Christmas bombings aim at toppling Gus Dur: Police

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)