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.