Post in
\nSemarang on Friday that given his prestigious public position,
\nSudomo should not have uttered statements that could be divisive
\nfor the nation.<\/p>\n
"We are close to general elections and we need to have a calm
\nsituation and avoid stirring up mutual suspicions.<\/p>\n
"Sudomo should have been more careful not to offend the
\nfeelings of one religious group," said Eduard, who is also the
\nchief public relations officer at private television station
\nRCTI.<\/p>\n
"His statement is to be regretted," he said. "The fact that
\nSudomo is not a Moslem also doesn't help. That's why we saw the
\nstrong reaction," he said.<\/p>\n
Muladi, a legal expert and rector of Diponegoro University in
\nSemarang, said things have changed since Sudomo's Kopkamtib days
\nwhen he could go around blaming the extreme left and right for
\nproblems in the country.<\/p>\n
"Then, Islam did not have much of a political role and was
\nremote from power. But now, Moslems are within or closer to the
\ngovernment.<\/p>\n
"That's why any statement using past inferences should be
\nreworded for the current condition," said Muladi, who is also a
\nmember of the National Commission on Human Rights.<\/p>\n
Sudomo could have stated the "extreme right" and not named any
\nparticular Islamic group, he added.<\/p>\n
In Yogyakarta, around 40 university students formed a group
\ncalled the Young Moslem Generation of Yogyakarta to initiate
\ncourt action against Sudomo.<\/p>\n
"Sudomo's remarks could stir unrest and give a bad image to
\nMoslems," Sri Harjono, the group's spokesman, said on Friday.<\/p>\n
The group is challenging Sudomo to prove his accusations in
\ncourt. "If he can't prove them, then he should retract his
\nstatement and issue a public apology."<\/p>\n
Sudomo should resign, he said. "He is no longer fit to hold
\npublic office." (har\/23)<\/p>",
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