The National Police suspects the outlawed Fajar Nusantara Movement (Gafatar) of using a soft approach to convince people to join in the wake of the disappearances of several people thought to have joined the group.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen Anton Charliyan said on Tuesday that Gafatar had relaxed its religious stipulations.

"They use compassion and antiviolence as their guise," Anton claimed.

"Their religious requirements are actually very low. That'€™s attractive for anyone who finds religious observance to be a chore and a hassle. Muslims in Gafatar aren'€™t obliged to fast or pray," he said as quoted by Antara news agency.

The organization recently resurfaced in the news with rumors of people reported missing having joined the group. A medical doctor, Rica Tri Handayani, and her son were reported missing on Dec. 30; she was an active member of the group when she was at university. Rica and her son were found by police on Monday at Pangkalan Bun airport in Central Kalimantan.

The Yogyakarta Police recently apprehended husband and wife Eko Purnomo and Veni Orinando, naming them suspects on kidnapping charges. The duo could face 12 years in prison, Yogyakarta Police detective division officer Adj. Sr. Comr Ganda Saragih said as reported by kompas.com.

Ganda refused to provide further details on the alleged involvement of the suspects with Gafatar.

Yogyakarta Police spokesperson Adj. Sr. Comr Anny Pudjiastuti said on Tuesday that there had been 12 cases of Yogyakarta citizens going missing, with strong indications they had joined Gafatar.

"The figure could be higher than that but we only handle the cases that are formally reported," she said.

Kasihan Police chief Comr. Suwandi said the police had received reports of two families missing on Tuesday; the cases are suspected to be related to Gafatar.

Bibit Rustamto, former village chief of Bangunjiwo village in Bantul, Yogyakarta, said that in 2011, during his tenure as village chief, Gafatar had established a base camp in the village. Five members of the group had come to his house and asked for permission to hold artistic and cultural activities, he said.

Bibit recalled that the group often held closed-doors meetings attended by a great many participants.

"As they kept holding closed-door meetings, we asked them to move," he said.

Kompas.com has reported that the organization, which was established in 2011, has a management class numbering in the thousands, with thousands more ordinary members spread around the country.

The group's spiritual leader is Ahmad Musadeq, who once declared himself a prophet.

Gafatar chairman Mahful M. Tumanurung said in a speech at the group'€™s national meeting in Jakarta in February that Gafatar was not a religious organization.

"Religion issues are not Gafatar's business. Let'€™s leave that to experts and individuals," he said as quoted by the group's website gafatar.org.

In his speech to 3,000 members, Mahful also declared that the group would not change its platform to attempt to garner political power. (rin)

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