Throughout 1998, the NU community in East Java, particularly in Banyuwangi and surrounding areas, experienced extreme bitterness. In the NU enclaves in the region there was a wave of murder of NU's kgaw teachers.
The massacre was under the guise of "eliminating witch doctors". The killers are mysterious men in ninja clothes.
When there was a serial killer of the NU teachers of this Ngaji, President Soeharto just stepped down. His post as president was replaced by Vice President BJ Habibie, a close associate of Soeharto. Habibie also became the number one person in ICMI, an organization that has been criticized since the beginning by the then General Chairman of the NU, Abdurrahman, but does not represent the aspirations of Nahdliyin.
This wave of serial killings caused provocation among the people under NU. The goal is for people to commit acts of violence. This provocation did not work very well.
Initially the killing was done against witch doctors by trained people. They moved quickly from village to village. The killer soon after it disappears. It seems that the killers are trained troops. There are only two possibilities, those who are trained are the jawara or the military special forces.
Soon after, the murder turned to the Ngaam teachers in Nahdliyin. This certainly creates anxiety, confusion, mutual tension, and suspicion among the NU. On the bitter incident, PWNU East Java formed the PWNU Investigation Team. The team is chaired by Choirul Anam. The team conducted months of investigation to uncover the crimes of slaughtering the NU's masters.
The data and facts collected are really disturbing. The death toll was fantastic, 253 people. They were massacred in villages in seven districts of East Java. In bumpy slaughter carried out in Banyuwangi, Jember, Situbondo, Bondowoso, Pasuruan, Pamekasan, and Sampang. The highest casualty was in Banyuwangi, which is 148 people.
In the findings of the Team, those who died were massacred sadistically. Some were hanged, caught in ropes, burned with their houses, beaten and hacked, burned with gasoline, and mass-tortured. Most of the dead were Ngaq teachers and NU people. Even among them there are NU branch officials and mosque administrators.
Another important finding from the Team was the involvement of a number of local officials in the serial killings. The so-called Banyuwangi Regent T. Purnomo Sidik, Commander of Kodim Lt. Colonel Subiraharjo, and Banyuwangi Police Chief Lieutenant Colonel Edy Moerdiono.
One of the strongest evidence Tim found was a photocopian of the Bupati radiogram addressed to the village heads. This radiogram was sent by the sub-district heads in its territory, dated February 10, 1998, numbered 300/70 / 439.0131 / 1998. The radiogram instruction is to apparatus under the list of people suspected of practicing as a witch doctor. The result is a list of those who are regarded as witch doctors.
This list falls into the hands of the general public. This list became one of the triggers of the violent wave that led to the killing of the teachers of the Koran. The number of casualties jumped dramatically during July, August, and September 1998. There were a hundred more victims, including a number of local Ngaji teachers and scholars.
The emergence of a bum and a mysterious madman
During this massacre a group of bums and madmen emerged in the district. Both in the village and in the city. These madmen pointed out such an awkward answer to the questioner's questions, but when asked about their origins they would behave like crazy. This raises speculation that these crazy people are involved in the massacre. The allegations are further strengthened by the disappearance of these madmen without any attempt by the authorities when the massacre begins to subside.