Marzuki undeterred by blast

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)