Police dealt slap in face by bomb blast at HQ

Police dealt slap in face by bomb blast at HQ

Damar Harsanto and Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

What is often assumed to be the safest place can sometimes
turn out to be the most vulnerable to attack. This was
graphically demonstrated on Monday morning when a low-explosive
bomb blew up at Wisma Bhayangkari, located in the same compound
as the National Police Headquarters on Jl. Sanjaya, South
Jakarta, opposite the Greek Embassy.

The blast injured one person and damaged two cars, as well as
shattering windows in the vicinity of the blast site.

The explosion seemed to leave egg all over the face of the
National Police, as it took place hard on the heels of concerted
police efforts to combat terrorism -- including their current
investigations into suspects in the Bali and Christmas 2000
bombings. Also ongoing are investigations into the Timika case in
Papua, which allegedly involved the Army, and into the alleged
involvement of the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) in the Ambon
conflict.

National Police Chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar regretted the bomb
squad's failure to prevent the explosion inside the country's
police headquarters.

Speaking at a hearing with House of Representatives Commission
II on legal and home affairs, Da'i said that the police had
earlier detected the bomb but failed to prevent the explosion,
saying, "we had to await the bomb squad, which unfortunately
arrived after the blast had already occurred."

Separately, National Police deputy spokesman Brig. Gen. Edward
Aritonang gave the excuse that the explosion was due to the lack
of security checks around the venue.

"Wisma Bhayangkari is normally used as a venue for wedding
ceremonies and religious worship. As it is accessible to the
public, security there is not as tight as in other parts of the
compound," Edward told a media briefing.

Edward also acknowledged the explosion would produce a
heightened sense of fear in the public as it had affected police
property, supposedly one of the most secure places of all.

"However, we have yet to receive a message from any group
claiming responsibility for the bombing ... We have yet to link
the bombing with our current investigation into the string of
bombings around the country," said Aritonang.

The police concluded the device was a low-explosive pipe bomb
consisting of explosive black powder contained inside a 16-
centimeter-long, 11-centimeter-diameter steel pipe. A concrete
plug was used at the bottom of the pipe, while the top was
covered by a steel plate wired to a timer and power supply from a
motorcycle battery.

Police detectives also found about 130 fragments of steel
shrapnel lying around the blast scene, said Aritonang.

Aritonang added police were interrogating five witnesses over
the bombing, but declined to name them.

Police sources said they were Dewi Partogi (from the building
management), Slamet Sutikno (a gardener), Apang Jaya (a
passerby), and Norman and Entik (janitors).

Da'i said that the incident had challenged the police to carry
out an internal investigation as well as hunt down the
perpetrators.

"I apologize to the public for the incident, which may have
caused alarm, as the explosion took place inside the police
compound.

"But I must assert that nobody can guarantee they are safe
from terrorist threat, not even the police," he said.

The bomb exploded at 7:10 a.m. and damaged the veranda of
Wisma Bhayangkari. Forty minutes earlier, two janitors, Entik, 54
and Norman, 45, found a suspicious package wrapped in a black bag
placed in a plant pot on the veranda of the building. They
reported their finding to a military police post nearby, which
then contacted the police bomb squad. Unfortunately, the bomb
exploded nearly 10 minutes before the squad arrived.

The bomb caused Iman Turmuhidin, 50, a sound system engineer,
to sustain back injuries due to flying glass. It also caused a
woman officer working inside to faint. The blast also damaged two
cars, a blue Kijang van and a silver Great Corolla sedan parked
nearby, ruined the ceiling of the veranda and shattered windows
around the blast site.

The day before the explosion, the building had been used for a
wedding reception by Rita Julianti, a relative of pop singer Ully
Sigar Rusady.