Tension mounts as bomb blast, scares hit Ambon

Tension mounts as bomb blast, scares hit Ambon

Oktovianus Pinontoan, The Jakarta Post, Ambon, Maluku

A bomb exploded near a military base in Batugantung subdistrict
in the Maluku capital of Ambon on Wednesday morning, wounding at
least four civilians and two Army soldiers.

Tension continued as three bomb scares occurred hours later.
The bombs were said to have been planted in the Maluku
gubernatorial offices, a junior high school building and a
telecommunications kiosk.

The blast took place when a soldier, Pvt. Supriadi, was about
to remove the bomb to an open area in front of a photocopy store
on Jl. Dr. Siwabessy, 75 meters away from the site where it was
found in a plastic bag complete with a timer.

It exploded before the Maluku Police bomb squad arrived,
wounding Pvt. Farhan Taufik and First Sgts. Ketut Adi Saputra,
Wenan Rahakbauw and Agustinus Pattiasina.

Two other persons, Franki Makuku and Christian Mustamu,
suffered light injuries as the result of a traffic accident that
occurred after they tried to avoid the explosion.

All the victims were rushed to Dr. Latumeten Military Hospital
and Dr. Haulussy General Hospital.

The bomb was found by Salo Latupeirissa in her food stall in
Batugantung market. She immediately reported the discovery to the
nearby Udayana Military Command infantry base.

"I reported it to the infantry base because I was suspicious
about a package left by a man in my stall," she explained.

She said that a long-haired, dark-skinned man who wore
earrings had deliberately left a bag in her stall after buying
some snacks and refreshments. Salo added that the man was picked
up by a motorist and that the vehicle then headed for the
downtown area.

The police also secured another suspicious package left by a
customer in a telecommunications kiosk on Jl. Yan Paays, a half-
an-hour after the blast. However, there were no details given as
to what had been found.

Meanwhile, staff at the SMP 4 Junior High School in Ambon
received a call from an unidentified person at 11 a.m. The caller
said that a bomb had been planted in the school. The police
searched for the bomb for 40 minutes but found nothing.

Many employees working in the gubernatorial offices in Tanah
Lapang Kecil fled the building in panic at 11.40 a.m. after
reports circulated about the planting of a bomb there.

Maluku Police chief Brig. Gen. Sunarko Danu Ardianto said
security authorities had yet to determine the motives behind the
blast and the bomb threats.

He refused to speculate whether the explosion had any link to
the gubernatorial election.

When the blast occurred, the provincial legislative council
was evaluating the state of emergency in the province and
discussing a plan to reject a Jakarta proposal to indefinitely
delay the gubernatorial election.

Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno plans to appoint a
caretaker governor.

The latest series of incidents spread fear among employees and
students in the city, with many heading home early. Traffic jams
were seen in some districts due to police roadblocks.

Sporadic violence has returned to Ambon despite a peace
agreement in February between the warring groups that marked an
end to three years of sectarian conflict between Christians and
Muslims.

The central government imposed a state of civil emergency in
Maluku in 2000, which remains effective to date.