Bomb hoaxes are 'political ploys'

Bomb hoaxes are 'political ploys'

JAKARTA (JP): National Police chief Gen. Dibyo Widodo hinted
yesterday that all the bomb threats and rumors of riots were the
ploy of a certain group which had its own political agenda.

"These activities have tended to be politicized. The group
must have certain political interests on their mind," he said.

"They would not do such things if they did not have any
particular interests."

He refused to identify the group but said police had
identified some people, who are believed to have made bomb
threats.

As of yesterday, at least 14 bomb hoaxes have been reported to
police since last month after threatening phone calls were made
to office buildings and public facilities.

He said the callers were traced following an intensive police
investigation into the Jan. 18 bomb blast at a Tanah Tinggi
apartment in Central Jakarta.

He declined to reveal the identities of the callers or say
whether they were linked to the group of people allegedly
responsible for the Tanah Tinggi explosion.

"Even if I knew, I would never tell you."

He said the callers were serious in their mission and there
was no other possible motive for their actions other than a
political agenda.

The group members would not spend their time repeatedly
starting and whipping up rumors if it was not a political ploy,
Dibyo said. (cst)