Unrest blamed on Soeharto's supporters
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono said on Thursday he believed a series of riots and disturbances plaguing the country were linked to supporters of former president Soeharto.
Juwono said after a commemoration of the birth of state ideology Pancasila that "the New Order people" were stirring up trouble in a bid to shake the government of President Abdurrahman Wahid.
"These incidents were to anger and confuse Gus Dur, but Gus Dur will remain strong, and he said he would fight every attempt at such," Juwono told reporters, referring to Abdurrahman by his popular nickname.
Asked whether he thought followers of Soeharto were behind the attacks, Juwono said: "Yes, and based on the information which I have received from military intelligence sources, these people are in Jakarta."
At least 47 people were injured on Sunday when a bomb exploded in a church in Medan, the capital of North Sumatra. Bombs were also found at two other churches and on a road linking Medan and Deli Serdang.
The bombs have raised fears that "provocateurs", who have often been blamed for inciting violence in the country, were trying to ignite sectarian riots similar to the Muslim-Christian conflict that has ravaged Maluku since early 1999.
Violence in Maluku has flared up again with dozens killed in attacks on mostly Christian villages on the remote island of Halmahera.
On Thursday, at least three people were wounded when security personnel dispersed an armed group trying to force their way into the predominantly Christian area of Pohon Pule near the Trikora Monument and Sedap Malam and Anthony Rhebok streets.
Sounds of gunfire and explosions were heard until 6:30 p.m. local time, but they ceased when a heavy downpour began.
Roadblocks were seen in almost every corner of town in an attempt to avoid recurring attacks from both sides of the warring camps.
Tension in the region has been fanned by the arrival of more than 2,000 Muslim volunteers from a group which has vowed a jihad in Maluku.
Juwono said he had information that followers of Soeharto were helping fund the jihad fighters.
The 78-year-old Soeharto is under house arrest and Attorney General Marzuki Darusman said he expects to bring a corruption case against the former ruler by August.
Meanwhile in the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar, at least three people were seriously injured on Thursday after a group of unidentified people began stopping vehicles in front of the campus of the Indonesian Muslim University (UMI).
UMI's chancellor Mansyur Ramli said, however, that he still could not confirm if the sweeps were conducted by his students.
Police and hospital sources said at least 16 people, mostly Christians, had been injured in a series of sweeps in the city since Tuesday. They were attacked in retaliation for the ongoing sectarian violence in the Central Sulawesi town of Poso, police said.
Chief of Panakkukang subdistrict Capt. Marjuki said Thursday's incident started at about noon and a team of security personnel were dispatched to the area to prevent the violence from spreading.
Police also said a 17-year-old boy was arrested on Thursday after he was found with a molotov cocktail near Makassar's Grand Mosque. (27/49/edt/byg)