Five suspects identified in Monas violence

Police have identified five alleged suspects of the Monas Square incident in which members of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) and other mass organizations attacked activists of the National Alliance for Freedom of Religion and Faith (AKKBB) on Sunday.

“There are five people we have been able to name as suspects,” Commissioner General Bambang Hendarso Dahuri, head of the National Police Headquarters’ Criminal Investigation Department, said Monday.

The police were now on the lookout for the five suspects, he said, while declining to give details such as their names.

He said the police would always take stern action against those violating the law on violence. “Law enforcement will be strict,” Dahuri said.

He added that the police would also conduct an investigation to identify the mastermind of the violence, which had left many wounded.

Meanwhile, scores of legislators, political observers, human rights activists,and members of Muslim organizations, GP Anshor and Baitul Muslimin Indonesia (BMI), headed Monday to the National Police Headquarters to lodge a complaint on the Monas incident.

They urged the police to take firm actions against organizations committing acts of violence to achieve their aims such as FPI.

FPI members attacked activists at the Monas (National Monument) Square in Central Jakarta on Sunday afternoon, leaving 70 people injured, seven of whom had to undergo intensive treatment at Jakarta hospitals. (The Jakarta Post)