Christmas bombings aim at toppling Gus Dur: Police
JAKARTA (JP): National Police Chief Gen. Surojo Bimantoro said on Wednesday that the bomb explosions at churches in seven provinces on Christmas Eve were targeted to topple the President and the government.
"It's too naive to say that the bombings were aimed at replacing the national police chief. They were aimed at replacing the government and the President," Bimantoro told reporters after a meeting with senior police officers at the National Police headquarters.
He hinted that the explosions were all conducted by a single group.
"They (the bombings) must have been conducted by one group, aiming at intimidating the public and weakening the government," the four-star general said.
The police chief did not name the group, but said that the conclusion was made upon findings about the similarities on how the bombs were assembled, the type of material used, the bags which contained the bombs and the detonation timing.
He, however, said that it was too early for the police to reveal the mastermind behind the bombings which claimed at least 17 lives.
He said the group must have used a "cut-out" method, as the field operators themselves did not recognize each other.
Separately, Air Force chief Marshal Hanafie Asnan denied any Air Force members' involvement in the Christmas Eve bombings.
"I can assure you that none of my men were involved," Hanafie told The Jakarta Post at his office on Wednesday.
He was commenting on media reports that elements in the Indonesian Military (TNI) were involved in the Dec. 24, 2000 bombings.
Rumors were rife that the bomb attacks had a correlation with the government's agenda to immediately open court sessions to try some military officers over alleged human rights abuses in East Timor last year.
But, top government officials have said that retired TNI officers loyal to former president Soeharto were involved in the bombings.
Hanafie said that TNI chief Admiral Widodo A.S. had also denied any involvement of members of the Navy in the bomb attacks.
"I met Widodo last week. He (Widodo) said Navy members were not involved in the bombings, either," he said.
Earlier on Tuesday, Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Mulyono Sulaiman and Minister of Defense Mahfud M.D. dismissed speculations that the bombings were conducted by Muslim activists.
Bimantoro said the police submitted the dossiers of Roni Miliar and Agus Kurniawan -- both suspects and prime witnesses of the Christmas Eve bombing on Jl. Terusan Jakarta in Bandung on Dec. 24 -- to the Bandung Prosecutor's Office on Wednesday.
Chief of the Bandung Prosecutor's Office Marwan Effendy said his office would complete the study of the case within two weeks.
"We hope to complete the dossiers sooner," he said in Bandung on Wednesday.
Marwan said both suspects will be charged under State Emergency Law No. 60/1951 on illegal possession of firearms, explosives and weapons, which carries a maximum punishment of the death penalty.
"Hopefully, the trial can begin before the end of this month," he said.
Both Agus and Roni claim that they never knew about the bombs' assembly process, but were only asked to place the bombs at the targeted places by Akim, who later died in the Dec. 24 blast at a welding shop on Jl. Terusan Jakarta.
Roni was asked to put a bomb in a church on Jl. Gatot Subroto, while Agus was asked to do the same at a church on Jl. Achmad Yani, a police report said. Each received Rp 300,000 (US$31) from Akim.
In a related development, the West Java legislative council will summon provincial police chief and Bandung regional police chief to clarify the investigation procedures in the bombing incident in Bandung.
"We'd like to know the procedural discrepancy between the National Police and the Bandung Regional Police when naming the suspects," a legislator, Iwan Rosadi, said.
West Java Police Chief Insp. Gen. Yuyun Mulyana said the police are searching for Haji Aceng and his two accomplices, one of whom is identified as Iqbal, to uncover further details on people behind them.
"There is still a missing link since the three people are still at large. But, we've come to the conclusion that the explosions in Bandung, Sukabumi and Pangandaran were conducted by the same people," Mulyana told reporters.
Meanwhile, Coordinating Minister for Political, Security and Social Welfare Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Wednesday that the government had set up a special team to investigate the bombings.
"The investigation should be conducted with full effort. The nation should unite and should no longer tolerate (terrorist attacks)," Bambang told reporters after briefing the team members at his office.
He said the special team is led by the National Police Chief, with chief of the State Coordinating Intelligence Body (Bakin) Lt. Gen. Arie J. Kumaat as his deputy.
He said the team consisted of officials from the Police, Bakin, the Indonesian Military (TNI)'s Strategic Intelligence Body (Bais), the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Attorney General's Office. (02/25/edt/jun)