Marzuki undeterred by blast

JAKARTA (JP): Attorney General Marzuki Darusman vowed on Wednesday to continue with cases under investigation by his office despite bomb terrors.

"If it was intended to terrorize, we are not going to be intimidated. We are not going to slacken and we will move on (with our works)," Marzuki told journalists after attending a Cabinet meeting at Bina Graha presidential office.

"My staff are even more determined now to go on with cases currently under our investigation," he added.

An explosive device, which was confirmed as a home-made bomb, exploded and damaged a bathroom in a building in the Attorney General's office compound, known as the "Round Building" on Tuesday.

Another bombing attempt on Wednesday failed when Police found a package containing two compact bombs tied between pipes on the ceiling of a bathroom on the second floor of the building, right above the lavatory where the first bomb exploded.

The bombs were taken to the Mobile Brigade Police headquarters in Kelapa Dua, south of here, for examination.

A bomb squad member, First Sgt. Setiawan, said each bomb weighed around two kilograms and would have produced a blast twice the size of the explosion on Tuesday. A broken timer was found later near the location of the package.

"The two bombs were still active. Judging from their size, they could wreck a four of the five-story-building," he said.

National Police chief Gen. Rusdihardjo confirmed that Tuesday's blast came from a homemade bomb.

"It was not an Indonesian Military (TNI) or police bomb. It was clearly a homemade one, even though the blast was quite strong," Rusdihardjo said before attending a Cabinet meeting.

The blast shattered glass panels up to the third floor and cracked a wall up to the fourth floor.

Speculations were rife as the blast occurred one hour after state prosecutors completed questioning Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, the youngest son of former president Soeharto who is now under investigation for alleged graft during 32 years of rule.

However, Rusdihardjo quickly said that it was still unclear whether the blast was connected with Tommy's questioning, saying "We don't know if it is linked with (Tommy's) questioning on Tuesday."

He also said that there could be "a third party who took the opportunity to detonate the bomb" after Tommy left the Attorney General's Office.

In March, a mysterious shooting marked the interrogation of Tommy by the House of Representatives' over irregularities in the clove trade scheme entrusted to him in the past. Soeharto's successor B.J. Habibie abrogated the arrangement early last year.

The gunman and motive remain undisclosed.

When asked whether Tuesday's blast was connected with the questioning of Tommy, Marzuki said: "It is easy to have that impression and I think that is also the perception of the public".

Marzuki added that additional security measures would be enforced and an investigation into the blast is underway.

He admitted that since taking office he has received many pressures ranging from public criticism to intervention from other institutions challenging decisions of his office.

"But, now, such pressures has been elevated to action which we classify as terror," he said.

Head of the National Police Forensic Laboratory Center (Puslabfor) Brig. Gen. Erwin Mappaseng said the exploded bomb contained nitrate remnants and kerosene and is assumed to have been between middle and high explosive power.

"Even amateurs could produce the bomb. Its materials can be obtained and bought anywhere in the city," Mappaseng said.

A National Police spokesman Sr. Supt. Saleh Saaf said there has been no plan to station police officers or provide bomb detectors in the Attorney General's office.

He said the case is now being handled by the South Jakarta Police.

Elsewhere in Denpasar, the bomb squad of the local police was deployed to the mayoral office on Wednesday morning following a phone call from a man who claimed to be a member of Laskar Jihad (Jihad Force) Muslim group saying several bombs had been planted there.

The mayoralty telephone operator I Made Sudirta said the anonymous caller told him the Muslim group intended to destroy the three-story building situated on the downtown street of Jl. Gadjah Mada. It is situated next to the Udayana Military Command headquarters.

No bomb was found after the police squad thoroughly combed the office.

Human rights activist Hendardi expressed full support for Marzuki on Wednesday and condemned the blast saying that the incident was the work of people "who have been cornered" by the Attorney General's Office.

"The blast has clearly demonstrated that these people are not happy with Marzuki's steps," Hendardi, who is also chairman of the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association, said in a statement.

He added that the blast also proved that the government of President Abdurrahman Wahid "still has to face supporters of the old forces who are capable of and have never been reluctant to use terror and violence". (asa/byg/prb/bby/edt/zen)