Gus Dur claims Philippine rebels linked to blast<\/p>\n
YOGYAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid said he believed
\nthe bomb explosion outside the residence of the Manila envoy in
\nJakarta on Tuesday was linked to violence in the southern
\nPhilippines.<\/p>\n
\"This, I think, is related to the problems in the southern
\nPhilippines, maybe related to the kidnapping in Jolo or the
\nproblem of the MILF,\" Abdurrahman told reporters after attending
\na meeting of top leaders here.<\/p>\n
Gus Dur, as the President is popularly called, said he would
\ncall Philippine President Joseph Estrada to express his
\nsympathies.<\/p>\n
\"We are sad, and we regret this and offer our sympathies,\"
\nsaid Abdurrahman, adding he has ordered the police to probe the
\nblast.<\/p>\n
Minister of Foreign Affairs Alwi Shihab said he had spoken by
\ntelephone with his Philippine counterpart Domingo Siazon and he
\n\"fully understands\" that the incident was not an effort to
\njeopardize the relations between the two countries.<\/p>\n
\"The minister fully understands that terror like this can
\nhappen anywhere and the Indonesian government was not involved in
\nthis incident,\" Alwi told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is the largest Moro
\nrebel group in the southern Philippines and has been implicated
\nin a string of bomb attacks in its own territory. But a spokesman
\nfor the MILF, Eid Kabalu, denied it was involved in the Jakarta
\nattack.<\/p>\n
Kabalu was quoted by AFP as saying that \"the MILF is
\ndefinitely not involved in this attack against a Philippine
\ndiplomat in a Muslim country.<\/p>\n
\"We have no plan or action such as this,\" he said. The
\norganization did not have the capability to mount bomb attacks in
\na foreign country, he added.<\/p>\n
There was no immediate reaction to the bombing from the Abu
\nSayyaf, a smaller Moro group which is holding 17 hostages on the
\nisland of Jolo in the southern Philippines.<\/p>\n
The Philippines government said the attack was the first of
\nits kind on Filipino diplomats abroad.<\/p>\n
\"Really, it's surprising. This is the first time and secondly
\nwe didn't expect that to happen. We have no experience of a
\nbombing incident in our embassies abroad,\" National Security
\nAdviser Alexander Aquirre was quoted as saying by the news
\nagency.<\/p>\n
\"We'll find out what this is all about,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Whether the explosion was an assassination attempt on
\nAmbassador Leonides Caday could not be immediately established,
\nbut Manila is not ruling out the involvement of Filipino or
\nforeign extremists, foreign department spokesman George Reyes
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Philippine Vice-President Gloria Arroyo condemned the attack
\nas \"a senseless terrorist act that will achieve nothing for its
\nperpetrators.\"<\/p>\n
Reyes said the bombing was the \"first attempt\" of its kind
\nagainst Philippine diplomats or government interests abroad,
\nadding that there was no forewarning that the attack would occur.<\/p>\n
Filipino diplomats and embassy personnel in other countries
\nhave been ordered to \"be on a high state of alert for similar
\nincidents,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Asked if the attack was tied to the rise of Islamic movements
\nacross Southeast Asia, Reyes said: \"We are not excluding any and
\nall possibilities.\"<\/p>\n
Hospital authorities in Jakarta said the ambassador was being
\ntreated for two broken thigh bones but his life was not in
\ndanger.<\/p>\n
Amien Rais, chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly,
\nalso denounced the blast as an act of terrorism.<\/p>\n
\"This is an act of terror which can ruin Indonesia's
\ninternational image, because the Philippine ambassador was
\ninjured and had to be rushed to hospital,\" Amien said after
\nattending the Yogyakarta meeting.<\/p>\n
\"This is a very embarrassing action because it took place in
\nthe capital and the bomb blew up in broad daylight,\" Amien added.<\/p>\n
He urged police to find and arrest the culprits as soon as
\npossible.<\/p>\n
Arroyo, acting for President Joseph Estrada who is touring the
\nUnited States, said security would be stepped up at all embassies
\nand overseas Philippines government facilities in the wake of the
\nattack.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile in Bali, Randy M. Caluag, the manager of the
\nPhilippines team in the 19th President's Cup international boxing
\ntournament, said later in the day that the blast \"did not affect
\nthe spirit of the team\".<\/p>\n
\"The spirit of my team is still high, as you can see we
\nalready won two semifinals and I see no reason to ask for more
\nsecurity,\" Caluag said. (44\/dja\/swa\/zen)<\/p>",
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