Makassar bombers to be tried on charges of plotting to topple govt
Jupriadi, The Jakarta Post, Makassar, South Sulawesi
Those responsible for the recent bombings in the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar will likely be charged with attempting to overthrow the government, as well as facing charges of terrorism, police said on Tuesday.
South Sulawesi Police chief Insp. Gen. Firman Gani said the alleged bombers, led by Agung Abdul Hamid, were apparently fighting to establish an Islamic state in Indonesia. The group therefore will likely be charged with attempting to undermine the legitimate government.
"We have found that Agung Hamid's group was trying to undermine the central government. The indication of this is that they had military training, supplied weapons and perpetrated terror attacks," he said during a news conference in Makassar.
"During the New Order regime, this group was categorized as violating the now defunct subversion law. But now they will be charged under the antiterrorism regulation," Firman said.
Agung is the alleged mastermind of the Dec. 5 bombings of a McDonald's outlet and a Toyota showroom, which left three people dead and 11 others injured. Agung remains at large, along with three other suspects.
Police have said that the group of alleged bombers led by Agung also supplied weapons they smuggled into the country from abroad to fighters in Ambon, Maluku, and Poso, Central Sulawesi, where Muslims and Christians were involved in sectarian fighting between 1999 and 2002.
Firman said investigators had uncovered at least two motives for the Makassar bombings, which they have linked to the Oct. 12 bombings on the resort island of Bali that killed over 190 people, mostly foreigners.
First, the bombers were attacking American interests in Indonesia. Second, they were attempting to overthrow the government, Firman said.
Firman said on Monday the police had discovered documents outlining plans to declare an Islamic state in the homes of several suspects, including Muchtar.
The documents consisted of a "structure of the Islamic state and some plans of action", he said. The police, however, have not definitively concluded that the bombers had planned to establish an Indonesian Islamic State (NII).
Agung and his accomplices are believed to have links to foreign terrorists, including those based in Moro, the Philippines, and Afghanistan.
"Seen from the evidence we have found, the links are clear. But we cannot make a final conclusion, pending more evidence from the investigation by the National Police Headquarters," Firman said.
At least 15 people have been named suspects in the bombing, and 12 of them are being held at the South Sulawesi Police Headquarters.
Firman said the police were intensifying the hunt for Agung and three other suspects -- Dahlan, Mirzal and Hisbullah Rasyid. Their photos have been distributed to police stations around the country, he added.
Meanwhile, South Sulawesi Police chief of detectives Sr. Comr. Ahmad Abdi confirmed on Tuesday that three of the detained suspects -- Suryadi, Masnur and Abdul Hamid -- were sick.
Abdi said the three would not be taken to the hospital for medical treatment and that they would be treated in their cells.
Their illnesses are not serious and there is no need for them to be treated in the hospital, he said.
"The suspects are still handcuffed. We will remove the handcuffs only when they want to pray. We have to take these precautions because they are special suspects," Abdi said.
Firman also said the police were ready to face a lawsuit filed by the lawyers and the families of the bombing suspects.
The lawyers are protesting the police's decision to ban them from accompanying their clients during interrogation. The became effective on Tuesday.
The lawyers are allowed to watch their clients being interrogated from behind glass windows.
"The lawyers can no longer appear in the same room as their clients. They can only watch the suspects through windows we have installed. These are the rules of the game as stipulated in the antiterrorism legislation," Firman said.