Two bombs explode at church in Ambon

Two bombs explode at church in Ambon

M. Azis Tunny, The Jakarta Post/Ambon

Peace in the Maluku capital of Ambon, once plagued by three years
of sectarian fighting, was put to the test again when two
homemade bombs exploded in the eastern city on Thursday.

No one was hurt in the blast and no damage was reported.

Two blasts were heard at about 11:30 a.m. some 25 meters
behind the Silo church in Sirimau district, Ambon. The church is
being renovated after having been set ablaze during the 1999-2002
riots.

The explosions caused panic among local residents and at the
nearby Pattimura University, with lecturers and students seen
fleeing the campus.

A 30-year-old fruit trader, Endang, who runs a stall about 20
meters from the blast site, said the two bombs went off in quick
succession.

"The explosions were big. Fortunately, there were no people in
the area at the time of explosions," she said.

The adjacent Jl. Dr. Latumeten street quickly became jammed as
the blast attracted motorists and a crowd of pedestrians.

Police later cordoned off the scene in anticipation of
possible further blasts.

Bomb squad officers from the Maluku Police arrived and combed
the blast site, where they discovered pieces of metal pipe.

"The exploded bombs were low-power explosives," Maluku Police
spokesman Sr. Comr. Endro Prasetyo told The Jakarta Post.

He said the police were searching for the bombers.

Some 30 minutes prior to the incident, local police had
arrested a suspected drug dealer who had long been included on
their list of wanted people in Maluku, along with a quantity of
crystal amphetamine (shabu-shabu).

The arrest of the suspect, identified only as Jamal, was made
in the area of Jl. Baru adjacent to the bomb site.

Ambon Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Leonidas Braksan said his
office was investigating whether the blasts were connected with
the arrest of Jamal.

"The suspect is allegedly a drug-dealer in Ambon. We are
probing his possible role in the incident," Leonidas said.

He said security in Ambon remained under control with local
people resuming their daily activities.

The bomb site is an area bordering two communities of Muslims
and Christians, which clashed for three years until they signed a
peace pact in February 2002. Thousands of people were killed in
the riots.

Last April, some 40 people were killed and hundreds of homes
and other buildings torched in violence that broke out after a
procession by supporters of the mainly Christian separatist
Maluku Sovereignty Front (FKM).

On Wednesday, prosecutors asked the Ambon District Court to
sentence four people, one of them an alleged FKM member, to
between 24 months and 30 month's jail for treason.

The four suspects were allegedly among the dozens of FKM
members and sympathizers who took part in the peaceful April
procession that triggered the violence, the worst since the
February 2002 peace accord.

The prosecutors said that by taking part in the ceremony, the
defendants caused chaos and threatened the unity of Indonesia.

Other alleged FKM members and sympathizers suspected of
participating in the event are being questioned.