Military denies role in killing spree

Military denies role in killing spree

SURABAYA (JP): The chief of the Brawijaya Military Command has
strongly denied involvement of a military member in the killing
spree in the city of Malang, East Java, and rebuked the media for
reporting the allegation.

Maj. Gen. Sudi Silalahi said on Wednesday that the allegation
was baseless.

"We cannot say and do anything based only on allegations. For
God's sake, I guarantee that no military members were involved in
the killings. They (military members) have religion and morals,
while the killings were sadistic and immoral."

He said he had sent a letter of protest to the Surabaya branch
of the Legal Aid Institute (LBH), which announced that a military
member, identified only as ER, was found by residents at the site
of the ninth killing on Dec. 23 in Malang, some 90 kms south of
Surabaya.

The LBH investigation team alleged that ER of the Kalipare
Military Subdistrict Command (Koramil) was behind the murder.

Sudi said the LBH allegation was wrong. "I have checked at
Kalipare Koramil. No one there is identified as ER. So the
allegation was meant to play the military against the people."

In the letter of protest dated Dec. 30, Sudi said that the
Surabaya LBH statements were biased and intended to corner the
military.

In an interview with The Jakarta Post, director of Surabaya
LBH Indro Sugianto said his organization would disclose the final
report from the investigation team.

"Now the people have become cleverer. There is no need to hide
everything (from the people). The people deserve to get accurate
and adequate information," Indro said.

The ninth victim was a 65-year-old woman, identified as Alimah
Saniwar.

She was found with severe slash wounds to her back at her home
in Sumber Runcing village early Wednesday morning last week.

Witnesses said the victim's house was set alight by a mob.

East Java Police chief Maj. Gen. M. Dayat announced that 35
people were detained as suspects throughout Malang precinct.

Some of them were believed to be the instigators of the
killing spree. "One of them, identified as Maryono, hailed from
Jakarta. He escaped and is believed to have returned to Jakarta.
We will hunt him everywhere," he told journalists at a breaking
of the fast gathering.

Dayat also urged people to be on alert for the murders to
spread. "The killings will likely move to Blitar and Kediri. Both
towns have the same characteristics as South Malang."

The killings were well organized and backed by certain groups,
Dayat added without elaboration.

Blitar and Kediri are some 100 kms west of Malang.

Malang Regional Police chief Col. Aryanto said last week that
investigations indicated political motives in the murders.

He did not go into details, but disclosed that most of the
suspects detained were relatives of members of the outlawed
Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).

Observers also assumed that the killings might have a similar
motive to the slayings of at least 150 people in six regencies in
East Java, including Banyuwangi, in September 1998.

The initial targets were people suspected of practicing black
magic, but Muslim preachers were among the later victims.
(nur/sur)