One month after, Bali blasts remain a mystery

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Nearly a month after the Bali bombings that killed more than 190 people, injured another 200 and left 97 others missing and presumed dead, police have struggled to make a significant breakthrough in finding the perpetrators.

This is despite the fact that within hours of the Oct. 12 blasts, Australia and the United States said they suspected the Al-Qaeda terrorist network to be behind the bombings. Despite the help of foreign investigators, including from the U.S., Australia, Britain and Germany, the police have been slow to shed light on the perpetrators or their motives.

Police have detained, released, re-detained and re-released a number of suspects but so far have not found any links to al- Qaeda. In the latest development, police arrested yet another suspect, Amrozi, who allegedly owned the Mitsubishi L-300 van used in the massive bombing outside the Sari Club.

Amrozi, police said, had also admitted his involvement in the bombings although police have not determined his specific role in the attack. Police are now hunting for Amrozi's accomplices.

However, there are many questions that have remained unanswered, leading to speculation about the bombings, including the masterminds, the explosives used, the motive, not to mention the abundant irregularities and inconsistencies in the police investigation results.

Head of the multi-national investigation team Insp. Gen. I Made Mangku Pastika said on Friday that suspect Amrozi had admitted to helping build the bomb because he hated Americans and wanted to kill as many Americans as possible. However, on Oct. 13, a State Department official was quoted by AFP as saying that the bomb that blew up near the U.S. consular office did not appear to have targeted the facility.

Police claimed they had questioned more than 200 people so far and obtained statements from over 80 witnesses, but it seems each time they either issue conflicting statements or dismiss their own conclusions.

The following are a review of the key events, the ensuing investigation and statements issued. With ten days of November gone, will the investigation team finish the probe by the end of this month, as hoped by President Megawati Soekarnoputri?

The blasts

Oct. 12: First bomb exploded outside Paddy's Cafe, followed by a massive blast near the Sari Club. Another bomb also exploded near the U.S. consulate general in Renon, Denpasar, but no fatalities or injuries were reported. Just a few hours prior to these three blasts, a bomb blew up near the Philippines consulate general in Manado.

On the suspects

Oct. 13: ali Police questioned 10 Pakistanis but said there had been no indication of their involvement in the bombings.

Oct. 14: Police said they were hunting down an Indonesian citizen, Muhammad Fawazi. whose ID card was found near the blast scene.

Oct. 15: Police quizzed two persons. One was reportedly seen at the blast scene, while the other was a relative of Muhammad Fawazi.

Oct. 17: Police questioned ex Indonesian Air Force officer named Deddy Masruchin about his expertise in making bombs. They also questioned two civilians and a security guard.

Oct.20: Police questioned two fishermen from Kepaon village, Denpasar, and one female survivor.

Oct. 24: Maj. Gen Muhdi PR, former chief of the Army Special Force (Kopassus), claimed that a military intelligence team had identified the bombers. The joint team was still in the dark.

Oct. 30: Police released three composite sketches of possible suspects. Police also probed former chairman of the Crescent Star Party in Denpasar, Muhammad Jafar Sanad, in connection with a motorcycle found in the blast scene. Police suspected the motorcycle was linked to the bombings.

Oct. 31: Police announced the first suspect in the Bali bombings, who was one of the three faces shown in composite sketches being released. Police identified the suspect as a bomb expert.

Nov. 1: Police arrested a man named Eko S. alias RS, 33, in Bajawa, Ngada, Flores in East Nusa Tenggara, due to his facial resemblance to one of the three composite sketches. He was taken to Denpasar but a day later police released him due to lack of evidence.

Nov. 2: Police dropped the name of Muhammad Fawazi from the list of suspects, saying he was more likely a victim than a suspect.

Nov. 5: Police questioned nine people whose facial features resembled the composite sketches. They questioned four men out of the nine intensively, one in the North Sumatra town of Binjai, one in Jakarta, and two others in East Java.

Nov. 6: Police released Zulvan, the man detained in Binjai for using a fake ID to obtain a passport. Police arrested Amrozi at his home at Tenggulun, Paciran village, Lamongan, East Java. He is allegedly the owner of the Mitsubishi L-300 van used in the car bombing.

Nov. 7: Police were hunting down Amrozi's alleged accomplices, identified as brothers and a close friend. They are M. Gufron (Amrozi's older brother), Ali Imron (younger brother), Ali Fauzi (younger brother), and Mubarok, a cleric at the Al Islam Islamic boarding school and an alumnus Al Mukmin Ngruki Islamic boarding school, Surakarta, which cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir directs.

Nov. 8: Amrozi acknowledged his acquaintance with Abu Bakar Ba'asyir and Riduan Isamuddin, but has not linked the two with the Bali bombings. Amrozi learned jihad principles from Ba'asyir, police said. Police were hunting five other suspects, saying they knew their names.

Nov. 9: Police questioned Muhammad Zakaria, leader of the Al Islam Islamic boarding school and Silvester Tendean, owner of the Tidar Kimia chemical shop in Surabaya, East Java.

On the motive

Nov. 8: Police said Amrozi expressed discontent over the results of the bombings, saying that the main targets were Americans rather than Australians. Only three Americans were killed in the carnage, while Australians accounted for 70 percent of the fatalities.

On the explosives

Oct. 14: Police said the explosives contained C4 based on the materials found at the scene.

Oct. 15: Chief of the National Intelligence Agency A.M. Hendropriyono confirmed that one of the bombs was C4.

Oct. 20: The joint investigation team revealed that there were three bombs, one inside Paddy's Cafe and two others outside near the Sari Club.

Oct. 22: The police corrected an earlier statement on the number of bombs, saying there were only two instead of three.

Oct. 24: Police said a cell phone set to vibration mode was used to trigger the small bomb in Renon, just after the deadly blast in Kuta.

Nov. 1: Police concluded that the explosives used in the Bali bombings were TNT, RDX, and other materials including Chloride (CLO3).

Nov. 9: Police said they had evidence, including receipts for the purchase of chemicals bought by Amrozi. The chemicals were ammonium nitrate, potassium chlorate, aluminum powder and sulfur. The total weight of the chemicals amounted to around one ton.

On the Investigation

Oct. 13: Bali Police chief Brig. Gen. Budi Setyawan said he was prepared to resign if he failed to uncover the case in a month. Officers from some of the world's top police forces assembled in Bali to hunt the bombers.

Oct. 16: Insp. Gen. I Made Mangku Pastika was appointed to head multi- national investigation team.

Oct. 17: Australia offered an A$2 million (US$1.08 million) reward for information leading to the bombers who killed scores of its citizens.

Oct. 18: Indonesia forged an agreement with six nations to investigate the Bali terrorist bomb attack. After almost a week of gruesome work, forensic experts have been able to positively identify only 42 of the remains from the Bali bombing last weekend that killed more than 180 people.

Oct. 19: Australian police said they would take statements from 600 witnesses as part of the massive multinational investigation. The police have so far identified 450 Australian witnesses.

Oct. 20: Australia's top intelligence body is setting up a permanent office in Jakarta as part of moves to step up regional counter- terrorism efforts following the Bali bombing, officials said Monday.