Minister suggests outlawing sorcery
SEMARANG (JP): Minister of Justice Muladi said on Thursday that sorcery, known locally as santet, should be made an offense under the Criminal Code because of its potential to stir up unrest in superstitious communities.
The minister said that black magic and witchcraft needed to be brought under the criminal law urgently.
"The impact of the issue is very disturbing and it often claims innocent victims," Muladi said after attending a graduation ceremony at Diponegoro University here.
Muladi said that anyone openly claiming to have the ability to kill or hurt other people with black magic must be punished.
"That would be one way to resolve the witchcraft issue," said Muladi.
Munir, the coordinator of the respected Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) said last week that at least 147 people had been killed in regencies in East Java, including 110 in Banyuwangi alone. Some of the earlier victims in the murder spree were people accused of practicing sorcery, however many victims were later found to be Moslem preachers and Koranic teachers.
Some of the murders were committed by angry neighbors, but most were perpetrated by groups of unidentified men wearing ninja-like dark clothing and masks.
Leaders of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) said many of the victims belonged to the organization's Banyuwangi, Situbondo, Pasuruan, Jember, Lumajang and Madura chapters.
National Police Spokesman Brig. Gen. Togar Sianipar, however, insisted that only one preacher was among the 95 deaths so far recorded by police.
"The police must give a thorough explanation to public. They must state whether the murders were plotted, and if so who masterminded them," Muladi said.
On Wednesday night an angry mob destroyed a police station in Semampir, Surabaya, because they believed an alleged shaman called Solikhan had taken refuge there.
"People become suspicious of just about anything nowadays," North Surabaya Police chief Lt. Col. Sunaryono said on Thursday.
Separately, the chairman of the East Java chapter of the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI), K.H. Misbah, urged the Armed Forces (ABRI) to take stern and transparent measures to bring the massacre to an end.
"If the security forces do not take any action and even allow the terror to continue then we will face even more severe danger," Misbah said after meeting with East Java Governor Imam Utomo.
Black magic is still common in Indonesian society. Javanese people call it santet or teluh, the Balinese call it leyak, and Batak people call it begu ganjang.
Mysticism surrounding the practice of black magic has it that sorcerers are obliged perform to vile acts such as rape a certain number of virgins to obtain their evil power.
In rural areas villagers suffering from common diseases are often believed to be the victims of black magic.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian Committee for World Moslem Solidarity (KISDI) said on Thursday that it deplored the conflicting statements made by government officials and politicians on the problem. The organization said the statements had worsened the situation.
The organization's chairman, H.A. Sumargono, said local officials and police in East Java appeared to be reluctant to take steps to calm the situation.
Sumargono said KISDI sent a six-member fact finding team to East Java last week.
They found that only 24 of the 114 victims they counted in Banyuwangi were shamans.
"The rest were teachers or ulemas," he said.
Meanwhile, Antara reported on Thursday that the chairman of MUI's West Java chapter, Totoh Abdul Fattah, had urged people to step up their guard to prevent a similar situation developing in the province.
"We must not tolerate any murder on the pretext of santet and we must not allow it to happen in West Java," Abdul said.
He said the public had no right to punish suspected sorcerers on their own and should instead take them to the police. (har/nur/prb)