A 'lesson' from the Cimanggis bomb

A 'lesson' from the Cimanggis bomb

The bomb that exploded during a religious gathering at a house in Depok, south of Jakarta, on Sunday, came as a shock to us.

The explosion claimed no lives as the "materials concerned" were low-intensity explosives.

However, since the explosion occurred during both a religious gathering and the election campaigning period, must be treated with the utmost seriousness.

The materials exploded while being moved to another place as preparations for the gathering were under way.

Besides the explosion, the police also found nine other bombs, a 22 caliber gun and five bullets, two VCDs on the war in Afghanistan and a detonator.

Earlier, the police arrested 26 people for their alleged part in the explosion. Of these, only nine were declared suspects. On Monday night, the police arrested another suspect.

One of the suspects is a woman, Inggrid, the wife of Khalik, whom the police suspect of possessing the bomb. Khalik is on the run.

Inggrid told police investigators that she did not know the article she was moving could explode. Thus, in ignorance, she dragged it instead of carrying it.

Of course, the blast is a lesson to the police and the community. The police must be on high alert for any possible blasts and if anyone finds strange articles they should report them immediately.

We must be able to identify all articles in our houses. Luckily, the Cimanggis explosion was of low intensity. Had it been of greater intensity, it would no doubt have claimed many lives.

The Cimanggis blast may have been a kind of "preparation" for a larger target -- maybe to disrupt the 2004 general elections. Who knows?

-- Media Indonesia, Jakarta