Another investigator's analysis of Bali bombing<\/p>\n
Hermawan Sulistyo, Researcher, Investigator, Conflict and Peace
\nResearch Network (CONCERN 324)<\/p>\n
With the submission of the file on Amrozi as a suspect by the
\npolice to the Attorney General's Office, the Bali blast case has
\nreached the third stage. The three stages are the investigation;
\nchase, hunt and arrests of the named suspects; and trials (pro-
\njusticia).<\/p>\n
Under the Indonesian court system -- in which a court is
\npresided over by a panel of judges, without juries -- the verdict
\ndepends on how strong the case is wrapped and presented by the
\nprosecutors. And the file relies heavily on the investigation to
\nreconstruct the events and the role of a suspect in the case.<\/p>\n
It is therefore important to delve deeply into the
\ninvestigation process and its results, to avoid misconception and
\nmisconstruction of the case, as written by Robert S. Finnegan
\n(Bali bombing: An investigator's analysis, The Jakarta Post, Jan.
\n3). I happened to be near the crime scene when the blasts
\noccurred and had a chance not only to watch closely the
\ninvestigation process but also facilitate the investigative team.<\/p>\n
Basically, the investigation is divided into two groups of
\ninvestigators, those who adopt the inductive method of
\ninvestigation and those who rely more on the deductive method.<\/p>\n
The first group, mainly comprised of Criminal Investigations
\nDepartment detectives and forensic experts, starts its work by
\nexamining closely the crime scene before constructing possible
\nscenarios and considering perpetrators.<\/p>\n
By adopting this method, investigators rely heavily on hard
\nevidence found at the crime scene and related documents, such as
\nlists of airline passengers (from Oct. 7 until the date of the
\ninvestigation) and lists of guests from as many hotels as
\npossible. No less important is the questioning of key witnesses.<\/p>\n
The second group starts its work by using hitherto available
\ninformation, media reports, intelligence reports, \"scholarly\"
\nanalyses and even rumors, gossip and speculation. Theoretically
\nspeaking, the two methods should arrive at the same results and
\nconclusion.<\/p>\n
In reality, however, the two methods may arrive at opposite
\nconclusions. Details of hard evidence are important in the
\ninductive method, followed by analyses. By contrast, the
\ndeductive method stresses the analyses but often neglects
\ndetails. The difference is clear when we read newspapers, listen
\nto the radio or watch TV programs.<\/p>\n
Readers may compare the map of the crime scene with the map
\ndrawn by forensic experts. There is another map, drawn by
\nforensic experts, that shows the spread of the remains of the L-
\n300 Mitsubishi minivan that was used as a car bomb.<\/p>\n
To arrive at a conclusion of the type of explosives used to
\nmake the car bomb is not an easy task. The piston valve, for
\ninstance, was found on the street in front Paddy's Cafe, 39.4
\nmeters from ground zero. A part of the piston was found 41.4
\nmeters from ground zero.<\/p>\n
There were altogether 40 main parts of the car found around
\nground zero, with a tire at the farthest, found inside the Dunkin
\nDonut shop, 71.15 meters from ground zero! Forensic experts then
\nput together the pieces found into a big puzzle. It took almost a
\nweek for the forensic team to determine that the car was an L-300
\nMitsubishi, after a round-the-clock effort to solve the puzzle.<\/p>\n
Thus, the L-300 Mitsubishi car did not appear from out of
\nnowhere, because the \"real car\" may have been torn into
\nunidentified pieces. It is the same with the examination process
\nof the explosives. There were three blasts: two in Legian (inside
\nPaddy's Cafe and in front of the Sari Club) and one in Renon.<\/p>\n
Forensic teams came to the same conclusion on the explosives
\nused in the Paddy's and the Renon blasts, that is TNT. But there
\nare dissenting opinions on the explosives used for the car bomb.
\nThe Indonesian team found only a trace of residue of Cl at one
\nsample point, while the Australian team found similar residues at
\neight sample points.<\/p>\n
It should be noted, however, that the Australian team did the
\nforensic examination on the fourth day after the blast --
\nlegally, the finding cannot be used as evidence in court. The
\nIndonesian team found other residues, which were cynically
\nreferred by Mr. Finnegan as \"everything but the kitchen sink\".
\nThose \"everything\" contained mostly RDX, the main substance in a
\nplastic bomb (C-4).<\/p>\n
If an analysis used the findings of the Australian team, it
\nwould be easy to construct a clear line between residues of the
\nexplosives used in the car bomb and the chemicals that Amrozi
\nreportedly bought earlier in Surabaya. But if one followed an
\nanalysis using the Indonesian team's findings, further
\nexplanation would be needed on where and from whom the RDX was
\nobtained by the perpetrators.<\/p>\n
Concerning the use of TNT, Imam Samudra has confessed that the
\nexplosive was bought on the black market in the southern
\nPhilippines. Samudra, however, did not admit to or pretended not
\nto know about the use of RDX. It is possible that he does not
\nknow about the explosive, for it was Dul Matin (Djoko Pitono),
\nwho is still at large, who reportedly built the bomb.<\/p>\n
RDX may officially be used by the military, but every good
\ninvestigator knows that one may buy RDX on the black market. In
\naddition, despite some speculation on the source of the RDX, the
\nexplosive is used in Korean-made grenades, popularly referred to
\nas \"pineapple grenades,\" which are easier to obtain.<\/p>\n
The pattern of the damage caused by the explosion may fit into
\na forensic analysis that the nature of the bombing was \"high
\nvelocity, low speed\". The difference is between vector, impact,
\nmomentum and energy of the blast and rate, frequency and scalar.<\/p>\n
The notion that any explosive with a radiation effect may be
\nput aside, otherwise it is unlikely I would be able to write this
\narticle -- my feet were in the hole of ground zero less than one
\nhour after the blast.<\/p>\n
Dr. Hermawan Sulistyo is also the editor of the recently
\npublished Bom Bali: Buku Putih Tidak Resmi Investigasi Teror Bom
\nBali (Bali Bomb: Unofficial White Book of the Investigation into
\nthe Bali Bomb Terror). He was chief investigator of the May 1998
\nriots and other major violent conflicts.<\/p>",
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