Businessman questioned over bomb explosion

Businessman questioned over bomb explosion

JAKARTA (JP): Jakarta Regional Military Command chief Maj.
Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin said that business tycoon Sofjan Wanandi
has been questioned after alleged documents bearing his name were
found at a bomb site.

Sjafrie said Sofjan, a leading student activist from the 1966
generation, was questioned earlier in the week at the Jakarta
Internal Security Agency (Bakorstanasda) on Jl. Kramat Raya in
Central Jakarta.

"We questioned Sofjan Wanandi after finding documents at the
site of the bomb explosion which mentioned his name," he told
reporters after a breaking of the fast gathering, held by the
Army's Special Forces Command (Kopassus) last night.

A homemade device exploded at an apartment in Tanah Tinggi,
Central Jakarta, Sunday. No one was killed but police arrested a
man whom they alleged to be one of the three bombmakers. The
other two are said to be in hiding.

Sjafrie did not say whether there was any other tangible
evidence other than Sofjan's name found written on some
documents.

"Give us time to think and conclude our investigation," said
Sjafrie, who is also the Bakorstanasda chief.

The explosion is being blamed on the banned People's
Democratic Party (PRD).

But PRD chairman Budiman Sudjatmiko, from Salemba
Penitentiary, Central Jakarta, has denied the accusations.

PRD executives were charged for sparking the riots that
followed a forceful takeover of the Indonesian Democratic Party
(PDI) headquarters on July 27, 1996.

Sofjan's legal consultant, Albert Hasibuan, countered reports
that Sofjan had been questioned.

"As far as I know, Pak Sofjan has not been summoned and
questioned," he told The Jakarta Post last night. "I only heard
rumors that Pak Sofjan would be questioned as a witness in the
case, but I don't know when."

Armed Forces Chief of Sociopolitical Affairs Lt. Gen. Yunus
Yosfiah said in Bandung, West Java, yesterday that the military
would need more credible sources before it could confirm reports
that prominent conglomerates were financial backers of the banned
organization.

While providing scant evidence to suggest reputed
conglomerates were involved, Yunus maintained that certain groups
were making political maneuvers.

He strongly refuted suggestions made by some observers that
the bombing was concocted by the military themselves.
(43/mds/imn)