Police meet Muslim leaders over arrests of activists
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Surabaya/Gresik
Police officers met with Muslim leaders on Friday to discuss the arrests of dozens of activists for their alleged involvement in a string of terrorist attacks in the country.
National Police Chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar met with Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) leaders on Friday morning, while National Police detectives chief Comr. Gen. Erwin Mappaseng and police spokesman Insp. Gen. Basyir A. Barmawi met with leaders of several Muslim organizations on Friday afternoon.
On Wednesday, Da'i held a meeting with Hasyim Muzadi, chairman of the country's largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama, which has about 40 million members.
Briefing the press after meeting with the MUI leaders, Da'i said police would continue arresting terrorist suspects as part of its war on terrorism. He, however, stressed that any arrest would follow the procedures in the Criminal Law Procedures Code (KUHAP).
"To avoid misunderstanding, as soon as we arrest terror suspects, we will inform their family members," he said after meeting with MUI leaders Amidhan, Nazri Adlani and Din Syamsuddin.
Police have arrested 18 people, including three on Friday, for their alleged involvement in terrorist acts in the country.
During the meeting, the MUI leaders gave their support for the fights against terrorism, but questioned the way the arrests were carried out.
It was also agreed during the meeting that police would avoid using repressive measures against arrested terrorist suspects.
"We agree that the arrest of any terrorist suspect will not be linked to Islam or Muslim activists," MUI secretary Din Syamsuddin said.
According to Din, Da'i acknowledged his oversight in the arrests and pledged the KUHAP, which obliges police to inform family members of arrests, would be followed in the future.
Leaders of several Muslim organizations, meanwhile, criticized police officers for arresting several activists, and accused them of torturing the detainees.
Mappaseng, however, said the police had arrested terrorist suspects, not Muslim activists.
"Police officers enforce the law. We never see the background or political affiliation of any terror suspect. Our concern is 'who does what,'" he said.
Mappaseng called on those criticizing the police not to provoke the people, but to bring the matter to the courts.
Responding to this statement, a member of the Muslim Defender Team, Abdul Khalik, said his team was preparing a lawsuit against the arrests, which he said were not in line with existing procedures.
Separately, NU chairman Hasyim said in Gresik, East Java, on Thursday that he had met with Gen. Da'i on Wednesday, during which the police chief admitted mistakes in the arrests.
"I met with police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar last night. Da'i acknowledged that technically there was a mistake in the arrests of the activists, namely the delay in informing family members," Hasyim said.
Muslim scholar Azyumardi Azra questioned on Friday police's arrests of Muslim activists, saying the arrests violated both human rights and existing laws.
Azyumardi said before making the arrests, police should have obtained permission from the head of the respective local court, as stipulated in Law No. 15/2003 on terrorism.
"In the law, it is stipulated that any arrest based on intelligence information must first be OK'd by the court. In the arrests of the Muslim activists, however, police failed to do this, so in this case they violated the law," said Azyumardi.
Meanwhile, about 50 members of the Indonesian Mujahidin Council staged a rally outside the National Police Headquarters on Friday to demand the release of the arrested activists.
The protesters unfurled banners which read: "Stop abductions", "Muslim activists are not terrorists" and "Release Muslim activists".