Police believe May riots not organized
Police believe May riots not organized
JAKARTA (JP): Police have not found any indication the massive
riots which hit the city in mid-May were organized, city police
chief Maj. Gen. Noegroho Djajoesman said Saturday.
He said the results of the police investigation into the 16
people named as agitators in the riots showed they acted
independently.
"They did not know each other and what they did was
spontaneous and not organized by certain parties," he said.
The National Commission on Human Rights said on July 2 that
the riots were instigated by organized groups. The fact-finding
team set up by the government is currently still conducting its
investigation into the unrest. Its members consist of
representatives of the Armed Forces, government institutions,
Komnas HAM and non-governmental organizations.
Of the suspects, two were not detained at the city police
headquarters due to guarantees from their relatives; ex-convict-
turned-preacher Anton Medan alias M. Ramdhan Effendy and an
alleged agitator in the Balaraja area in Tangerang named Ramli.
The 14 detained at several city police precincts are
identified as Belek, Edi Siswanto, Matsroji, Agustinus, Epon,
Sukarman, Subur, Matsari, Teguh, Yadi, Sofyan Arief, Sofran, Iwan
Suprityatna and Ali Sofyan.
The 16 were named as agitators in the riots based on a
confession from 1,119 looters arrested by the police. Their
identities were uncovered following a series of investigations
starting last month.
Noegroho said three of the suspects would soon be brought to
trial as their dossiers had been handed over to the prosecutor's
office.
He explained that police were currently cross-checking the
witnesses' testimonies and facts found in the Anton Medan case.
Diverse testimony was provided by the witnesses in the field
who claimed they saw Anton and Anton egging on the mobs, Noegroho
said without disclosing details.
"Therefore, we are cross-checking with them to find out about
the truth. But we named him a suspect based on sufficient grounds
about his involvement in the fray," he said.
Late last month, the police interrogation of Anton Medan was
postponed until further notice.
Anton has been represented by 20 lawyers from the Indonesian
Legal Aid Foundation since he was named a suspect on July 10 for
allegedly leading mobs in the looting and burning in the Gunung
Sahari area, Central Jakarta.
Noegroho also said the police did not find any connection
between the agitators and reports of widespread rapes of Chinese-
Indonesians.
"We haven't found any evidence whatsoever which links the
agitators and the rape reports," he added. (edt)