"The motive is revenge. They think the police are obstacles. Even in their manual, they call the police `thoghut` (demons)," Sutarman said.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The new national police chief, Commissioner General Sutarman, believes revenge is the motive behind the recent spate of attacks on police officers.

"The motive is revenge. They think the police are obstacles. Even in their manual, they call the police `thoghut` (demons)," he said when asked to comment on the issue at the National Police Headquarters here on Thursday.

So, there is something wrong with their ideology, he added.

"They think attacking police officers is `halal` (legitimate). So, someone must tell them that we work to enforce the law," he explained.

"Because we are considered an obstruction to their activities, we have come under fire," he stated.

As of Thursday morning, he said the police had arrested six suspects in connection with the attacks on police so far.

"We have netted eight suspects. Six were caught yesterday, and two others were apprehended this morning," Sutarman noted.

He pointed out that the suspects in custody were not the executors of the attacks but had helped finance them by providing firearms and vehicles, among other things.

"Their role covered the assembly of weapons and delivering them to certain individuals who would later distribute them to others before the weapons finally reached the executors," he added.

He said the suspects had been arrested in Bima, West Nusa Tenggara, and in South Sulawesi, stating that he had identified them ahead of their arrest.

Four police officers have died in the past few months and another one has been wounded after being attacked by unknown gunmen.

On July 27, a traffic police officer, Second Adjunct Inspector Patah Saktiyono, survived an attack by a gunman in Pamulang, Tangerang Selatan, Banten.

On Aug. 7, First Adjunct Inspector Dwiyatno died after unknown gunmen shot him in Ciputat, Tangeran Selatan.

A week later, First Adjunct Inspector Kushendratna and Chief Brigadier Ahmad Maulana were shot to death in Pondok Aren, Tangerang Selatan.

On Sept. 10, Second Adjunct Inspector Sukardi died after being shot by an unknown gunman while escorting six trucks outside the KPK Building in Jalan Rasuna Said, South Jakarta.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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