Habibie visits Istiqlal, assesses damage

JAKARTA (JP): President B.J. Habibie made an impromptu visit on Wednesday to Istiqlal Grand Mosque, which was damaged by a bomb blast two days ago.

Accompanied by Minister of Religious Affairs Malik Fadjar, Minister of Cooperatives Adi Sasono and Jakarta Police chief Maj. Gen. Noegroho Djayusman, Habibie observed the damage to the ground floor of the largest mosque in Southeast Asia.

He then addressed journalists and called on the nation to maintain unity and remain alert so that such incidents could be prevented in the future.

"I appeal to the nation -- whether they are followers of Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism or Buddhism -- to maintain unity," said Habibie, who was surrounded by Muslims performing the afternoon prayer, ashar, in the mosque.

The bomb blast, which caused Rp 3.4 billion in damages, should be condemned as it was a brutal act, Habibie said. He also said repair work would commence on Thursday.

Meanwhile, a political observer said allegations of a conspiracy as being behind the bombing, made by Muslim leader Abdurrahman Wahid, are worth following up by security forces.

"The allegations are worth following up in view of the effect of the bombing. The bomb itself was not of ordinary make and it could have been assembled by trained professionals," political observer M. Budyatna was quoted by Antara as saying here on Wednesday.

Abdurrahman, who is chairman of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Islamic organization, observed on Tuesday that the Monday bombing of Istiqlal could have been carried out by terrorists paid by a certain quarter to foil the upcoming general election.

According to Abdurahman, who is better known as Gus Dur, this quarter belongs to the so-called "floating masses".

"They are former members of the Armed Forces (ABRI) who were sidelined from the power structure," he said.

On the same day, private television station SCTV broadcast an interview with a bomb expert, who refused to be identified for safety reasons. On this pretext, SCTV also avoided displaying the face of the bomb expert, who said the bombing was done by professionals as the bomb materials were not readily available.

"Quite probably, the bomb was not assembled by civilians. It was quite different from fishing explosives," he said.

Commenting on the allegation, Budyatna stressed that the security forces should not hesitate to take the culprits to court.

"The allegation might be true because some quarters have reportedly been recruiting military deserters," said Budyatna of Jakarta's University of Indonesia.

According to him, allegations of conspiracy require a thorough investigation.

"Failure to uncover the case will trigger the wrath of Muslims," he said.

Separately, three major Islamic organizations -- Muhammadiyah, the Association of Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals (ICMI) and the Indonesian Council of Islamic Propagation (DDII) -- condemned the bombing.

The leaders of the three organizations -- Achmad Syafi'i Maarif, Achmad Tirtosudiro and A.M. Luthfi respectively -- told a media conference the act was immoral and barbaric.

Tirtosudiro said the three organizations agreed with earlier condemnations. "What's more important is whether the government, especially security authorities, will be able to reveal who the perpetrators and the intellectual masterminds of the bombing were," he said.

"It is not enough for the government to just appeal for calm from the public, and to maintain security and order," he said.

He cited various violent incidents involving religious clashes, such as those occurring in Ambon, Sambas, Ciamis, Ketapang and Kupang, which have yet to be resolved.

"Is there connection between these incidents? Are they part of a grand design? And who's behind them?" he asked as quoted by Antara.

Meanwhile, Habibie's special business envoy for Europe, Hashim Djojohadikusumo, described how the unrest hitting various parts of the country scared off investors.

"Every time I meet with foreign investors they always complain about the security situation," Hashim said after reporting on his recent overseas visit to Habibie at Merdeka Palace.

He said the President especially expressed concern over Monday's bomb blast at Istiqlal mosque.

"We worry this (blast) will affect investors' interest to come here," Hashim quoted the President as saying. (prb/swe)