Three blasts stun demonstrators

JAKARTA (JP): Three strong blasts shocked thousands of supporters of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) staging a mass rally on major streets of Jakarta on Wednesday.

Police put the number of injured victims at at least 30 people. Some sufferer serious burns.

The first blast took place at 11:30 a.m. at the western part of the pond in the middle of the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta, about the same time that the 700 legislators were preparing to cast their votes for a new president.

At the time, hundreds of PDI Perjuangan supporters were singing and dancing during the rally, cheerfully anticipating the victory of their party's chairwoman, Megawati Soekarnoputri, in her presidential bid.

At least four people were injured, including two members of the PDI Perjuangan security task force.

The explosion left a 10-centimeter hole in the ground where a decorative flower pot stood. The steel pot was broken into pieces.

The site was hastily secured by security personnel until the Gegana bomb squad arrived half an hour later.

"It's definitely a handmade bomb. TNT (trinitrotoluene) was planted under the pot," a police detective, who asked for anonymity, said.

"The bomb might have been planted sometime early in the morning," the officer added.

While officers were collecting shredded pieces of plant and pot, another group of PDI Perjuangan 500 supporters arrived in a truck carrying a powerful sound system.

Apparently unaware of the blast, they played a dangdut song and happily danced together, praising Megawati.

The four injured victims were rushed to nearby Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital.

They were all released from the hospital two hours later after being treated for their wounds.

Most of them had minor burns and were temporarily deafened in the left ear.

At about 4 p.m., when news of that Megawati had lost the race had been announced and the disappointed PDI Perjuangan supporters were heading toward the People's Consultative Assembly complex to protest Megawati's defeat, another bomb exploded. It is believed the blast came from an empty jeep parked in the middle of the crowd in front of the prestigious Jakarta Hilton Convention Center, about 1.2 kilometers from the Assembly. The number of protesting supporters had grown to 5,000 people by then.

The blast was so strong that The Jakarta Post reporters, who were standing 20 meters from the scene, felt the ground shake. The explosion sounded similar to thousands of firecrackers going off at once.

There were no details of exactly where the bomb had been planted. One version had it that the bomb was put under the Daihatsu Taft car, another version was that it was inside the vehicle.

The explosion caused severe facial and bodily injuries to those standing around the vehicle. It also seemed to trigger madness in the crowd, members of which started hurling rocks and bamboo sticks in the direction of the police officers and journalists.

Jakarta Police spokesman Lt. Col. Zainuri Lubis said the blast left at least 26 men injured, including 18 security personnel and a reporter from a Hong Kong television station.

The victims were taken to Mintohardjo Navy Hospital and Sukanto Police Hospital in East Jakarta; Pertamina Hospital in South Jakarta and a clinic at the Jakarta Police Headquarters, the officer said.

Most of the victims suffered injuries and burns to the face, eyes and legs.

Zainuri handed out a list of the 26 victims, who he said were injured during the blast. However, some of the people listed, such as Maj. Sudarmadji, were wounded at another spot on Wednesday.

The Post witnessed four people badly injured in the blast.

As of last night, police had yet to reveal the name of the owner of the jeep, the number plate number of which was B 1572 WZ. The car was not in the PDI Perjuangan convoy.

From the destroyed vehicle, members of the crowd found a certificate for a short course on electricity issued by a local giant carmaker. It apparently bore the name of Asep Sugianto, an employee of an Auto 2000 workshop here.

Doctors at the emergency unit of Cipto Mangunkusumo said the burns suffered by the victims were not too serious, but some of the people received gashes from flying car body fragments.

Most of the four victims needed several stitches.

The third blast took place at a tollbooth which had been set alight by the crowd. There were no casualties. (ylt/01/04/jun/asa/jun)