Student senate attacks 'violent' police search
Student senate attacks 'violent' police search
JAKARTA (JP): The student senate of the University of
Indonesia's (UI) School of Letters lambasted a violent police
search of a student residence in Lenteng Agung, South Jakarta.
The search on Dec. 28 targeted documents of a banned Islamic
organization, Negara Islam Indonesia (NII).
Students said last week security officials may have suspected
them because several UI students who hailed from Tasikmalaya had
visited the house.
An anonymous source said the visit took place two days after a
riot broke out in Tasikmalaya following police mistreatment of
three religious teachers.
"A few hours before the house raid security officers had
arrested a group with NII documents living near the students'
house," the source said.
Arief Hafidiyanto, the senate chairman, condemned the search
in which students said at least one of them was hit by officers.
"We deplore the search as a groundless act without considering
any presumption of innocence," he said.
"We demand the oppressive staff be punished and the search
procedure be amended," said Arief, adding that the search had
been very traumatic for those involved. Another source said the
search attracted crowds to the house, frightening the students.
They said they were afraid the raid would leave a bad image of
them in their neighborhood.
The residence was a house rented by members of the faculty's
Islamic student organization not far from the campus.
Students said the officers did not show any search warrant and
abused the students when they demanded it.
One of the students present at the time of the search said he
saw strangers in black vests "turning our house upside down."
"I saw my friends sitting hopelessly in the corner," the
source who requested anonymity said.
He quoted officers who said they had suspected the residents
were NII members because they had similar practices; playing the
tambourine loudly, reciting the Koran behind closed doors, and
never wearing shoes inside.
The Indonesian Islamic State concept was first announced by a
religious leader, Maridjan Kartosuwirjo, in West Java in 1949.
NII grew rapidly in the 1950s when it found supporters in
Central Java, Aceh and South Sulawesi. The movement was then
charged as subversive by the Sukarno government which eventually
crushed it in 1962 after Kartosuwirjo was arrested.
During the 1950s, Kartosuwirjo's supporters frequently used
the Tasikmalaya area as their hideout.
The source said he knew the strangers were military personnel
from their vehicles. "One car had the word 'URC' on it and the
other had 'Koramil' on it," he said. URC is the abbreviation of
Unit Reaksi Cepat, an emergency police squad and Koramil means
Military Command Area.
However the commander of the South Jakarta Military District,
Lt. Col. Yudo Lelono, said he had never heard of the search and
denied his men had anything to do with the search.
"We do not have cars with the word 'Koramil' on it. But I will
examine the complaint," said Yudo, promising to give a full
statement today.
One of the students said after 45 minutes of searching, the
men said they had entered the wrong house and left.
"One of them told me they mobbed the wrong house. Then they
just left," the student said. (36)