Indonesia: Chief detective deflects blame, says Ahmadis partly to blame for lynching

Comr. Gen. Ito Sumardi was speaking at a meeting on Thursday with House of Representatives Commission VIII. During the meeting.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch |
Source/Credit: The Jakarta Post | National
By TJP | March 3, 2011
Edited: Ahmadiyya Times

The brutal lynching of members of an Ahmadiyah congregation in Banten last month was partly provoked by members of the sect themselves, National Police chief detective Ito Sumardi says.

Police has been widely blamed for unprofessional handling of the threat to Ahmadiyah as only a handful of police officers were dispatched to meet the threat. A few uniformed officers were seen standing around when Ahmadiyah were attacked  and 3 members were beaten to death.


Comr. Gen. Ito Sumardi was speaking at a meeting on Thursday with House of Representatives Commission VIII. During the meeting, he quoted a statement allegedly made by Deden Sujana, a member of the Ahmadi sect, during the attack.

According to the investigation and previous statements in the media, police were pressuring Ahmadiyah to obey the Islamist extremists demands and abandon their homes and faith.

Deden instructed one of the officers guarding his house, where other members of the sect were staying, to leave, Ito said, as quoted by tribunnews.com.

"You gentlemen should not be troubled. If you can no longer guard me, just leave. I will hang on until my last drop of blood," Deden said as quoted by Ito.

Ito also revealed several names of suspects linked to the attack that left three Ahmadis dead and several others injured.

He named H. Ujang Surya as a figure who had allegedly proposed attack a few days before it occurred.

Ujang was said to have worked with another figure, Endang Binuangeun, to organize the attack.

"Endang is also known to have sent the same short messages on February 4 to a group in Cikeusik, Banten. Endang first started to spread his influence and provoke religious figures and students [to oppose the Ahmadiyah sect] on January 26, 2011.

"The messages were calls to drive Cikeusik Ahmadis out, using the word 'ngagempur' [meaning attack or destroy]," he said.

Ito, however, did not elaborate on who Endang Binuangeun was. His name is not on the list of 12 supsects already facing charges related to the Cikeusik incident.

Endang instructed the mob to wear blue ribbons, which are visible in the video recordings of the attack.


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