Wiranto vows to investigate East Java killings

SURABAYA (JP): Minister of Defense and Security/Armed Forces (ABRI) Commander Gen. Wiranto vowed on Sunday to get to the bottom of mysterious killings in East Java which over the past two months has claimed the lives of at least 142 people accused of practicing black magic.

Wiranto, who was on a one-day visit to the province, appealed to the public not to suspect the Armed Forces of involvement in the killings.

"ABRI has conducted internal reforms in several areas, so do not judge ABRI by the old paradigm," he said during a meeting with 50 Moslem preachers in Banyuwangi. He added that ABRI would also seek out the mastermind, if there was any, behind the murders, and asked that the public be patient.

Wiranto, however, refused to comment on a statement by Moslem leader Abdurrahman Wahid, who on Saturday alleged that Cabinet ministers may be involved in the killing spree. "I do not want to send the country toward disintegration," Wiranto remarked.

Abdurrahman, who chairs Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Indonesia's largest Islamic organization, told a group of government critics that members of the Cabinet and several "non-structural officers" were behind the murders.

Abdurrahman, better known as Gus Dur, declined to mention any names, saying to do so would only create a furor. He also refused to explain how he came to the conclusion that senior politicians were involved in the killings.

"It's obvious that the masterminds are everywhere, both in the Cabinet and outside the formal (political) structure," he said.

Abdurrahman, who was reportedly ill on Sunday, said he doubted President B.J. Habibie was aware of the alleged involvement of his aides in the killings. "The President's staff do not give him accurate information. As far as I know Pak Habibie is a fair person and would never support such maneuvers," he said.

He called for an immediate and serious investigation into the murder spree which has claimed many NU Moslem preachers.

Police say that 142 people have been killed in 11 regencies in East Java. The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence puts the toll at 157. Most victims were in Banyuwangi.

Human rights campaigner Marzuki Darusman responded cautiously on Sunday to Abdurrahman's allegations, saying that Abdurrahman does not usually issue statements without supportive information.

Noted Moslem scholar Nurcholish Madjid said separately on SCTV that he hoped Abdurrahman's remarks were "the beginning of something more substantial." "I really hope it isn't true... Gus Dur has never had any bad intentions," Nurcholish said, adding that Abdurrahman could sometimes be hard to follow.

Minister of Manpower Fahmi Idris said on the sidelines of a Golkar leadership meeting on Sunday that Abdurrahman should report the matter to the police if he has evidence to support his claims.

Abdurrahman also cited attacks on the residence of oil tycoon Arifin Panigoro and the office of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) as further evidence of the involvement of high-ranking officials. "Habibie's administration has not responded, while the security forces, who knew about the (Jakarta) attacks, did not do anything," he said.

Around 100 members of the People's Savior Front attacked Arifin's South Jakarta residence on Oct. 2, calling him a traitor for supporting antigovernment student demonstrations earlier this year. On Oct. 12, hundreds of members of the People's Voice Committee smashed several windows of the YLBHI office.

Abdurrahman said those involved in the East Java killings and the attacks on Arifin's house and the YLBHI office were hired.

However, he dismissed speculation that the killings were linked to a reported conflict between NU and the Armed Forces (ABRI). "ABRI remains a good friend of NU. If ABRI has failed to move fast, it is because it has limited financial means and personnel to respond quickly to the situation," he said.

He also dismissed suggestions that the murders were linked to a rumored plan to bring former president Soeharto back into politics, or to a planned coalition between NU's National Awakening Party (PKB) and the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) under Megawati Soekarnoputri.

"The move (killing spree) is meant to paralyze NU," he said.

"It is also meant to trigger civil war between NU and Muhammadiyah," he added in reference to the second largest Moslem organization. He dismissed officials' statements that the murders were perpetrated by members of the outlawed Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). "What I have learned about the murders... is that they are meant to maintain the status quo," he said.

Separately in East Java on Sunday, thousands of members of an NU task force were deployed to guard Moslem preachers in the provincial capital of Surabaya and in neighboring areas.

Dozens of people from a group called Nation's Solidarity for Victims of the Banyuwangi Tragedy also held a mass prayer at the Proclamation Monument in Central Jakarta.

Also on Sunday, hundreds of people in Banjarnegara, Central Java, attacked a house allegedly owned by a sorcerer. The owner, Tiardjo, reportedly escaped. Banyumas Police chief Col. Isnandar said the incident was under investigation. (imn/nur/aan/45/byg)