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)