Habibie visits Istiqlal, assesses damage

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)