Villagers struggle with dark past<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Talangsari, Lampung<\/p>\n
Talangsari was an ordinary village with ordinary people living
\nan ordinary life.<\/p>\n
That was until 1989, before military troops stormed the
\nvillage to crush a Muslim militant group led by Anwar Warsidi
\nthat had resided in Cihideung, one of the four hamlets in the
\nvillage.<\/p>\n
A.M. Hendropriyono, then an army colonel and chief of
\nLampung's Garuda Hitam Military Resort Command, led the operation
\nin which hundreds of people were killed.<\/p>\n
According to an official statement, as many as 27 people,
\nincluding Warsidi, were killed in the military attack on their
\ncompound on Feb. 8, 1989.<\/p>\n
Villagers, however, said that more than 300 people, including
\nthree residents who were not Warsidi's followers, were killed.
\nThe three were Suwarsono, Bejo and Imam Bakri, the younger
\nbrothers of one of the villagers, Turasih,<\/p>\n
\"We believe they were also buried around here, although there
\nwere no graves. Some of the corpses were said to have been dumped
\ninto this well,\" another villager, Mardi, said, pointing to a
\nwell near the village mosque that is now in disrepair.<\/p>\n
Warsidi moved to Cihideung a year before the incident and
\noccupied a small mosque here.<\/p>\n
According to Turasih, Warsidi's followers increased sharply in
\nthe following months and occupied land around the mosque and
\nestablished the Mujahidin group.<\/p>\n
\"Some of them used lu and gue (Jakarta dialect) to address
\neach other. They, men, women and children, arrived here at
\nnight,\" Turasih said.<\/p>\n
The newcomers were easily recognizable from their attire. The
\nmen wore white and black robes while the women wore head scarves.<\/p>\n
After occupying the mosque, they built makeshift houses around
\nthe mosque and practiced martial arts and archery.<\/p>\n
According to Al Chaidar's book entitled Lampung Bersimbah
\nDarah (Bloody Lampung) and Widjiono Wasis' book entitled Geger
\nTalangsari (Talangsari Riot), most of Warsidi's people were
\nfollowers of the Al-Mukmin Islamic boarding school in Ngruki,
\nSurakarta, Central Java.<\/p>\n
The boarding school was founded by militant preachers the late
\nAbdullah Sungkar and Abubakar Baasyir. They fled to Malaysia
\nshortly before the incident.<\/p>\n
Abubakar is currently being sought after by the Singapore
\ngovernment for leading the Islamic militant group Jama'ah
\nIslamiah whose members are under detention in Singapore and
\nMalaysia for alleged terrorist acts.<\/p>\n
Abubakar, who currently leads the Indonesian Mujahidin Council
\n(MMI), has repeatedly denied his involvement in the militant
\ngroup.<\/p>\n
So far, only four of Cihideung's 17 families have returned to
\nthe hamlet, which was closed for almost 10 years after the
\nincident. The four families paid village officials between Rp
\n250,000 (US$27) and Rp 500,000 to return to the village, Turasih
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"The other families are still staying with their relatives in
\nnearby districts. They don't have money to get their land back
\nand rebuild their houses,\" the mother of six children said.<\/p>\n
She claimed that none of the 17 families had any relation
\nwhatsoever with Warsidi.<\/p>\n
The villagers, who live a simple life, are hoping for
\ncompensation from Hendropriyono, now chief of the State
\nIntelligence Agency (BIN), to help them reclaim their land and
\nrebuild their houses which were burned down during the bloody
\nincident.<\/p>\n
\"We beg Pak Hendro to give compensation and rebuild our
\nhouses. It would revive our quiet village,\" Mardi, 60, told The
\nJakarta Post without mentioning the amount of compensation the
\nvillagers sought.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/villagers-struggle-with-dark-past-1447893297",
"image": ""
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