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.