Aceh governor ready to testify in bomb case

Aceh governor ready to testify in bomb case

JAKARTA (JP): Aceh governor Abdullah Puteh said he is ready to
provide police with a statement in relation to their
investigation of the recent bomb explosion at an Acehnese student
dormitory in Central Jakarta, which claimed three lives.

"If the Jakarta Police summons me for clarification, I will
agree and fulfill the summons to make it clear that the bombing
had nothing to do with me," he said in Banda Aceh on Saturday.

City police chief Insp. Gen. Sofjan Yacob had earlier stated
that they would question the Aceh governor as his name was
mentioned in a document belonging to the Aceh Referendum
Information Center (SIRA).

Police suspect that Puteh is a donor of SIRA, a non-
governmental organization who police believe are connected to
alleged Aceh separatists responsible for manufacturing bombs at
the dormitory. The allegation was strongly rejected by the
organization's coordinator in Jakarta, Faisal Saifuddin.

The main suspect in the bombing is Taufik Abdullah, the
dormitory caretaker.

Puteh said that he had been contacted by Taufik, who planned
to organize a charity music night in Jakarta.

"Taufik Abdullah wanted to hold a charity concert in Jakarta
and the proceeds would be donated to Aceh. He planned to
cooperate with some Acehnese women, but they rejected the offer
because they had already organized a fund-raising event," Puteh
was quoted by Antara as saying.

Upon the women's suggestion, the organizing committee then
contacted the governor. It was Taufik who sent the proposal
through the Aceh representative office in Jakarta, according to
Puteh.

He said he had not met anyone from the charity night
organizing committee.

"True, Taufik had once tried to contact me in a hotel in
Jakarta. But he did not appear until 12 p.m. that night and until
today I have never met Taufik Abdullah," he said.

He underlined that he had not approved the charity night
proposal, let alone provided financial assistance.

"I have not seen it. Until today, I have not made any
recommendation to the organizing committee," he said.

Separately, Jakarta Police chief of detectives Sr. Comr. Adang
Rochana said on Sunday that the police had yet to decide on
whether the Acehnese governor would be questioned in the capital
or in Aceh.

"In any case, we are waiting for a summons from the home
affairs minister (Surjadi Soedirdja) to question the governor.
Once that is cleared, we can decide where the questioning should
take place -- with the Jakarta Police or the Aceh Police," Adang
said.

He added that the Jakarta Police would make every effort to
arrest those who funded the manufacturers of the bombs, one of
whom was reportedly killed during the Guntur blast on May 10,
along with two other men.

"We have no way of knowing if there were others involved who
are still in the capital. That is why we need to question all
those listed on the document, including the governor and later
other top officials whose names were found among the ruins of the
Guntur blast," Adang said.

The city police last week questioned musician Fariz Rustam
Munaf, whose name was also mentioned in a document seized as
evidence in the investigation.

Fariz told police that Taufik was a bass player in his band
and that he was a respectable man.

He admitted that he had sent a letter to Free Aceh Movement
(GAM) commander Tengku Abdullah Syafe'i, as he wanted to meet him
regarding his new album, the proceeds of which would be donated
to Acehnese refugees. He said he had asked Taufik to translate
the letter into Acehnese. (ylt/sim)