Jakarta – Although the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) denied any involvement of its sympathizers in a recent attack on the office of a mass organization in Ciampea, Bogor, West Java Police chief Insp. Gen. Anton Charliyan was certain the FPI was implicated, based on evidence found in the field.
"The lawyers team insisted it was not FPI members that committed the attack. Just [keep denying it]! If they were not the perpetrators of the attack, why did they file a detention delay request for several people we had arrested? Why did FPI members visit them at the detention facility?" asked Anton, as quoted by kompas.com on Monday.
"Eventually everybody will know which side is right and which is wrong. Anyone who has acted anarchically and caused damage will be sanctioned firmly, because Indonesia is a country that upholds the rule of law. So I do hope all West Java residents are willing to adhere to the law."
As reported earlier, a clash between FPI members and followers of mass organization Gerakan Masyarakat Bawah Indonesia (Indonesian Grassroots Society Movement, or GMBI) erupted when FPI leader Rizieq Shihab underwent police questioning at the West Java Police headquarters in Bandung, on Thursday.
Following the clash, several people believed to be FPI members attacked and burned down the GMBI secretariat in Tegalwaru village, Ciampea district, Bogor regency, early on Friday.
Anton said police would continue to investigate the case to find the mastermind or main actors behind the attack. Still, police would act carefully in determining the intellectual actors behind the attack and arson, he said. (ebf)