Candra Malik, Solo – Tensions over the burial of a terrorist are not over, with hundreds of residents protesting over the weekend at the two cemeteries near Solo considered for the interment.

Hadi Susilo, aka Adib, who was one of the four killed during a police raid on his rented house in Kepuhsari near Solo on Sept. 17, was to be buried at Pracimoloyo public cemetery in Sukoharjo, Central Java. That did not sit well with residents who protested the burial on Saturday.

Following the rejection, it was suggested that he be buried at the Khusus Orang Shalat (Only for People Who Pray) Cemetery in Sragen, near Solo, where Air Setiawan and Eko Sarjono, suspected terrorists killed during another raid, were buried.

On Sunday afternoon, residents of Kalijambe in Kaliyoso, where the cemetery is located, also demonstrated against laying the terror suspect to rest. "We reject the remains of a [suspected] terrorist to be buried in this village," said Sucahyono, a resident who participated in the rally.

He said people would do anything necessary to prevent Susilo's body from entering the village. "We do not want the image of [our] village to be tainted."

Officials have yet to decide where to bury Susilo's body. "We have fought to have Susilo's remains accepted here," said Katino, chief of the ward in Kagokan, Solo, where Susilo hails from.

"Kagokan residents are willing to allow the [funeral to be held at his] parents' house, but when the residents near Pracimoloyo Public Cemetery rejected [the burial], we have no idea what to do next," Katino said.

Wahyudin, the director of Al Mukmin Islamic Boarding School in Ngruki on the outskirts of Solo, regretted the slow response of the police on the matter.

"Do not let people fight with one another. Do not let your hatred toward a group make you unjust. This person has already died. What's all the fuss for," he said.

Solo Police Chief Sr. Comr. Joko Irwanto said he could not take a side on the debate. "We are still waiting for the decision and order from the National Police about how local officers should respond to people's rejection of the suspected terrorist's body," he said

Joko said that if the National Police allowed the remains to be taken to Kagokan and buried, the local police would provide security. Joko said people had the right to mount protests to express their aspirations.