Gus Dur orders arrest of Tommy

Gus Dur orders arrest of Tommy

JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid said on Friday he
had ordered the arrest of former president Soeharto's youngest
son Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra.

The reasons for the order were not explained by the President.
However, Abdurrahman hinted it may be in connection with
Wednesday's bombing at the Jakarta Stock Exchange building.

"I (issued) an order during the Cabinet meeting yesterday
(Thursday) to arrest Tommy Soeharto," Abdurrahman said at Al-
Musyawarah Mosque in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta, following
Friday prayers.

While he hinted at it, the President did not explicitly state
his order for the arrest of Tommy Soeharto was related to the
powerful blast at the Jakarta Stock Exchange building which left
at least 10 people dead and 27 injured.

The President revealed his order when responding to a question
following Friday prayers on whether a spate of bomb attacks in
the country was related to the corruption trial of Soeharto.

The blast on Wednesday took place on the eve of the second
session of Soeharto's trial.

On July 4, one hour after Tommy was last questioned in
connection with his father's case, a bomb exploded in a building
at the Attorney General's Office. No one was injured in that
incident.

A second, more powerful bomb was defused a day later, and
police at the time questioned Tommy's bodyguards.

Abdurrahman also said he had issued an order to arrest Habib
Ali Baagil. The President did not explain, however, who Habib Ali
was or why he had ordered his arrest.

"Today, I have also ordered the Jakarta Police chief (Insp.
Gen. Nurfaizi) to arrest Habib Ali Baagil," he said.

"It does not mean that (they are) necessarily guilty, but we
deem that there are enough reasons to arrest (them)," Gus Dur, as
the President is known, said.

Abdurrahman said the arrests must be made "to prevent further
bomb attacks from taking place".

Separately, the chairman of the Defenders of Islam, Habib
Rizieq Shihab, refuted the President's allegations, saying Habib
Ali Baagil had never been involved in any acts of violence.
However, he also failed to say in what connection he knew Habib
Ali Baagil.

"I have strong evidence that Habib Ali Baagil is someone who
would not resort to violence," he said as quoted by Antara, while
demanding Abdurrahman apologize for his statements.

Order

The head of the National Police's information department, Sr.
Supt. Saleh Saaf, said later on Friday no arrests had been made.

"We actually did not directly get that order; we just received
that information after the President said it during the Friday
prayers ... but, we consider that instruction as a serious order
and that follow-up actions should be taken," Saleh told SCTV on
Friday evening.

He added that any action would be "professionally" carried out
and that the police could only make an arrest if they had "enough
preliminary evidence" that Tommy was involved in the bombings.

Later on Friday afternoon, after visiting victims of
Wednesday's blast at Pertamina Hospital in South Jakarta,
Abdurrahman said there was plenty of evidence against Tommy in
relation to the bombing.

"There is so much evidence," Abdurrahman said when asked what
proof existed. He added that he did not know when Tommy would be
arrested. "We'll see whether this order is carried out or not."

Meanwhile, Soeharto's lawyer Juan Felix Tampubolon said Tommy
was in Jakarta and that as of 8 p.m. on Friday he had not
received a summons from the police in relation to the arrest or
to appear for questioning.

Journalists waited in front of Tommy's heavily guarded
residence in Menteng, Central Jakarta, on Friday evening in
anticipation of an arrest.

Earlier in the day, Abdurrahman said the government had
decided to take "drastic measures within one or two days" against
those who were responsible for the bomb attacks "to prevent the
same incident from taking place in the near future".

"One of the people (whose phone) has been tapped (has said)
that several more places will be the target of bomb attacks,"
Abdurrahman told journalists after visiting Philippine Ambassador
Leonides T. Caday, who is being treated at Medistra Hospital
after being injured in a bomb attack in front of his residence in
Central Jakarta in August.

"Enough is enough and it is about time that we take action,"
the President said.

Some have voiced their belief the recent spate of bomb attacks
and ethnic violence in the outlying provinces were instigated by
supporters of Soeharto, and Abdurrahman on Friday reinforced this
view.

"There are still many people who would stand behind Soeharto
and they are not poor like you, but they have money, resources
and everything," Abdurrahman said in Kelapa Gading.

"A few days ago, students were beaten up (by pro-Soeharto
supporters). That's why I called my nephew Syaifullah Yusuf this
morning and asked him where he has been ... are you sleeping all
day while people are busy mobilizing pro-Soeharto rallies like
that?" the President said, referring to the chairman of Banser,
the civilian guard of Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama.

"I am not proposing that we should pick a fight, but people
are free to express their opinion, and we should not worry
because the students are not alone in their campaign for
justice," Abdurrahman added.

Meanwhile, police said they found another body in the
basement of the Jakarta Stock Exchange building on Friday. They
also said nine people had been questioned in relation to the
bombing. (byg/bby/dja/jaw/prb)