New Order agents 'might be behind bomb blasts'

New Order agents 'might be behind bomb blasts'

JAKARTA (JP): The government pledged on Thursday to get to the
bottom of a series of bomb attacks here and was cautiously
suggesting that remnants of the New Order regime or wayward
military personnel might be behind the senseless acts.

Attorney General Marzuki Darusman told reporters after a
biweekly Cabinet meeting that President Abdurrahman Wahid has
instructed the Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Adm. Widodo A.S.
to help police in investigating the cases as the government felt
that the military had been uncooperative.

"The government feels that clearly there have been obstacles
in the sense that police investigations (over a series of bomb
blasts) had been discontinued when they were about to conclude
that the (military) apparatus might be involved ... they are
beyond the reach of the police," Marzuki said.

"We know the source of the problem and those who have been
hampering the investigations. The TNI chief has been authorized
to break through this (barrier) and to resolve the problem,
institutionally," he added.

However, Marzuki stopped short of declaring that military
personnel were behind the bomb attacks.

Later in the day, Cabinet Secretary Marsilam Simanjuntak
quoted the President as saying that those responsible for the
blasts would be prosecuted and that "nobody is above the law".

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Rizal Ramli described
the bombing as a "barbaric act" which was aimed at sabotaging the
country's economic recovery.

Separately, one of Soeharto's lawyers, Juan Felix Tampubolon,
said on Thursday:

"I'm confident that my client (Soeharto) was not behind this
(bombing). Anyone can point the finger at my client, but if the
police were to think on the same lines as them I don't think it's
wise."

"The police must get hold of the bombers first."

Another of Soeharto's lawyers, Muhammad Assegaf, said there
are rumors that certain parties were taking advantage of
Soeharto's trial to conduct terrorist acts and "put the blame on
Pak Harto."

"Anybody can say anything. Even in Caday's (Philippine
Ambassador) case, they were saying that the Cendana (Soeharto's
residence) family was behind it," Assegaf said.

The U.S. government condemned the bombing and called upon the
perpetrators of this act of terrorism "to cease their unspeakably
cruel acts."

"If asked, we stand ready to assist the Indonesian government
in trying to solve this crime," the U.S. embassy said in a
statement made available to the Post.

Jakartans were horrified on Wednesday when a powerful blast
rocked the 34-story Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) building in the
busy Central Business District which is in the heart of the
capital, in the afternoon.

The blast killed at least 10 people and injured over 30
others. But police kept insisting that 15 men died in the blast
even though they failed to produce the bodies.

"Ten dead bodies were found in the smoke-filled underground
parking lot later in the night while the other five died at the
Pertamina Hospital, after receiving emergency treatment, shortly
after the explosion," Jakarta Police spokesman Supt. Nur Usman
said on Thursday.

A senior officer at the National Police Forensic Laboratory
(Puslabfor) said the blast was caused by a bomb containing over
one kilogram of TNT, the highly flammable toxic compound
trinitrotoluene.

Another forensic officer, Supt. Marsudi, said the bomb was
placed at the rear of a car. The car was split into two by the
blast. The rear side of the car he said, was completely damaged,
while the front part was blown six meters away.

The explosion left a hole, 60 centimeters in diameter, in the
floor of the P2 parking lot where the car was believed to have
been parked. Another one-square-meter hole was found in the floor
of the P1 parking lot, which is one level above.

By Thursday evening, police said that at least 81 cars, mostly
sedans, had been completely damaged by the explosion. Some 110
other vehicles were partly damaged.

Nur said the building, except for the parking lots, is now
safe. A joint forensic team is still working among the debris,
looking for more possible clues.

The Capital Market Supervisory Agency chief, Herwidayatmo,
said the loss suffered by JSX in the blast was not so much in
material terms as it was on its image because the stock exchange
portrays the country's economic state.

Chief commissioner of JSX, Erry Riyana Hardjapamekas, said the
stock exchange had lost administration fees worth some Rp 300
billion (US$33.3 million).

Separately, PT. Procon Indah, which manages the JSX building
refused to disclose their estimated loss, saying that the
insurance company is still calculating the damage.

The company's staffer Carrey Alam said the management has
decided to close the building until Monday due to the serious
damage to its sewer system, forcing the JSX to suspend its
trading on Thursday and Friday.

Police spokesman Nur Usman said his office has questioned five
witnesses over the incident, namely, Darmus, a retired military
officer; Kusnadi and Haryadi, both entrepreneurs; Oding
Supriyadi, a security officer of Danamon Bank; and Sahat Siahaan,
a JSX driver.

"The witnesses said that about 15 minutes before the blast, a
Toyota Kijang was seen being parked and the driver then left the
building immediately," Nur said.

On Thursday, at least two offices in the Central Business
District received bomb threats, that turned out to be hoaxes.
(prb/byg/dja/ylt)