Six named as suspects in Palu church blasts

Six named as suspects in Palu church blasts

Erik W., The Jakarta Post, Palu

Six out of the ten people arrested by Central Police over the
new year church explosions in the provincial capital of Palu in
Central Sulawesi have been named suspects, according to Palu
Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Jasman Baso Opu.

Jasman said that the six identified only as Yon, Aha, An, Mu,
MF and Dd were picked up early on Wednesday morning from a rented
house (in Palu) where they illegally stored explosives and
ammunition. "The operation started on Tuesday night," he said,
adding that the other four were identified only as Pi, Her, Bas
and Ram. The four, including two women, are being questioned as
witnesses.

The police assumed that none of the six suspects, some of them
are students, hailed from Central Sulawesi, judging from their
names and faces.

The arrest of the suspects apparently made Central Sulawesi
Police chief Brig. Gen. Zainal Abidin Ishak happy. "This is the
fruit of hard work. The suspects have violated Emergency Law No.
12/51 on illegal possession of explosives."

Those found guilty of violating the law could face the death
penalty.

Explosions rocked four churches in Palu on New Year's Eve and
the first day of the new year. No fatalities were reported but a
member of the bomb squad was seriously injured in the fourth
blast.

The first explosion occurred at the Seventh Day Adventist
Church on Jl. Setiabudi at about 11:50 p.m. on Dec. 31, minutes
before another blast rocked the Indonesian Christian Church
(GKI). The third explosion hit the Pentecostal Church on Jl.
Thamrin about five minutes later. The fourth bomb exploded in the
yard of the Pentecostal Church on Jl. Gajahmada at 9:30 a.m. on
Tuesday, Jan. 1.

Policemen were guarding the six churches on Wednesday.

According to police, all of the homemade bombs exploded
outside the churches. An officer said that explosive material was
compacted into cans containing some nails. The explosions could
reach a radius of 25 meters.

Police also said on Wednesday that materials for homemade
bombs, 30 SS1 rifle bullets, bows and arrows and gasoline were
confiscated from the suspects.

The suspects also had a map of the locations of 15 churches in
the city of Palu. An instructions guide on how to make homemade
bombs was also found in the house.

Police also confiscated a cellular phone belonging to An. An
SMS was sent from somebody outside Palu, asking about people's
reactions to the church blasts.

The police found several phone numbers of people residing in
Poso, a regency in Central Sulawesi where Christians and Muslims
had engaged in a three-year battle.

"We are going to trace the numbers," a police officer said.

According to Brig. Gen. Zainal Abidin, the six suspects, who
were undergoing intensive interrogation, were well organized in
their operations. He refused to speculate, however, which
organization the suspects might belong to, and said that they did
not have links with any groups in Poso.

Later, in a separate interview, Palu Police chief Adj. Sr.
Comr. Jasman Baso Opu said that a man who signed the Malino
declaration had knowledge of the plan to bomb the churches. He
declined to reveal the identity of the man. The Malino
declaration was signed on Dec. 21 of last year by Christian and
Muslim leaders in Poso and appears to have brought an end to the
conflicts.

A local ulema, Yahya Al Amri, said on Wednesday that the
explosions at the four churches in Palu were part of efforts by
certain people to expand the Poso conflict.

Those involved in the bombings might try to provoke fresh
conflict between Muslims and Christians in Palu, Yahya said.

"There are people who are against Malino deal," he said.

Zainal said, however, that the motive for the blasts was just
to create unrest among the people.

He denied allegations that police were slow to deactivate the
fourth bomb, which later wounded a policeman.

"They worked properly. They were just unlucky that the bomb
exploded and one of the men was injured."

Many people said that the bomb squad arrived late to check the
fourth bomb, which was noticed by church security guards at 7:30
a.m., or two hours before it exploded.

"If the police officers had arrived earlier the bomb would
not have not exploded and no one would have been injured," a
local said. The church security guards had opened the plastic bag
containing the bomb before police arrived.

Separately Central Sulawesi Governor Aminuddin Ponulele
condemned the church blasts and asked people to remain calm.