Mob raids Surabaya police station over 'sorcerer'

SURABAYA (JP): Hundreds of fearful residents ransacked a police station in Kenjeran district on Friday morning after officers refused to hand over a man they suspected was a sorcerer.

A clash occurred when the mob continued to vandalize the building despite the officers' insistence that Jupri, a resident of Gempol district, Pasuruan regency, had merely come to meet a Koranic instructor.

Residents, unsettled by a recent murder spree in East Java in which more than 150 people have been killed, had attacked Jupri before police put him in protective custody.

But the rumor spread that the man was actually a "ninja killer" -- so dubbed because of the dark clothing and masks reportedly used by the murderers -- who had targeted the teacher.

A crowd gathered outside the police station and demanded his release.

"The villagers mistakenly identified him as one who practiced black magic (santet)," a police officer said. Jupri is now in the custody of the East Java Police.

The attack was the latest incident related to the gruesome and unsolved killing spree in East Java's regencies beginning over two months ago. Originally targeting people considered black magic practitioners, many of the later victims were Moslem preachers and Koranic teachers.

Meanwhile, President B.J. Habibie assured a visiting U.S. official on Friday he would take vigorous steps to stop the killings and punish the perpetrators.

"He assured me that as the president of Indonesia he does not only share my concern but ... would take effective steps to put the practice to an end," U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia Stanley Roth said after meeting the President at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta.

East Java Military Commander Maj. Gen. Djoko Subroto has disagreed with the local people's claims on the presence of people in black ninja suits.

"The ninja's presence in the town of Banyuwangi is just the local people's illusion," he told reporters after the closing ceremony of a meeting of regional military commanders at the Army headquarters in Jakarta on Friday.

He dismissed speculation the killings were organized and conducted by professionals.

"How can people say that the killings were organized, while the range of the incident covered such large areas?"

Police have recorded 142 victims killed in 11 regencies in East Java, most in Banyuwangi. Some independent organizations put the deaths at more than 150.

Djoko also dismissed rumors that members of the Army's Special Force (Kopassus) were involved in the killings.

"There is no indication of Kopassus members' involvement. I've checked with the alleged murderers," he said, referring to suspects in custody.

The military commander suggested an "integrated" approach to solving the case.

"We cannot only rest on the security approach, but also psychological and cultural approaches." He insisted the specter of ninjas was one example of how locals were deceived into believing falsehoods.

Sociocultural observer Emha Ainun Najib separately called for members of the Armed Forces (ABRI) to be serious in dealing with the murders, at the very least to dispel perceptions of indifference.

"Let's say that no ABRI members were involved in the murders. But, why have they been so slow and late in responding to the murders?" he told a discussion on violence held by the National Front group of government critics.

In Semarang, chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN) Amien Rais called for immediate actions to curb the killings.

"ABRI and security officers should not get caught in debates whether the murders ... were politically motivated. They must calm the people by arresting the murderers and bring them to trial," Amien said on Friday.

Also in Semarang, law professor of Diponegoro University Satjipto Rahardjo said the Criminal Code should include articles which prevent alleged black magic practitioners from being targets of mobs.

"The Criminal Code should clearly define black magic (santet) as a crime, so that police can immediately arrest a person suspected of practicing it."

Minister of Justice Muladi has also suggested outlawing sorcery because of its potential to stir unrest.

Chairman of the People's Awakening Party (PKB) Matori Abdul Djalil slammed the killings as "political crimes" on Friday. (nur/imn/har/aan/prb)