Ambon blast may be linked to military
Ambon blast may be linked to military
The Jakarta Post, Ambon/Jakarta
Maluku security authorities have no leads in the bombing which
killed at least seven people in the city of Ambon, but public
speculation is growing that the powerful blast was linked to the
Indonesian military.
The speculation was fueled by the finding of a black Orari
walkie-talkie that fell from a red Kijang van seen fleeing from
the blast scene on Jl. Yan Paays.
The van was believed to be carrying the people who hurled the
bomb into a crowd outside the Amboina hotel, about 700 meters
from the Maluku governor's office.
The walkie-talkie, handed over as evidence to police by
eyewitnesses, is usually carried by military personnel.
Several eyewitnesses told The Jakarta Post that it was
impossible for common people to manufacture such a high-powered
bomb, adding that they must have had military training or were
genuine soldiers.
However, Coordinating Minister for Politics and Security
Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono urged people to refrain from
hastily blaming military officers.
Any claim over the possible role of military personnel should
be proven in an investigation, he said on Friday night.
An organization of local Muslim and Christian lawyers backed
the speculation, saying the bombers were strongly believed to
belong to a group of people with "expert military skills".
"They were able to escape the people at the scene who mobbed
them, so the people and security personnel were unable to surely
identify the perpetrators," said a letter from the group to
President Megawati Soekarnoputri and Vice President Hamzah Haz.
"It was suspected that the bomb belonged to the security
authorities (the Indonesian Military or the National Police) as
its explosive effect was so dreadful," it said.
"The bomb even destroyed the room and windows on the Amboina
hotel's fourth floor," added the letter.
Copies of the letter were forwarded to military and police
chiefs, House of Representative leaders and the National
Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM).
The Ambon-based organization, called the Committee for Truth
and Halting Maluku Violence (KPK2PM), made the statement based on
testimonies given by eyewitnesses.
It condemned the incident and demanded that the authorities
provide security and safety guarantees for Maluku people
following a peace accord signed on Feb. 12, 2002.
The death toll from Wednesday's explosion rose to seven after
three of nearly 60 wounded victims died at the Haulussy public
hospital on Friday.
Echoing KPK2PM's claims, George Kortuppi, a member of the
Ambon-based Baileo non-governmental organization, said that there
was a small group that had no connections with either Christian
or Muslim militias, who had tried to sabotage the peace process.
"Its members are professional. They bomb buildings and
disappear quickly," he said.
Maluku's prominent sociologist Thamrin Amal Tomagola blamed a
minority group of local elite for the incident.
He argued that the bombing was not in any way related to
clashes between Muslim and Christian gangs.
During the three-year sectarian conflict, whenever the
Christian side were attacked by Muslims, they would hunt for the
attackers.
"The same goes with Muslims... both communities know each
other really well and recognize the faces of their attackers. But
in Wednesday's incident, when Christians were attacked, they did
not go after Muslims," Thamrin told the Post.
"This has possibly to do with an attempt to grab the Maluku
governor's post. Many elite groups are vying for that seat. This
also could be the work of a minority group who felt excluded ...
or felt they were discouraged from participating in the Malino
peace talks."
He said he believed that the explosives device used in the
bombing was not made by civilians, but the military.
"They were not like those used previously by militant Muslim
or Christian groups," he added.
He urged the government to clean up elements within the
military and police who were seeking fortune from the communal
conflicts.
Thamrin, coordinator of Tapak Ambon, a joint forum
contributing to the settlement of the Maluku conflict, also
blasted the security authorities for its incompetence in
preventing the explosion.
"Intelligence ... should have identified any possible bombings
since the very beginning," he added.
Meanwhile, Maluku Police Chief Brig. Gen. Soenarko retracted
on Friday his earlier statement that three suspects had been
named over the incident.
"We have not yet detained people as suspects. We have just
investigated nine witnesses and it is uncertain that they will be
declared suspects," he said.