2 arrested over recent deadly blast in Ambon
2 arrested over recent deadly blast in Ambon
Oktovianus Pinontoan and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post,
Ambon/Jakarta
Police in Ambon are questioning two civilians in connection with
a deadly bomb blast in a stadium on Thursday as the situation in
the violence-torn city slowly returned to normal.
Military sources told The Jakarta Post on Friday that security
personnel arrested a man, Mardi, and a woman, Since, almost
immediately after the blast, which claimed the lives of four
people, including three girls aged between 12 and 17.
Mardi, allegedly from Malino in Gowa regency, South Sulawesi,
was arrested as he ran away after the bomb went off in Merdeka
Sports Stadium. Since, a native of Ambon, was being held for
questioning after allegedly inciting people to attack a rival
group immediately after the blast.
"(Mardi) is being questioned as a witness," an intelligence
source told the Post.
Meanwhile, the situation in the city of Ambon was slowly
returning to normal on Friday, with people from both Muslim and
Christian communities mixing with one another. Activities in the
public market and public transportation services had also
returned to normal.
On Friday, the local Protestant church celebrated a peaceful
anniversary, showing that neither side had been provoked by the
blast.
The death toll from Thursday's blast rose to four on Friday
when a 20-year-old woman, who had sustained serious injuries from
the explosion, died in hospital overnight.
The victims were young athletes training in preparation for
the national student games. They were taking a break when the
bomb exploded.
Eight other people were also injured in the explosion at
Merdeka Stadium in downtown Ambon.
Thursday's powerful bomb explosion came just one day after
Muslims and Christians there performed a pela gandong ceremony as
a symbol of peace to end the three-year sectarian conflict.
In Jakarta, high-ranking officials suspected that the bomb had
been planted by outsiders who wished to prolong the bloody
violence between the two warring groups.
"There are people, outside the two groups, who want to
destabilize the country. Maybe it came from our own people, maybe
not," Vice President Hamzah Haz said on Friday.
He said that he was waiting for a report from local officers
regarding the latest situation in Ambon.
"I expect the security officers to immediately hold a thorough
investigation to find those responsible for the violence," Hamzah
said.
In Medan, North Sumatra, National Police chief Gen. Da'i
Bachtiar said that he had ordered his officers to find the
perpetrators.
"Whoever did it was a savage," he said.
However, he stopped short from explaining why the police
remained at a loss to prevent the incidents.
Like most bombings in Ambon, the police have yet to identify
the mastermind behind the string of attacks.