MUI urges police to free hard-liners

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.