Kopassus 'not E. Java killers'

Kopassus 'not E. Java killers'

JAKARTA (JP): The Armed Forces (ABRI) denied on Monday the
involvement of members of the Army's Special Force (Kopassus) in
mysterious killings in East Java which have claimed more than 150
lives, mostly black magic practitioners and Islamic teachers.

"It is not true. If there were Kopassus members who deserted
their posts and were involved in the killings, they must have
been arrested by the authorities," Syamsul Ma'arif, ABRI's
spokesman, was quoted as saying by Antara news service.

He said the cases were purely criminal and there was no
indication of other motives. East Java Police chief Maj. Gen M.
Dayat said on Friday the police had arrested 334 people suspected
of involvement in the murders, and dossiers of 52 of them would
be forwarded to the local prosecutor's office.

In the provincial capital of Surabaya, Brawijaya Regional
Military Commander Maj. Gen. Djoko Subroto appealed for calm
among locals who have taken the law into their own hands against
suspected killers in recent weeks.

The murders have been attributed to "ninjas", so called
because the marauding bands of men operating at night are usually
dressed in black and wear masks.

Suspicious mobs in several East Java districts have attacked
at least 24 people suspected of being killers, slaying 10 of
them.

On Saturday hundreds of people, angered when police refused to
hand over a suspected killer to them, rioted in the East Java
town of Pasuruan. The violence broke out after a man, suspected
of being involved in the killings and terrorization of local
Moslem leaders, was arrested on the highway in the nearby
Ketapaan area. (byg)