Paras Indonesia, 8, 26 2005 @ 05:56 pm
Six Arrested Over Ambon Bombing
Posted by: Roy Tupai on 08, 26 2005 @ 05:56 pm
Police have arrested six people suspected of involvement in a bomb blast that injured
eight people at a market in Ambon, the religiously divided capital of Maluku province.
Two pipe-bombs placed in cardboard cartons exploded at about 2.30pm local time
Thursday (25/8/05), while being carried by a becak (pedicab) at the outdoor Mardika
market. The market had been set up to serve both Christians and Muslims following
the signing of a 2002 peace accord.
The blast wounded a mother and daughter traveling in a nearby becak, as well as six
pedestrians and damaged two vans, two motorcycles and two becak. The becak driver
transporting the cartons, Bal Passal, was unharmed until beaten by angry
bystanders, who thought he was responsible for the explosion.
After being rescued by police, Passal explained that a man had asked him to deliver
the cartons to Mardika bus terminal. He said that while on his way to the terminal, he
noticed the boxes were emitting a strong chemical odor, possibly sulfur, so he
attempted to find the man again but the explosion then occurred.
Acting on Passal’s description of the man, anti-terror police soon arrested Kasim
Wali (20) outside Hotel Ambon Manise.
Wali admitted he had asked the becak driver to deliver the boxes. He said a man from
his hometown of Ketapang in nearby Seram island had paid him an initial sum of
Rp30,000 ($2.90) to carry out the terror attack and promised him another Rp150,000
on completion of the job.
Police went to Ketapang later on Thursday and arrested four men, shooting at them
as they tried to flee. Two of the suspects were reportedly hospitalized with gunshot
wounds to the legs. Detikcom online news portal reported that all four men were clove
farmers, one of whom had made the low-explosive bomb.
Another suspect was arrested on Friday, but National Police spokesman Major
General Aryanto Budiharjo said police were yet to apprehend the suspected
mastermind of the bombing.
The suspects are believed to be involved in previous attacks in Maluku, including the
murder of five policemen in West Seram in May, and the fatal shooting of two people
at a karaoke club in Ambon in February.
Budiharjo said police were yet to discover the motive for Thursday’s bombing. Ambon
Police chief Leonidas Braksan said the blast was aimed at disrupting security.
The Maluku islands were the scene of fierce Muslim-Christian clashes that erupted in
January 1999 and left about 7,000 people dead until the peace agreement was
reached in February 2002. Sporadic violence has continued and communal tensions
have remained high.
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