The Jakarta Post, January 03, 2006
Dozens questioned over Palu market bombing
Ruslan Sangadji, The Jakarta Post, Palu
Police continued questioning dozens of local residents on Monday to unravel
Saturday's bombing of a pork stall at a market in Palu, Central Sulawesi, but no one
has yet been declared a suspect.
A total of 52 people have been questioned by Central Sulawesi Police as of Monday,
with 35 of them being named as witnesses in the deadly bombing that killed seven
people and severely wounded 56 others.
Police have also not changed the status of a man identified as Mulyono, who was
detained and is being intensively interrogated.
Police sources said that 40-year-old Mulyono, from Kota Raya in Tomini district,
Parigi Moutung regency, Central Sulawesi, had been seen wandering around the
scene from Friday evening until moments before the bomb exploded.
Central Sulawesi Police chief Brig. Gen. Oegroseno said Mulyono remained a
suspicious person, but further investigation was required before deciding his status as
a suspect.
"Mulyono is still being questioned intensively. Not as a suspect yet, but as a
highly-suspected person," he told the press.
Sources also said that Mulyono, a new face in the area, was actually a supplier of
pork for vendors at the bombed market.
Oegroseno said the bomb was of a low-explosive type, and filled with pieces of iron,
glass and nails. It was similar to the bombs that had rocked Palu and Poso,
approximately 300 km east of Palu, where violent sectarian fighting ended five years
ago after claiming almost 2,000 lives.
However, a string of sporadic bomb explosions and shootings have continued in an
apparent effort to reignite the conflict in the volatile province.
Three layers of police lines have been placed around the bombing scene to hold back
local residents, who were eager to check out the area, and a group of armed police
personnel remained on guard.
A number of religious organizations in Palu on Tuesday expressed their condolences
to the victims and their families, and condemned the latest bombing.
Calling for a swift investigation, Saiyid Saggaf Aljufrie from the Islamic Alkhairaat
group said the government should work harder to provide security for all Indonesians
throughout the country.
"Unfinished investigations into previous violence are becoming a factor behind the low
confidence we have in the skills of the security forces," he said.
House of Representatives Speaker Agung Laksono said in Jakarta that he expected
this bombing to be the last, and urged all security forces to collaborate to put such
attacks to an end.
Meanwhile, two bomb victims have been referred to the Wahidin Sudirohusodo
Hospital in Makassar, South Sulawesi, due to their severe injuries.
Doctors said that a mother and her son had splinters of glass embedded in their skin,
and immediate surgery was required.
The two were on a shopping trip at the time of the explosion to prepare for New Year's
celebrations, and happened to be standing about a meter from the bomb at the time it
exploded. (With additional reporting by Andi Hajramurni)
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