General accused of inciting hatred

JAKARTA (JP): A group formed from seven Muslim organizations on Tuesday demanded the Jakarta Police summon Maj. Gen. (ret) Theo Syafei for allegedly spreading groundless information and hatred against Islam.

A leader of the Islamic Defender Association, Margiono, said the group would not file suit against the former chief of the Udayana military command, but leave it to police to take action.

The group claims Theo disparaged Muslims during a speech before Christian youths at a church in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, last month.

It alleges Theo said Muslims were ambitiously pursuing the establishment of an Islamic state by 2003 and would do anything to achieve their goal.

"We merely want to remind police that if they fail to do anything about what has been spread among the public, it will be too late as Muslims will get angry."

Margiono said he wished to avoid any religious conflicts between Christians and Muslims.

"It's better to prevent possible conflicts caused by the misunderstanding now."

Margiono said Theo's statements were shrewd and professional, showing he was a true politician.

Cassettes and transcripts of the speech are reportedly in public circulation. New tabloid Abadi published the purported transcript.

Margiono said police could summon Theo without the behest of any group.

After meeting group members, city police chief Maj. Gen. Noegroho Djajoesman told reporters the police would respond to the appeal.

He would not give a specific schedule on when police would summon Theo, one of the most respected figures in the Armed Forces.

Noegroho said police had already conducted preliminary investigations on the distributed cassettes and transcripts.

"We have already realized that the distribution of the cassettes will raise tension among believers."

Theo could face charges of violating Article 156 of the Criminal Code on the spreading of hatred, which carries a maximum penalty of a five-year imprisonment.

Theo's housekeeper said on Tuesday he had been out of town for two days.

Theo, veteran of the Indonesian military campaign in East Timor which began in 1976, no longer holds public office.

He fell out of favor with the military and the government of then president Soeharto in 1997 after departing from the official line on various political issues during his term as an Armed Forces legislator. (emf)