Police say arrest of Bali suspects a matter of time

Police say arrest of Bali suspects a matter of time

I Wayan Juniartha and Fitri Wulandari, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali

The nationwide manhunt for three suspects in the Bali bombing is
intensifying and the National Police believe the arrests would
only be a matter of time.

The police joint inquiry team spokesperson Brig. Gen. Edward
Aritonang expressed on Monday his guarded optimism that the
suspects could be captured soon as the police already knew their
identities, their possible hide-outs, places they had visited
before and individuals they had made contact with in the past.

Aritonang said a special team of detectives had been deployed
to suspected towns to hunt down the suspects, whose composite
sketches were distributed across the country. The team will be
assisted by local police officers in each area.

"We are very confident that we will be able to solve this
case. The only reason why we have not yet caught these guys is
because we have not found them in places we have searched," he
said.

Aritonang was also quite sure that the suspects were alive and
had not fled the country.

"They are still in the country, but they have split up and
gone into hiding in separate places across Indonesia," he told a
regular media briefing here.

The three suspects are wanted in connection for their possible
role in the Oct. 12 bombing that claimed over 200 lives, mostly
foreigners.

Apart from the three suspects, the police have also looked
into the possibility of links to military soldiers, including
those who have deserted from their units.

Aritonang refused to disclose any names, so as not to
jeopardize ongoing investigations.

"I am sorry I cannot give all the information we have. We
perfectly understand that the public, particularly the victims'
families, want this information. But we must act very cautiously
on this matter since we believe that the group, which was
responsible for the fatal bombings, is also monitoring our
progress and moves," Aritonang said.

In Jakarta, deputy National Police spokesman Sr. Comr.
Prasetyo said the police headquarters had instructed all
provincial police to chase the three suspects. They especially
seemed to be focusing on the conflict-torn regions of Aceh,
Maluku and Papua.

"We have instructed each local police unit to scour their own
areas of jurisdiction to find the suspects' whereabouts as the
suspects might be hiding there now," said Prasetyo.

As of Monday the Disaster Victims Identification (DVI) had
managed to make positive identifications of five more bodies,
bringing the total number of identified bodies to 118. The five
bodies were two females and one male of Australian nationality,
one British female and one Korean.

"The identification process will be continued in accordance
with international standards, that is until we are not able to
identify any more bodies, either because of a lack of sufficient
ante-mortem information or the body has decomposed into a state
beyond recognition," Aritonang said.

Prasetyo said those who suffered from losses resulting from
police mistakes in identifying suspects could file a lawsuit
against the police.

"We will accept a verdict which orders us to pay compensation
for any losses as a result of police mistakes," said Prasetyo.

In the case of the false arrest of a Bali bombing suspect in
Bajawa, Flores on Friday, Prasetyo said the arrest was made after
local people handed over the man.

"We have never made any arrest thus far... We are very careful
in making arrests, let alone detention," Prasetyo said.