Bomb attack was personal: Caday<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The blast in front of the residence of the
\nPhilippine Ambassador, Leonides T. Caday, came from a high
\nexplosive bomb, similar to the unexploded bomb found at the
\nAttorney General's office early last month, a senior police
\nforensic officer disclosed on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
From Manila, Philippine Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
\nsaid she had personally talked with Caday and he told her that he
\nbelieved the blast on Tuesday was aimed at him.<\/p>\n
\"Caday already has a suspect. He told me who he suspects but I
\ndon't want to say who...until we have corroborating evidence,\"
\nArroyo was quoted by Reuters as saying.<\/p>\n
\"Caday's belief is that this was personal... against him,\"
\nArroyo said.<\/p>\n
As reported earlier, Caday was among the 21 people seriously
\ninjured in the blast, which took place -- according to
\npreliminary police investigation -- shortly before the Philippine
\nenvoy entered the gate of his residence at 12:20 p.m.<\/p>\n
The Ambassador is still being treated at Medistra Hospital in
\nSouth Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Two people, Sopyan, 30, a security guard at the ambassador's
\nresidence, and Suhantin, a housekeeper who worked at a house next
\nto the ambassador's residence, were killed in the explosion.
\nPeople heard and felt the effects of the blast in a radius of
\nsome three kilometers from the site.<\/p>\n
According to head of the National Police Forensic Laboratory
\nCenter, Brig. Gen. M.A. Erwin Mappaseng, personnel have not yet
\ndetermined the type of the explosive used in the blast but he
\nassured that the power of the bomb was equivalent to the one
\nfound unexploded by police on July 5 at the second floor of a
\nbuilding in the Attorney General's Office complex.<\/p>\n
\"All we know now is that the bomb was placed behind the front
\nseat of a car,\" Erwin told reporters at the site on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
But National Police chief Gen. Rusdihardjo, before attending a
\ncabinet meeting, told reporters that the type was TNT
\n(trinitrotoluene) as it contained large amounts of nitrate and
\nproduced gray smoke.<\/p>\n
Erwin identified the unregistered car as a Suzuki Katana jeep,
\nwhich, according to Jakarta Police chief Brig. Gen. Nurfaizi, was
\nplaced by some unknown person directly adjacent to the entrance
\ngate of Caday's residence on Jl. Imam Bonjol.<\/p>\n
As a comparison, Erwin said, the bomb that exploded in the
\nbathroom of the building in the Attorney General's Office complex
\na day before discovery of the second bomb was a medium-strength
\nbomb.<\/p>\n
Separately, Indonesia Military (TNI) Chief Adm. Widodo A.S.
\nsaid that the bomb attack was \"an irresponsible terrorist act\".<\/p>\n
\"TNI extends condolences and deep concerns to the families of
\nthe victims and to the ambassador,\" Widodo told reporters before
\nattending a Cabinet meeting.<\/p>\n
\"The Military will do all it can to help the police to
\ninvestigate the case and in securing the embassies and residences
\nof diplomats,\" Widodo said.<\/p>\n
According to Gen. Rusdihardjo, he has assigned his Jakarta
\npersonnel to check guests, especially Filipinos, in every hotel
\nin Jakarta to find those responsible for the deadly bomb blast.<\/p>\n
\"I have ordered the Jakarta Police chief (Nurfaizi) to check
\nall guests in every hotel in Jakarta, especially those coming
\nfrom our northern neighbor,\" Rusdihardjo told reporters.<\/p>\n
Nurfaizi, who met the Philippine envoy a few hours after the
\nblast, did not disclose any words from Caday.<\/p>\n
Rusdihardjo did not rule out the possibility that the attack
\nmight have been carried out by Indonesian citizens.<\/p>\n
The police chief said security measures at other foreign
\nembassies in the capital would be stepped up to prevent similar
\nincidents.<\/p>\n
\"We want to convince them that they receive good protection
\nfrom Indonesia,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Met separately, Nurfaizi told reporters that his men have
\nquestioned some 60 people as witnesses over the incident.<\/p>\n
\"They are the ones who saw the blast. But we don't have any
\nclues on the motive yet,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"There are several possibilities. It could be a coincidence
\nthat the blast happened near the ambassador's residence. Or it
\ncould be a decoy, we don't know yet,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Tyasno Sudarto said that he has
\nordered Army Headquarters and Jakarta Military Command to support
\nthe police in their investigation of the case.<\/p>\n
He also said that the Army would check all of its arsenals to
\ndetermine of any explosives are missing.<\/p>\n
\"We'll check our inventory of weapons and ammunition all over
\nthe country,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"On thing for sure, the bombing was an act of savage terror
\ncausing fear among residents. We must work hand in hand to keep
\nit from happening again,\" he added.<\/p>\n
While officer Erwin and his forensic staff were busy
\ncollecting debris at the scene of the blast as evidence, some 50
\nintellectuals and activists from non-governmental organizations
\nstaged a rally at the site, condemning the bombing.<\/p>\n
Among the rally participants were sociologist Imam B.
\nPrasodjo, two times former minister Cosmas Batubara, and
\npolitical expert Andi Malarangeng.<\/p>\n
The rally participants carried banners, which read 'Stop
\nviolence and terrorism', and 'Join us if you love peace'.<\/p>\n
Imam said the rally was the expression of people's revulsion
\nof violence.<\/p>\n
\"The government is responsible to end all this violence,\" Imam
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The participants in the rally then together sang 'I love
\npeace, I hate violence' to the tune of a popular theme song from
\nTV series Jangan Ucapkan Cinta (Don't Talk About Love).<\/p>\n
Most of the participants of the rally brought some white
\nflowers.<\/p>\n
Imam said: \"It's called peace-loving flower.\"
\n(jaw\/byg\/prb\/nvn)<\/p>",
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