Police suspect GAM behind Atrium bombing

JAKARTA (JP): Police suspect that the latest bombing at the Atrium Plaza was connected with GAM (Free Aceh Movement) as the car in which the bomb was planted belonged to the wife of one of the Jakarta Stock Exchange bombers, who is alleged to have a close relationship with the movement.

At a press conference on Monday, police said they were currently hunting the person who bought the red Ford Laser from Isnaeni, the wife of Tengku Ismuhadi, who has been sentenced to 20 years in jail for his involvement in the Jakarta Stock Exchange bombing last year.

"The initial of the person who bought the car is A, alias R. We're tracking him down," said Jakarta deputy police chief Brig. Gen. Makbul Padmanegara.

Thus far, the police have questioned 14 people, including Isnaeni, who said the car no longer belonged to her.

According to her lawyer, Johnson Pandjaitan, Isnaeni sold the car to Ramli, the owner of a second-hand car showroom in Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta, on Sept.14.

"My client is confused by the police allegations. She has just sold the car," Johnson told The Jakarta Post.

Isnaeni was still being questioned by the police on Monday although she was not arrested.

With Sunday's bomb, the Atrium Plaza has now been targeted twice by bombers within the last two months. The first one on August 1 injured six people.

According to the police investigation, the first bomb was planted by an organization identifying itself as the Jihad Group.

Two members of the group have been arrested, namely Dani, a Malaysian national who was one of the bomb victims and was arrested on the same day as the bombing, and Abas, who was arrested on Sept. 12 in Tasikmalaya, West Java.

In his testimony, Abas who claimed to have received military training in Afghanistan in 1987, said the group was also behind the Christmas bombing on Dec. 25 which killed 19 people.

"We did it as an act of solidarity with our brothers in Ambon," Abas told reporters.

Following Abas's arrest, the police raided a military-style training camp in Pandeglang, West Java. Twelve arrests were made and seven firearms were seized. (06)