Jakarta – Chairman of the East Java chapter of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) organization Ali Maschan Moesa supports police efforts to arrest those involved in the burning of the East Java provincial office of the Golkar party in Surabaya.

"I have asked NU followers to not resort to anarchy and I'm convinced they will not do such a thing. However, there were non-NU elements in the attack, including PRD and FRT," Ali said as quoted by Antara. PRD is the People's Democratic Party while FRT stands for the Front for Total Reform.

Separately, chairman of the East Java Ansor youth organization, a youth wing of NU, HM Rofiq, asserted that NU followers could not have launched the attack, saying the presence of NU leaders among the protesters prevented such a thing. "In fact, I received reports of non-NU people who provoked the attack and burning of the Golkar office. The provocateurs were reported to have watched the building since the past three days," said Rofiq.