Three people injured as another blast rocks Medan<\/p>\n
MEDAN, North Sumatra (JP): Another bomb blast rocked the North
\nSumatra capital early on Monday and injured three people, less
\nthan 24 hours after the explosion of one of three bombs planted
\nat three different churches in the city.<\/p>\n
The latest incident raises the specter of a spread in
\nsectarian violence to North Sumatra, with President Abdurrahman
\nWahid and legislators quickly calling for calm and restraint.<\/p>\n
Monday's blast destroyed the upmarket Marimar Restaurant on
\nJl. Pemuda, injuring three pedestrians, including a woman
\nidentified as Dewi.<\/p>\n
All three are being treated at a nearby hospital.<\/p>\n
An eyewitness named Ojek said he saw a car speeding back and
\nforth on Jl. Pemuda before the explosion.<\/p>\n
"It was about 4 a.m. when a person in the car threw something
\nin front of the restaurant. Seconds later a big explosion was
\nheard. That's all," Ojek told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Local residents jolted from their sleep rushed out to find out
\nwhat happened. "I thought it was a thunderbolt, but when I opened
\nmy room window the weather was fine. I quickly linked the big
\nbang to the previous bomb blast in the church," Lina, a resident
\nof the street, said.<\/p>\n
Police have yet to determine any link between Monday's
\nexplosion and the blast which hit a Protestant church on Sunday,
\ninjuring 47 members of the congregation.<\/p>\n
The explosion, which police believe was a homemade bomb,
\noccurred during a service at the Indonesian Protestant Church.<\/p>\n
Police also discovered an explosive device on Sunday at the
\nBatak Protestant Church (HKBP) on Jl. Sudirman. Another bomb was
\nfound minutes later at Christ the King Church on Jl. MT Haryono.<\/p>\n
Marimar Restaurant is located not far from Jl. Sudirman and
\nJl. MT Haryono.<\/p>\n
Local figures from all major religions issued a joint
\nstatement deploring the incident.<\/p>\n
"We the Honorary Council of the Indonesian Communion of
\nChurches (PGI), Indonesian Council of Ulemas (MUI), Indonesian
\nBuddhist Community (Walubi), Indonesian Central Council for
\nDharma Hinduism (PHDI) and the Catholic Diocese call on Medan
\nresidents not to be provoked by any attempts to disrupt unity,"
\nthey said on Sunday.<\/p>\n
They also demanded the government take expedient and
\nappropriate actions to uncover the cause of the violence.<\/p>\n
A total of 42 youth and religious-based organizations in North
\nSumatra condemned the perpetrators of the attacks.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile in Jakarta, President Abdurrahman expressed deep
\nconcern during a meeting with church leaders.<\/p>\n
"The President deplored the incident," Eka Dharmaputra, one of
\nProtestant church leaders, said after meeting with the President
\nat Bina Graha presidential office.<\/p>\n
The President is also confident the bombing will not provoke
\nfurther interfaith conflicts, said Eka.<\/p>\n
Separately, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) chairman Hasyim Muzadi urged
\nthe government to set up a joint investigation team, which would
\ninvolve leaders of different religions, to probe the Medan
\nincidents.<\/p>\n
"By involving the religious leaders, we will be able to
\nconvince people this incident has nothing to do with religious
\nhatred," Hasyim told journalists.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile legislators in Jakarta on Monday called for
\nimmediate preventive measures to ease the situation in Medan
\nanticipating an outbreak of religious strife in the province
\nfollowing two days of successive bomb attacks.<\/p>\n
Without specifying, legislators believed that the attacks were
\npremeditated and carried out by a well-organized network.<\/p>\n
House of Representatives (DPR) Speaker Akbar Tandjung said
\nthat there was strong suspicion the bombings in Medan were
\npurposely done in order to precipitate religious and ethnic
\ntension and to escalate violence.<\/p>\n
Without elaborating, Akbar noted that "certain groups" were
\nlaunching these attacks to incite further unrest.<\/p>\n
"There are people who keep trying to create tension amongst
\nthe people," Akbar told reporters on Monday.<\/p>\n
"We all have to learn from the clashes in Maluku, and other
\nincidents, that many people want to create chaos. We have to be
\naware of that and not be provoked with such incidents," Akbar
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
"I ask religious leaders to please try and encourage peace and
\ntolerance among the faithful," Akbar added.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan)
\nalso expressed concern that the bomb attacks could lead to wider
\nunrest considering the fragile security conditions.<\/p>\n
PDI Perjuangan deputy chairman Arifin Panigoro said the
\ngovernment and the police should take concrete preventive
\nmeasures before the incident creates an open conflict between the
\nChristians and the Muslims like the strife we've seen in Maluku
\nand North Maluku.<\/p>\n
"The nation will certainly experience a terrible setback if a
\nreligious conflict explodes in North Sumatra," he told said on
\nMonday.<\/p>\n
He said the House should immediately hold a hearing with the
\nNational Police chief to seek an effective means of avoiding an
\noutbreak of religious fighting in the province.<\/p>\n
He said it was impossible to deny that the incident in Medan
\nwas unrelated to recent incidents in Jakarta and Maluku and that
\na well-organized network had been behind it.(dja\/rms\/39\/sur)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/three-people-injured-as-another-blast-rocks-medan-1447893297",
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