FID regrets police statements on bombings<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Police allegations that suspects of the
\nChristmas Eve bombings were trained in Afghanistan were hasty and
\ncould cloud efforts to probe the attack, a member of the newly-
\nestablished Indonesia Forum for Peace (FID) said on Sunday.<\/p>\n
The Forum's state coordinator Bara Hasibuan feared that such a
\npremature conclusion could deflect attention from the possible
\ninvolvement of other parties in the bombings.<\/p>\n
"Police seem too hasty. They should not follow past practices
\nof accusing other parties, foreign parties," Bara told The
\nJakarta Post.<\/p>\n
The Forum is a voluntary council set up by activists soon
\nafter the Christmas bombings as an effort to help the government
\nidentify the perpetrators of the bombings.<\/p>\n
Bara also warned that such a hasty accusation could prompt a
\nperception among the public that it is merely camouflage for the
\nreal masterminds of the bombings.<\/p>\n
Another member of the Forum, Sapto Waluyo, also regretted the
\npolice's claims of foreign party involvement.<\/p>\n
"We regret the police statements, accusing certain foreign
\ngroups of being behind the bombings," Sapto said.<\/p>\n
He claimed that the Forum's team had collected more
\ninformation and evidence concerning the bombings than had been
\nrevealed by the police.<\/p>\n
"We are waiting for the right time to disclose everything."<\/p>\n
The latest casualty of the Dec. 24 nationwide attacks died on
\nSaturday night at St. Carolus Hospital, bringing the death toll
\nto 18.<\/p>\n
Chandra Tirta Wijaya, 16, is due to be buried Monday morning
\nat Pondok Rangon cemetery in East Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The youngest of three siblings had been in hospital since
\nbeing struck by fragments of the bomb that exploded at St. Yosef
\nChurch in Central Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Decree<\/p>\n
Meanwhile a draft presidential decree to establish a special
\nteam to investigate the bombings is due to be submitted to the
\nPresident for approval on Monday.<\/p>\n
Asmara Nababan, a member of the Forum's fact-finding team,
\nsaid here on Saturday that the draft would be submitted to the
\nPresident by Coordinating Minister for Political, Social and
\nSecurity Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.<\/p>\n
"The President is expected to sign it next week," Asmara said
\nat a joint press conference with the spokesman for the
\nCoordinating Minister, Maj. Gen. I Wayan Karya.<\/p>\n
Asmara said that the establishment of a panel of government
\nand Forum representatives would be included in the decree.<\/p>\n
"The panel will have the legal power to oversee the
\ninvestigation and to make sure that the case is brought to
\ncourt," Asmara said, recalling how powerless the joint fact-
\nfinding team for the May 1998 tragedy turned out to be.<\/p>\n
"The panel will have seven members, including Pak Susilo
\n(Bambang Yudhoyono), National Police chief Gen. Surojo Bimantoro,
\nIndonesian Military (TNI) chief Admiral Widodo A.S. and Attorney
\nGeneral Marzuki Darusman," Asmara said.<\/p>\n
Spokesman for the Coordinating Minister's Office I Wayan Karya
\nalso affirmed that the government had agreed to include the panel
\nin the draft decree.<\/p>\n
Inclusion of the panel in the draft was approved after the
\nForum asked Susilo on Friday to establish a joint team of
\nrepresentatives from the Forum and the government.<\/p>\n
"We decided that the panel was the best answer to ensure the
\nimplementation of the Criminal Code Procedures," I Wayan said,
\nadding that according to regulations, only police or on-duty
\nofficers, can question suspects in criminal cases. (02\/dja\/jun)<\/p>",
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