Sunday Bloody Sunday
JAKARTA (JP): At least 15 people were killed and dozens others injured when bombs exploded almost simultaneously in or outside churches in various towns on Sunday night, as Indonesia's minority Christian community was preparing to celebrate Christmas.
The casualties include;
* Two churchgoers and a cigarette seller in Jakarta
* In Sukabumi (West Java), a woman, a 10-year old boy and a two-month old baby were killed when a bomb exploded in their car after they attended a Christmas service at a church;
* In Pekanbaru (Riau), three church officers were killed as were two police officers who were called in to guard the church;
* In Mojokerto (East Java), a member of the Banser Islamic group was killed when he tried to take away a parcel containing a bomb away from a church.
* In Bandung (West Java), two workers of a welding shop were killed when a bomb exploded in their workshop. A third man, whose identity was not known, died in a hospital later on.
Several police officers who were sent to inspect report that large explosives had been found on the site were injured when the explosives blasted.
There were three separate bomb blasts in the industrial island of Batam, south of Singapore. There were no fatalities, but as many as 22 people were injured. Thirteen of whom had to be hospitalized.
Sunday's death toll would have been far higher had the police not intercepted parcels containing explosives which had been sent to churches in Medan, North Sumatra.
Church officials in Medan appeared to be far more alert than their counterparts elsewhere in the country, having had their shares of unexplained bombs in the past few months.
They quickly alerted the police upon receipt or sighting of suspiciously looking parcels. Police came and successfully tamed the explosives.
In the West Nusa Tenggara capital of Mataram bombs also exploded at the GPPS Bethlehem church and Emmanuel Protestant church. No fatalities were reported.
Religious leaders and officials met soon after the blast, and agreed that the explosions had nothing to do with interreligion conflicts.
Governor Harun Al Rasyid said that the bombings were politically motivated.
No one has so far claimed responsibility for what appeared to be a concerted attack against Christians on Sunday as they celebrated Christmas.
The Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah communication forum, the organization which sent the Lasykar Jihad (the Muslim Warrior Force) to fight Christians in Maluku, quickly distanced itself from the Christmas Eve bombings.
"The Jihad Warrior strongly condemns the bombings," the group said in a statement.
"The bombings were obviously backgrounded by political nuance. Lasykar Jihad in this regard has no involvement in national political maneuvers," it said.
Muslims and Christian leaders have condemned the bombing as an act to set them against each other as have happened in Maluku in the last two years.
Indonesia's Muslim majority will be celebrating Idul Fitri, the end of the Ramadhan fasting month, on Wednesday.
In Jakarta, bombs exploded outside the Katedral and Canisius church, both in Central Jakarta, and Santo Yosef church in Jatinegara district in East Jakarta.
They all occurred within the space of one hour on Sunday night just as the churches were holding Christmas services.
Police later managed to defuse another bomb found outside the Anglican church near the Canisius church.
Services had to be canceled as police combed the area. But in the Katedral, Christmas services resumed after the blast and after the police gave the clearance.
Two victims were identified as 50-year old Roni Hariadi and 27-year old Hendra Putra, both Jakarta residents who were in the Santo Yosef church when the bomb, believed to have been placed inside a van parked near a bus shelter outside the church, exploded.
The third victim was Abdul Karim, no known age, a resident of Bekasi who was running a cigarette kiosk near the bus shelter.
Dozens others, churchgoers as well as passers-by, were being treated at the Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital and the private St. Carolus hospital. Some were later discharged but 22 remained for further treatment on Sunday night.
One of the injured was pop singer Melky Goeslaw, who was being treated at the Mitra Abadi hospital for burn on his hand, face and leg, according to Antara.
Melky was driving past the Canisius church with his wife Linda on his way to a different church when he was caught by an explosion.
His daughter, Melly Goeslaw, who has taken up after her father in singing her way to popularity, was waiting at the hospital.
In the West Java town of Sukabumi, the three victims were identified as Banjar Nahor (30 years), Aprianto (10 years) and Bella (two months), according to Antara.
They were all inside a car when a parcel, which Aprianto had found near their car after a service at Gereja Sidang Kristus church and which he had placed it in the dashboard, exploded.
Three other passengers in the car were injured.
Shortly after, another bomb exploded in the Gereja Sidang Kristus church on Jl. Alun-Alun Utara.
The blast also injured six people in the vicinity.
In Pekanbaru, two police officers were killed in a bomb blast that occurred at the HKBP church.
The four were killed when they were inspecting a parcel found inside the church building after the congregation had left, Antara reported.
The victims were identified as First Sgt. Rudi Saragih, Second Pvt. Panangian, Second Pvt. Jabaruddin and Kamaludin, also Second Private.
Eight other people, including church officials, were injured.
Pekanbaru City Police chief Sr. Insp. Armawan S. said that the four were killed after a "package" they were examining exploded. The package was left in the church as the service was over.
Another explosion also took place in Sidomulyo, where teenagers were gathering celebrating Christmas. One was killed in the blast and five others were injured. The deceased was identified as Simanungkalit, Antara reported.
In Mojokerto, the death man was identified as Riyanto, a member of the local Banser, a youth wing of the Nahdlatul Ulama organization, who was among Banser volunteers to guard the Santo Yosef church on Jl. Pemuda.
He was seriously injured when a bomb exploded near the church Sunday night.
He was rushed to the hospital but died a few hours later. His death was confirmed by East Java Police Chief Insp. Gen. Sutanto.
Members of Banser and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) Task Force voluntarily guarded all churches in Mojokerto during the Christmas Eve.
The explosion in Bandung could provide a clue about the organization and the motive, something that had baffled the police.
The welder shop was believed to have been used to store and assemble bombs. Police also said they found leaflets about the terror campaign.
Two other workers of the shop who were injured in the blast could give the police the lead they needed to solve the mystery. The owner of the shop, Aceng Suhari, was still at large.
Unfortunately for the police, some of the ammunitions exploded while some officers were going inspecting the site. Two officers -- First Sgt. Zainuddin and Second Pvt. Yoyong -- were injured.
Two of six civilians injured in the blast, Agus (22) and Roni (20), who are now treated at the Sartika Asih Police Hospital on Jl. Martadinata, are named suspects for the bombings. Police said they believed the two "knew much" about the bloody blasts. (team)