Police reveal arrests of mosque blast suspects

JAKARTA (JP): City police announced on Monday the arrest of seven street musicians for their alleged involvement in the April 19 blast at Istiqlal Grand Mosque, but refused to speculate on a motive or suspected plot leaders.

"I'm sorry that until now I can't draw a conclusion from the results of the investigation, so I can't disclose what the background of the crime is," city police chief Maj. Gen. Noegroho Djajoesman said.

He added: "...but it's not the end. I'm still not satisfied, so we'll keep on building the case."

The two-star general, accompanied by his deputy chief, Brig. Gen. Soetanto and city police detective chief Col. Alex Bambang Riatmodjo, told a news conference that his detectives ran into a dead end in tying the seven musicians to whoever plotted the blast.

"The problems are not as simple as we thought," Noegroho said.

A reliable source said, however, that a state official was suspected of plotting the incident to ignite religious tension ahead of the general election campaign in May. Police reportedly kept the details under wraps because of the sensitive nature of the findings and its relation to maneuvering among the political elite.

"We are only focusing on the criminal offense," the source said.

The arrested men were identified as Wwn (26), Nri (26), Bo (20), Smi (22), Jpa (17), Srd (18) and Usi (25), all of whom were seen resting at the mosque shortly before the blast.

"We believe the suspects are people who really know the area, and so we just checked on those who rarely came again after the blast," Noegroho said.

The suspects reportedly stayed at a rented house in Ciledug, but were arrested in different places starting from May 7. Arrests were made based on information from at least 28 witnesses, including beverage vendors and parking attendants in the mosque compound.

Although Noegroho did not provide details of the role of each suspect, he said: "Wwn, the oldest among them, was the one who always received the orders and directed his friends. He also was the one who planted the bomb at the mosque."

Noegroho said the suspects would not disclose how much they were paid to carry out the crime.

"Wwn once promised one of his friends to buy him a car, only that," Noegroho said.

Wwn was reportedly "abducted" by a group of unidentified people in early April when he was at Gambir Railway Station.

He told police that he was terrorized for several days and briefed on the plot before being sent back to the station, Noegroho said.

"I presume the group that gave the orders closely watched these suspects, their habits and their backgrounds.

"Wwn is a university dropout, who became a street musician before he was recruited by a foundation in the Kebon Sirih area," Noegroho said, referring to a district in Central Jakarta.

He declined to disclose the name of the social welfare foundation, saying that police did not find any indications of its involvement in the blast.

The only connection was that the suspects underwent training and education at the foundation, Noegroho said.

The foundation's chairwoman, identified only as Indi, also was questioned by police after her dark green Escudo jeep was reported parked near the mosque at the time of the blast.

"When the police checked later, the owner said that the car was being repaired at a workshop on the day the blast occurred," he said.

A source close to the investigation alleged that Indi has close relationships with people close to the state official.

"But we cannot prove that unless the people (close to the state official) also are arrested," the source said.

All of those arrested have claimed not to know who gave them orders or their motives. They also disavowed knowledge that the wooden box contained in a black bag, which they allegedly placed in the mosque, was a bomb.

"The orders were not given face to face but through notes, and the seven obeyed the orders because they were intimidated and threatened," Noegroho said.

He said the suspects were told to pick up RX-King motorcycles at a parking lot in Gondangdia area in Central Jakarta and to return them to a parking lot of a movie theater in Ciledug after the mission was completed.

Somebody then handed over the bag to Wwn and his friends to be placed in the mosque, Noegroho said.

A reliable source said that the seven were part of 23 people suspected in the crime, including those who gave orders and monitored activities of the seven.

Three of them are believed to be active members of an elite division of the Army.

Noegroho repeatedly referred to the planning and execution of the operation as "very tidy".

Police said earlier that the powerful blast was from a potent mixture of trinitrotoluene (TNT) and potassium chlorate (KCLO3). It shattered windows and property of at least 21 offices of Islamic organizations, with damage estimated at Rp 500 million. (emf)