MUI urges police to free hard-liners
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Indonesia's top Islamic authority is demanding that police release more than 100 Muslim hardliners who are being detained for a violent sweep of gambling dens in the East Java town of Ngawi earlier this month.
On Saturday, the Secretary General of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), Din Syamsuddin, said his office had written to the National Police Headquarters in Jakarta, urging the release of the detainees.
In addition, he added, a team from central MUI headquarters has met with East Java Police Chief Insp. Gen. Sutanto to follow up on the request for the release of the radicals, who belong to Laskar Jihad, according to Antara.
Din made the statement while on a visit to the Laskar Jihad militant detainees at police cells in Surabaya, East Java.
He said police should at least postpone their investigation until the end of the fasting month of Ramadhan on Dec. 17 if they could not accept the demand.
A spokesman for the East Java police, Adj. Sr. Comr. Said Harunantyo, said his office was considering the MUI's demand.
At least 102 jihad (or Holy War) militants were arrested in East Java for raiding gambling dens and a liquor party in Ngawi, where they also abducted six gamblers.
Later, the attackers went on to kidnap Yuwono Susetyo, a local leader of President Megawati Soekarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI Perjuangan), whom they accused of encouraging an attack on their headquarters in the town.
Yuwono, who was reportedly among those at a raided gambling center, is still missing.
Dien went on to urge that police investigate all those involved in the episode -- including the gamblers who ran the illegal lotteries that had been raided in the first place; so far, none have been arrested.
"We hope justice will be upheld for all those deserving such fairness," Din said. "The police should be impartial in dealing with those responsible for the problem ... the gamblers, the financiers and those backing such unlawful acts should be brought to justice."
On Saturday, in a related incident, Deputy House of Representatives Speaker A.M. Fatwa appealed to the kidnappers to release Yuwono in a bid to help security authorities.
Fatwa, who is also co-chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN), spoke to the press in Surabaya after meeting with East Java Governor Imam Utomo Sutanto and Ngawi Regent Harsono to find out the details of the incident that also allegedly involved a local PAN figure, Muchyi Effendi.
Muchyi, whose house was used as the Laskar Jihad office in Ngawi and was attacked by a mob, no longer served as a local treasurer of the PAN, Fatwa said.
He denied any links between his party, and the notorious militant group.
Fatwa hopes the investigation will be concluded before the Idul Fitri holidays.