Preacher named suspect in bloody mid-May riots

Preacher named suspect in bloody mid-May riots

JAKARTA (JP): Police yesterday officially named Chinese-
Indonesian Anton Medan, an ex-con turned Moslem preacher, as a
suspect for his alleged role in leading mobs during the mid-May
riots.

City police chief Maj. Gen. Noegroho Djajoesman said: "He is
scheduled to be questioned at the city police headquarters here
on Monday at 9 a.m. to clarify the truth about several
accusations pointed against him during the May riots," Noegroho
told reporters.

According to Noegroho, at least 10 witnesses have admitted to
having seen Anton leading groups in the riots which involved
widespread looting and arson.

"But you have to remember this, he is not yet a guilty man.
This questioning is only part of the investigation to prove his
involvement. He is innocent until proven guilty," Noegroho
reiterated.

Anton, a former convict who turned Moslem preacher has
rejected two summons from the military police on the grounds that
he is not a member of the military.

"I am ready to be questioned by the police. I want this thing
to be cleared up," Anton told a television station yesterday.

Noegroho also said yesterday that police would in the next few
days conditionally release Andi Arief, chairman of Indonesian
Students Solidarity for Democracy, or SMID, a wing of the
outlawed Democratic People's Party (PRD). Andi who was detained
for his alleged role in the Tanah Tinggi bomb explosion in Tanah
Tinggi last year.

"He will be released soon based on his parents' and lawyer's
guarantee. But he will still be a suspect in the Tanah Tinggi
case," Noegroho said. (edt)