Police capture six terror suspects
Apriadi Gunawan and Suherdjoko, The Jakarta Post, Medan/Semarang
North Sumatra Police have arrested six alleged Aceh separatist rebels, who they believe are responsible for planting bombs in the provincial capital of Medan.
Police identified the six as Abdul Samat, 24, Syaifuddin, 31, Syaifullah, 30, Anwar, 20, Idris Roni alias Pek Ri, 58, and Tengku Usman, 28.
Two of the suspects -- Abdul Samat and Syaifuddin -- were captured in the Jl. Gajah Mada area, Medan, while four others were caught on Jl. Ujung Bateng in Belawan.
The six are charged with a bombing near the Amplas junction on Jan. 5. No one was injured in the blast, which took place in an empty house.
Hours later, the police found another unexploded bomb at the nearby Sukaramai market.
Police said the two bombs were identical and equipped with timers, used wet batteries and were placed inside a 25-centimeter-long pipe.
Medan Police chief Sr. Comr. Bagus Kurniawan said the suspects confessed to planning the attack on the orders of Marzuki, the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) leader for North Aceh.
Police were continuing to search for Marzuki who was also allegedly involved in the 2003 blast at the Medan mayor's office.
That blast was believed to be masterminded by Medan Deli's GAM leader Abdul Wahal," Bagus said.
Bagus said police believed Abdul Samat and Syaifuddin were also involved in many other bombings in East Aceh.
He said police had sufficient evidence to prove all six suspects were GAM members.
Syaifuddin, interviewed by The Jakarta Post, admitted to have been involved in the blasts in East Aceh and Amplas but denied he was a GAM member. He said he took part in the bombings for money.
"I was given Rp 100,000 (US$12) by Marzuki after the homemade bomb exploded at the Amplas crossroad area," Syaifuddin said, adding that he was assigned to detonate the bomb after it was assembled by others.
Another suspect, Anwar, told a similar story, saying he was given Rp 100,000 by Marzuki after planting the bomb at the Sukaramai market.
He said he planted the bomb at 3 a.m. on Jan. 6. The bomb was designed to explode nine hours later.
"I don't know who Marzuki really is. But because he offered me money, I accepted the job," Anwar, a pedicab driver, said. He also denied being a GAM rebel.
Bagus said the police had sufficient evidence to prove the six suspects were all GAM members.
In a separate development, the Semarang Prosecutor's Office in Central Java said four terror suspects would stand trial on Jan. 19 on charges of possessing and keeping explosives, detonators, firearms and thousands of bullets.
The four -- Heru Setiawan alias Suyatno, Joko A alias Luluk, Machmudi Haryono alias Yusuf, and Siswanto alias Antok -- were rounded up in a rented house at Jl. Taman Sri Rejeki Selatan 7 in Kalibanteng Kidul neighborhood, Semarang.
Police found the explosives and munitions on July 11, last year.
The trials will be held at Marina Hall rather than the Semarang District Court building for security reasons, Semarang chief prosecutor Sutiyono said on Tuesday.
The four will be tried separately at the same venue, Sutiyono said. Twelve prosecutors will handle the case.