Police make more arrests, key suspects remain at large<\/p>\n
Muhammad Nafik
\nand A'an Suryana
\nThe Jakarta Post
\nDenpasar\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
The National Police may have scored a major breakthrough with
\nthe arrests of 15 people linked to the Bali bomb blasts so far,
\nbut the achievement has done little to restore a sense of
\nsecurity among members of the public.<\/p>\n
The closure of some international schools in Jakarta for eight
\nconsecutive days is a clear sign that people are still afraid
\ngiven that seven other key suspects in the terrorist attack on
\nBali over one month ago are still at large<\/p>\n
Police claim they have identified the possible hide-outs of
\nthe remaining suspects.<\/p>\n
Spokesman for the joint investigative team Brig. Gen. Edward
\nAritonang said on Tuesday that in addition to prime suspects
\nAmrozi and Imam Samudra, police had detained 13 alleged
\naccomplices who were indirectly involved, seven of whom were
\npicked up in different parts of the country on Monday.<\/p>\n
Police in Pekanbaru, Riau, arrested four people who had
\nallegedly helped Samudra produce a fake passport under the name
\nof Faiz Junzhar, which he was to have used to travel to Malaysia.
\nAmong the four was Ernawati, an administration staffer with PT
\nIndo Jaya, a company that provides passport and other personal
\nidentification document \"services\".<\/p>\n
Apparently, Samudra claimed he wanted to go to Malaysia as a
\nmigrant worker.<\/p>\n
The second person arrested was Syahrial, an official with the
\nKinapelaen district administration in Riau, who helped Samudra to
\nobtain an identity card issued by the district.<\/p>\n
Two others were Jauhary Effendy and Suhaemi, but the police
\nfailed to spell out their respective roles in procuring the fake
\npassport.<\/p>\n
According to Aritonang, the fake passport was produced in
\norder to allow Imam to flee the country in the aftermath of the
\nBali blasts.<\/p>\n
\"Unfortunately for him, he was arrested in Merak port before
\nhe could leave the country,\" said Aritonang.<\/p>\n
Regarding the arrest of Agus on Monday, another person linked
\nto Imam Samudra, Aritonang said that Agus was arrested for having
\none FN pistol and one revolver.<\/p>\n
In Serang, one day after Agus' arrest, Ujata, Ichwan Fauzi and
\nAprianto, who were friends of Agus, were arrested by the West
\nJava police and were charged with the possession of explosives
\nthat were allegedly to have been used to bomb the Bank Central
\nAsia branch office in Serang, Banten.<\/p>\n
\"They are being questioned over the possession of eight
\nkilograms of potassium, which was to be used in making the next
\nbomb. The target was to have been the BCA branch,\" said Aritonang
\nduring a teleconference with journalists in Bali.<\/p>\n
However, the motive behind the planned attack remains unclear.<\/p>\n
In Batam, the police arrested two other people linked to the
\nBali bomb blasts, who were identified only as Chalil and Lucas.<\/p>\n
So far they have been charged with customs violations. The
\npolice refused to give any further details.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile back to Jakarta, Imam Samudra was declared mentally
\nand physically fit on Tuesday after undergoing a medical
\nexamination by police physicians.<\/p>\n
Following the examination, the police are now free to continue
\ntheir questioning of Iman, and the investigation into his role as
\nwell as the details of past bomb blasts targeting churches in
\nseveral places, including Batam and Pekanbaru.<\/p>\n
Regarding possible links between Al-Qaeda and the Imam Samudra
\ngroup, as has been suggested by Time magazine in its latest
\nedition, Aritonang said that the police had yet to find any
\nlinks.<\/p>\n
The mass circulation magazine, citing various intelligence
\nsources, reported that Imam Samudra was merely a field operative,
\nwhile the real masterminds were senior Al-Qaeda operatives
\nSyafullah from Yemen, Malaysian national Zubair, and one Syawal,
\nreportedly an Indonesian hard-liner.<\/p>",
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