Police may summon Fuad for clarification over bomb case

Police may summon Fuad for clarification over bomb case

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Police may summon former finance minister and current MPR
legislator Fuad Bawazier for clarification over his alleged
involvement in a bombing case here, City Police Chief Insp. Gen.
Sofjan Jacoeb said on Friday.

"Police need to cross-check any information from the suspects
during the interrogation in order to find whether or not their
statements are true," he said.

Sofjan, however, said that police would first gather
information from other witnesses before summoning Fuad for
clarification.

The name of Fuad Bawazier resurfaced when Kisman Latumakulita,
35, one of three suspects in a bomb possession case, admitted
that the eight homemade bombs found last Saturday at Hotel Mega
in Central Jakarta, were previously intended to protect Fuad's
home.

Police found the bombs after a tip from hotel staff, but
refused to comment further on a possible link to the Nov. 9 bomb
attack on Petra church in Koja, North Jakarta, where a prayer for
peace in Maluku was held.

Kisman added that the bombs were to be used to counter
possible attacks by supporters of President Abdurrahman Wahid at
Fuad's home ahead of the former president's fall in July.

Fuad, now a member of the Reform Faction in the People's
Consultative Assembly (MPR), could not be reached for comment on
Friday, as his mobile phone was apparently out of order.

Kisman admitted that he had offered Fuad some associates from
Ambon to help protect his house amid rising political tensions at
that time.

"I offered Pak Fuad help in safeguarding his home as I have
known him very well since I was a reporter," he said.

Kisman was a former journalist for the business daily Neraca
and afternoon daily Terbit, while Fuad briefly served as the
finance minister under the 16-month administration of President
B.J. Habibie.

Kisman said some 30 guards from Ambon had secured Fuad's home
after the first memorandum was issued by the DPR to President
Abdurrahman Wahid early this year, until the former president was
toppled in July.

"Pak Fuad did finance the travel of "my younger brothers" from
Ambon," Kisman said, referring to the guards he summoned from
Ambon.

According to police reports, Kisman assembled the eight bombs
along with two other suspects, Yupiter Adventius Poeang, 26, and
Randi Abari Lapadanga, 32.