Three blasts stun demonstrators

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)