Serial killings are jeopardizing reform: Habibie
BANDUNG (JP): President B.J. Habibie said here on Wednesday that a series of mysterious killings of Moslem preachers and alleged black magic practitioners in East Java was jeopardizing the country's move toward democratic reform.
Addressing a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of Youth Pledge Day, he said the bloodshed, in which more than 150 people have been killed since August, has spread terror and suspicion.
"I call on people of all levels in society to step up their alertness and cooperate with the security forces to prevent these crimes from continuing to disturb the reform process," Habibie said in a ceremony, held at the Military Police Training Center in Cimahi, Bandung regency, West Java.
Bands of killers, said to dress in ninja-like black clothing, have targeted suspected black magic practitioners and Moslem preachers, and mobs have set upon and lynched people they suspected of involvement in the killings.
While the President called for an immediate end to the killings, Cabinet ministers took turns disassociating themselves from the allegation by Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) chairman Abdurrahman Wahid that one or more of them masterminded the serial killings.
After Minister of Cooperatives and Small Enterprises Adi Sasono's statement in his own defense last week, Minister of Home Affairs Syarwan Hamid denied any complicity in the murders.
"I just wonder... after Adi Sasono denied his involvement, the allegations were directed toward another Cabinet member, and so on and so on," Syarwan told reporters after the ceremony.
"It's very illogical to say that I engineered... the killings." He added that it was the Armed Forces headquarters' responsibility to stop the murders and conduct investigations into the matter.
Syarwan challenged Abdurrahman to prove his allegation.
He dismissed allegations there had been a radiogram sent to related regents by the home affairs ministry, giving instructions to local government officials to take necessary actions regarding the killings.
"There has been no radiogram issued by the home affairs ministry. I'd like to know the content if there is any," he said.
Meanwhile, Minister of Defense and Security/Armed Forces Chief Gen. Wiranto declined to comment on the deadline set by NU that security apparatus uncover the murders before the end of November.
"I don't think that I have to comment on the deadline set by NU as it will only create new problems," he separately told reporters after the ceremony.
Despite the ministers' denial, Abdurrahman on Wednesday renewed his allegation of Cabinet members' involvement.
"I remain consistent that Cabinet members and several 'nonstructural officers' were behind the murders," he said in a written statement, copies of which were delivered to the press during the launching of NU's Duta Masyarakat daily at the Pulau Dua Seafood Restaurant in Central Jakarta.
In Surabaya, East Java Police Chief Maj. Gen. Moh. Dayat defended on Wednesday the Banyuwangi Regent T. Purnomo Sidhik's decision to compile a list of black magic practitioners.
He said the data was needed to allow security authorities to evacuate people at risk and defend them against public anger.
East Java Governor Imam Utomo said the local court would try the 52 dossiers of 200 murder suspects within the next few days.
The killings have reportedly spread to the Central Java town of Pati, where angry mobs killed two people on Tuesday evening even though they produced complete identity documents as demanded by the crowd.
The two victims, Sukarsono of the Dororejo subdistrict in Pati and Sukardi of the Jembaran subdistrict in Salatiga regency, were beaten to death by the mobs. The two, according to their documents, were businessmen. (43/har/aan/imn)