Bali suspect confesses to bombing

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesian police announced on Thursday a major breakthrough in the Bali bomb investigation, naming the owner of the Mitsubishi van used in the attack as a suspect in the carnage.

National Police Chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said after a Cabinet meeting that the suspect, Amrozi or M. Rozi, had admitted that he used the Mitsubishi L300 van for the bombing.

Da'i also said that Amrozi also admitted that he was the one who rented the motorcycles and another car used in the bombing.

"He is the last owner of the car and used it for the bombing, his name is Amrozi or M. Rozi. During the interrogation he admitted his crimes in Bali... he is our first suspect," the four-star general said.

"Currently, we are chasing his accomplices and we will put their names on the wanted lists when the time comes," he remarked. "We will continue the manhunt, not just to get the perpetrators, but also to find the mastermind and unravel the whole network of the organization," Da'i emphasized.

Da'i further said that Amrozi did not resemble any one of the four sketches (three last week, one announced on Thursday evening) released by the police, but he was closely linked to the four men in the sketches.

One of the four male sketches was released on Thursday. This last man is described to be 160 centimeters in height, with a light brown complexion and short hair, possibly Indonesian. No further details were available.

Police were confident that they would be able to apprehend the suspects depicted in the sketches following the arrests of Amrozi.

Amrozi, 30, was arrested by the police joint task force in Paciran village in Lamongan regency, East Java on Tuesday. He was then flown to Bali on Wednesday.

"He is now undergoing intensive interrogation," said joint inquiry team spokesperson Brig. Gen. Edward Aritonang.

Aritonang also confirmed that the team had seized several items from Amrozi's house, but he refused to elaborate.

A source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, disclosed earlier that members of the joint investigation team had managed to penetrate deeply into several areas, believed to be frequented by the bombing suspects.

"In this critical stage cautiousness and the element of surprise are the two most precious elements in the manhunt. So we would appreciate it if the media could refrain themselves from disclosing too many details on the suspects or the investigation," he said.

"If things go as expected. We will be able to catch these people in the not too distant future," he continued.

In a possibly related development, Italy's Panorama weekly reported in its edition out on Friday that an Italian national who owned a bar in Bali had been arrested on the island in connection with the bombing.

The weekly, as quoted by AFP, reported that a Milan native named Andrea Sartoni, said to own another bar close to the Sari Club, was in custody in connection with the bombing.

It said the Italian foreign ministry had confirmed that Sartoni was in custody but that no further information was immediately available.

The Indonesian police have refused to confirm the arrest of the Italian. However, sources confirmed the arrest, saying that disclosing the arrest might open a new theory in the Bali bombing, possibly involving rivals in a vice ring.

More than 190 people, mostly foreigners, were killed in the bomb attack, which ripped through the packed Sari Club and Paddy's Cafe in Bali's popular Kuta beach district.

Also, on Thursday, a report by the Asian Wall Street Journal revealed that al-Qaeda's top Southeast Asian operative Riduan Isamuddin, alias Hambali, an Indonesian citizen, planned last month's Bali bombing in meetings held in southern Thailand.

The report said that Hambali, from West Java, urged Arab and Southeast Asian militants attending a January meeting to attack nightclubs and restaurants.

The report was immediately denied by Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, saying it was not based on fact and that it was premature to speculate on the matter until Indonesian authorities were sure who carried out the attack.

"It is possible that Mr 'A' could travel to country 'B' via Thailand but we do not have any information on this. We don't know yet who is behind the bomb," he told reporters.

"How would the media know that it was planned in Thailand? It is nonsense, the quality of the foreign press is much lower today than it used to be."