More groups condemn Kontras attack

JAKARTA: Mass organizations grouped in the Friends of Islam Civil Society condemned a recent attack on the offices of a human rights group in Jakarta.

Group coordinator Rizaldin Kurniawan said on Friday that the attack was a serious threat to law enforcement and to people's criticism of state violence.

The offices of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) was attacked on May 27 by the Pemuda Panca Marga, a nationalistic group of veteran soldiers' relatives.

The attack was believed to have links with Kontras' stance on the ongoing military operation in Aceh.

The Friends of Islam Civil Society consists of some organizations under the Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah Muslim groups. They are: the Muhammadiyah Youths, the Lakpesdam NU, Ahimsa, Rahima, Nasyi'atul Aisyiyah, State Islamic University's center for human resource development and the Institute for the Free Flow of Information. -- Antara