Leaflets on Islamic state

TEMANGGUNG, Central Java: The authorities are tracking down people who circulated anonymous leaflets urging local Moslems to join forces and turn Indonesia into an Islamic state.

The inflammatory leaflets also discredit the Armed Forces because it is not sympathetic to their cause.

"We are coordinating with related agencies to investigate the case and chase people making and circulating the pamphlets," Temanggung alert center chief Maj. Kasrofi told reporters yesterday.

According to official statistics, almost 90 percent of Indonesia's 200 million people are Moslems. But attempts to turn the country into an Islamic state is considered subversion and liable to capital punishment.

Regent Sardjono said that in the past, Temanggung was a stronghold of Usroh, an organization that sought to make Indonesia an Islamic state.

Its leaders were detained and many of them fled, possibly to a third country, he said. "Perhaps they are waging a clandestine movement and are responsible for the leaflets," he said. (har)