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)