Da'i concludes separatist GAM responsible for bombings
Damar Harsanto and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar has said the separatist Free Aceh Movement is believed to have been responsible for last month's bombings at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport and near the UN building on Jl. Wahid Hasyim in Central Jakarta.
"This is our analysis, however we are still working hard (to investigate the bombings)," Da'i told members of House of Representatives Commission I for defense and information on Wednesday.
"Right now, we have yet to arrest any suspects," he said, "but our analysis thus far shows that there were similarities in the explosives used."
Da'i said the pipe bombs used in both incidents were identical and that police had concluded that the devices came from the same group.
Also, the bombs were similar to devices used in a bombing in Medan, which is also believed to have been the work of GAM.
All of the devices were low-yield bombs.
Police released on Tuesday four composite sketches of three suspects in the bombings at the airport and the UN building.
GAM has denied involvement in the two bombings.
There were rumors on Wednesday that police had arrested one person resembling a sketch of a Jl. Wahid Hasyim bomb suspect on Tuesday afternoon in Gunung Putri, Bogor. Police reportedly plan to confront the man with eyewitness.
When asked for confirmation, National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Zainuri Lubis said he had no information on the matter.
Da'i also told the House members that police had concluded a string of bombings across the country over the past few years were the work of two groups, one linked to Imam Samudra and the other alleged Bali bombers and the other to GAM.
Da'i said the alleged Imam Samudra-linked group had admitted to its role in the Bali bombings and several bombing in the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar, the Riau capital of Pekanbaru and several locations in Jakarta.
The GAM-linked group is believed to have been behind bombings in Medan and at the Jakarta Stock Exchange building, the Atrium Plaza in Senen, Central Jakarta, the Cijantung Mall in East Jakarta, and the Malaysian Embassy.
In a related development, the East Jakarta District Court sentenced on Tuesday Syahrul, alias Sugeng Junaedi, to 15 years in prison for his role in last year's Cijantung Mall bombing.
The sentence handed down by the panel of judges, led by Mansyur Nasution, was above the seven-year jail term asked for by prosecutors.
According to the verdict, the bombing "caused trauma in the society and had a negative impact on both international and national security and economic affairs".
The court earlier sentenced M. Nadar, alias Arun, alias Atom, to two years in prison for planting a bomb in the mall, which is partly owned by the Army's Special Forces and is located near the forces' headquarters.
Three other defendants -- Fachrizal Hasan, alias Fachri, alias Nyak Mad; Irsyadi, alias Bambang Setiawan, alias Mudawali; and Ramli -- are being tried separately.
Police are still searching for other suspects in the case.