ABRI urged to probe death of NU member

JAKARTA (JP): Abdurrahman Wahid, head of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), demanded an investigation yesterday into a report that a member of the Moslem organization died in custody in East Java last week.

Gus Dur, as Abdurrahman is affectionately called, said he had petitioned Armed Forces Chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung to look into the matter.

"We sent a letter (to Feisal) today, demanding that the authorities investigate the death of Ahmad Sidik, an NU member from Situbondo," he told journalists.

Gus Dur said Ahmad, 24, died after being questioned at the Situbondo military and police offices over his role in Oct. 10 religious riot.

He said that two of the riot's alleged instigators are also seriously ill after questioning at the local security headquarters.

Military officials in Jakarta and East Java were unavailable for comment yesterday.

Sidik was one of the 54 rioters arrested for allegedly instigating riots in the predominantly Moslem Situbondo, renown for its reputable Islamic boarding schools.

The riots were sparked by Situbondo Moslems' anger over the jail term the prosecution requested for a Moslem sect member standing trial on charges of blasphemy against Islam.

The angry mob took the law into its own hands after it considered the five-year jail term for the accused, Saleh, too lenient. People reportedly attempted to grab Saleh from the police with the intention of killing him, but failed.

Saleh, a senior high school graduate, endured the wrath of local Moslems after stating in a public debate that respected Moslem preacher As'ad Syamsu Arifin, who was an NU leader, died under dubious circumstances; that the Prophet Muhammad was not God's messenger and that Moslems do not have to pray five times a day.

Twenty one churches, five Catholic elementary schools, one Christian orphanage, two plazas, a court building, three cars and five motorcycles were set ablaze or attacked during the riots.

Gus Dur asked for the nation's forgiveness for the attacks on the churches on the grounds that the riots were perpetrated mostly by NU members, while the government expressed regret over the incident that reportedly involved more than 10,000 angry people from Situbondo. (25/imn)