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)