Makassar bombers to be tried on charges of plotting to topple govt

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.