Sudi denies military link to Nganjuk blast
Sudi denies military link to Nganjuk blast
SURABAYA (JP): Chief of Brawijaya Military Command overseeing
East Java Maj. Gen. Sudi Silalahi dismissed on Saturday
speculation that weapons and ammunition found in a van which
exploded in Nganjuk on Tuesday originated from areas under his
supervision.
"Soon after the blast I checked all the weaponry warehouses as
well as PT Pindad in Malang and I found none of the ammo was
missing.
"The munitions (from the blast) were made in 1991, so they
might have exceeded the three-year expiry date," Sudi said.
Pindad is the state arms producer.
Sudi, however, acknowledged that his intelligence officers had
detected last week a possible riot and arson of military-owned
vehicles here, similar to the recent incident in Salemba, Central
Jakarta.
"The intelligence data shows that there were certain parties
who wanted to create chaos in Surabaya. Therefore, we put
security on alert from Monday to Wednesday last week," Sudi said,
refusing to give details on the alleged rioters.
"We're keeping the information secret (of a red alert
situation) so as not to unnerve the public. Thank God the riot
never took place," the two-star general said.
The van exploded, killing two of its four passengers,
Rifzikkia Helta and Wiji, whom police said had links with the
Yogyakarta-based Laskar Jihad (jihad force) Ahlus Sunnah Wal
Jamaah. One of the surviving passenger, Azmi Ishaq, is receiving
medical treatment at Nganjuk state hospital, while the other
survivor Nasruddin Adi Sucipto has been detained by the police.
Police have not ruled out the possibility that the ammunition
was left over from the weapons smuggled through Tanjung Perak
seaport to strife-torn Ambon.
Burial
The body of Helta was laid to rest at Karangkajen public
cemetery in his hometown Yogyakarta on Sunday morning.
The burial took place at about 10 a.m. following an autopsy on
Friday at Dr. Sutomo Hospital in Surabaya.
His body arrived in Yogyakarta late on Saturday and was kept
overnight at Taqwa Mosque in the Suronatan area.
Yogyakarta Police also found sharp weapons, boots, iron poles,
a military bag and two kilograms of gunpowder in Helta's rented
house in Mulungan, Sleman, north of Yogyakarta on Thursday.
The lawyer for the Helta family, Iwan Satriawan, rebutted the
police's action on Sunday, saying the gunpowder was merely
"Arabic eyeshadow and cosmetic powder".
"According to Helta's wife, Siti Juwarni, the powder was part
of her cosmetics, along with perfume and clothing," Iwan told the
media after the burial.
East Java Police detectives found in the Suzuki van which
exploded pieces of a Belgian-made grenade, a homemade bomb,
hundreds of 5.56 millimeter bullets for M-16 rifles and a large
number of other bullets ranging from 6.3 mm to 9 mm.(nur/swa/edt)