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Police pursuing five suspects in FPI attack on Monas rally
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH: University students (photo, above) stage a rally in Cirebon, West Java, on Tuesday, urging the government to disband the hard-line Islam Defenders Front (FPI)
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ENOUGH IS ENOUGH: University students (photo, above) stage a rally in Cirebon, West Java, on Tuesday, urging the government to disband the hard-line Islam Defenders Front (FPI). (JP/Nana Rukmana)
Police are pursuing five men wanted for their roles in Sunday's attack of National Alliance for the Freedom of Faith and Religion (AKKBB) activists at the National Monument (Monas) in Central Jakarta.
"We are in the process of arresting the five suspects," Sr. Comr. Ketut Untung Yoga Ana said here Monday.
He said the police, who had yet to arrest anyone as of Monday night, were also gathering evidence to determine who committed violent acts during the clash.
Earlier on Monday, Islamic Troop Command (KLI) spokesman Munarman told reporters he was the leader of the attack and blamed the alliance for triggering the clash.
"They wanted it to happen because they spread their wrongful accusations against us in the newspapers," he told a press conference at the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) headquarters in Petamburan, West Jakarta.
"We are defending Islam and the government should ban Ahmadiyah. The clash in Monas is just an initial warning to whoever supports Ahmadiyah. I have prepared my people for a possible long-term war," said the former chairman of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute Foundation (YLBHI).
Munarman said the KLI consisted of multiple Islamic fronts in Indonesia, but declined to name which ones.
At least 34 people were injured during the clash at Monas on Sunday, when the AKKBB intended to stage a rally in support of Ahmadiyah followers and also commemorate the 63rd anniversary of Pancasila state ideology.
One of the victims, Mohammad Guntur Romli, had to undergo surgery for a fractured cheek bone and broken nose after he was beaten with bamboo sticks while trying to protect a woman next to him.
"The government should ban the FPI for their violence," the writer of Jurnal Perempuan said.
The 30-year-old, who is undergoing medical treatment at the Gatot Sobroto Army Central Hospital in Jakarta, could barely see out of a swollen right eye.
Another victim, Dedi C. Achmad, 57, was also treated at the same hospital.
"My case is similar to Guntur's. I could not stand seeing a woman being beaten by the FPI. When I tried to beg them not to hurt her, they beat me with bamboo sticks instead," said the Ahmadiyah follower.
The police, who deployed 1,200 officers at the scene, did not make any arrests in order to avoid greater chaos, Central Jakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Heru Winarko said, adding that he was cooperating with the Jakarta Police headquarters to arrest perpetrators of the clash.
"We definitely won't let them wander around without being responsible for their crime," he said. (ind)
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