LAKSAMANA.Net, July 18, 2004 11:43 PM
Review - Regions: Bandung Explosions
Laksamana.Net - Eight people have been questioned over two separate explosions
that rocked the West Java provincial capital Bandung on Wednesday (14/7/04) amid a
police man hunt for international terror suspects Dr. Azahari and Noordin Mohd Top.
The explosions took place at two locations 100 meters apart. The blasts did not
cause any injury or damage to surrounding buildings.
West Java Police chief Insp. Gen. Edi Darnadi on Thursday allayed public fears that
the blasts were caused by high explosives.
Quoting a report from the police forensic team, Darnadi said that hand-detonated,
low-explosive devices had caused the two separate explosions.
He ruled out the possibility that the explosions were the work of professional
terrorists, saying the detonators used were "simple".
Darnadi refuted allegations that there was a connection between the explosions and
recent protests against gambling staged in Bandung, saying that the motives for the
blasts were still unknown, although the explosions targeted two places that had
allegedly been used as gambling dens.
In an earlier statement soon after the explosions, National Police chief of detectives
Comr. Gen. Suyitno Landung said the explosions were believed to be acts of protest
against gambling, as gambling dens appeared intentionally to have been targeted.
The blasts came after police warned that suspected Jemaah Islamiyah bomb makers
Azahari and Noordin, wanted in connection with the 2002 Bali bombings and last
year's Marriott Hotel bombing, may have slipped back into Bandung after narrowly
escaping arrest there last year.
Aceh Governor to Go
Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno, who is also the acting Coordinating Minister for
Politics and Security Affairs, confirmed on Saturday (17/7/04) that the government had
made plans to replace Aceh Governor Abdullah Puteh.
Martial law was lifted in May this year and Puteh was given authority to rule under a
state of civil emergency imposed by Jakarta but he is accused of corruption in
connection with an alleged markup in the price of a Russian-made Mi-2 helicopter.
The deal was estimated to have cost the state Rp4 billion ($440,000) in losses.
Puteh has denied any wrongdoing and Sabarno had said earlier that it was a sensitive
time to replace the governor when the province is under civil emergency status.
Replacing Puteh in his capacity as the province's civil emergency administrator
hinged on a presidential decree relieving Puteh of his governorship, Sabarno said in
Sumedang, West Java. "Because the civil emergency administration is the collective
responsibility of the board, one member could take over (Puteh's) job temporarily if it
was deemed necessary," the minister said.
It is not clear if Puteh will be permanently removed or just suspended as governor.
The law establishing the powerful Anti-Corruption Commission (KPK) requires it to
bring a prosecution as soon as a person has been declared a suspect. The case is
the first major test of the KPK, which was established this year as the only agency
with wide powers to investigate and prosecute corruption allegations involving state
officials.
Taufiqurrahman Ruki, chairman of the KPK, told the Financial Times the case was
chosen because its high-profile nature fitted with the commission's strategy. "We are
interested now in catching the big fishes to get the public's attention," he said.
Ruki was forced to appeal publicly for President Megawati Sukarnoputri's intervention
before Puteh would appear before the commission.
Accompanied by his lawyer, O.C. Kaligis, the governor was grilled for hours by KPK
members from Wednesday (14/7/04) to Friday (16/7/04) over the deal for the armed
helicopter, which was used to transport local officials, including Puteh, around the
province. It was brought for Rp12.2 billion about two years ago but the commission
said this was twice the price the Navy paid for a similar machine.
Puteh said the Aceh legislative council had endorsed the purchase of the helicopter
by his administration.
He said he had decided to buy an assault helicopter because such as aircraft was
needed to help crush Free Aceh Movement (GAM) separatists.
Test for Megawati
The President had appeared reluctant to enforce a KPK order for Puteh to be sacked
or suspended, leading to speculation that she or members of her government were
trying to protect him which may cost her votes in the September 20 presidential
election run-off.
Teten Masduki of the non-governmental organization Indonesian Corruption Watch
said "if she is serious about fighting graft, now is the time to prove it. She must
replace Abdullah Puteh and let the KPK arrest him."
On Tuesday Megawati said simply that she would look into the allegations before
deciding whether to dismiss Puteh. As president, she was only authorized by the law
to "appoint" and "dismiss" regional administration heads, Megawati said. "We have to
consider the regulations."
The KPK is scheduled to meet Megawati on Monday (19/7/04) regarding its order for
her to suspend Puteh.
The National Police have also established a corruption case against Puteh over his
alleged involvement in the markup in the price of new power generators, which caused
estimated state losses of Rp30 billion.
A team of police investigators led by the National Police chief of detectives, Comr.
Gen. Suyitno Landung, met KPK members on Friday (16/7/04) to share information
on Puteh.
Suyitno said the police would summon Puteh for the second time regarding the power
generator scandal. Puteh could be declared a suspect in the case if sufficient
evidence was found, he said.
15 rebels killed
At least 15 separatist rebels have been killed in the latest bloodshed in the province,
army spokesman Lt. Col. Asep Sapari said Wednesday (14/7/04).
Sapari said violence erupted between members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM)
and security forces on Tuesday in five areas of Aceh.
"All of the bodies of the separatist rebels who were killed in battles with the
Indonesian soldiers have been returned to their families for the funeral", Sapari was
quoted as saying from Lhokseumawe town. There were no reported casualties from
the military's side. GAM spokesmen were not available for comment.
No Clues on Politician's Murder
Police admit they still have no leads in the brutal murder of an executive of the
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and his family in Bondowoso town
by unidentified assailants, police said Wednesday (14/7/04).
Suwarjo, 60, his wife Wiwik, 60, and their son Dodi, 28, were found in a pool of blood
in their home. The motive for the killing wasn't clear. Local party officials expressed
fear of additional attacks.
Police have questioned 12 witnesses over the case but admit they have no leads as
yet. On Thursday (15/7/04) they would only say the murders were carried out by
professionals as shown by the ease with which they gained entrance to Suwarjo's
house and killed the three without alerting any of the neighbors.
Chief of the Besuki Police, which oversees Bondowoso regency, Sr. Comr. Winarso,
said more than one person likely committed the triple murder.
One theory is that the murders were politically motivated. Two members of the
National Awakening Party (PKB) were murdered in East Java's Lumajang and Jember
regencies in December.
Sugiono, the head of PDI-P's Bondowoso branch, however, said he did not believe
politics was the motive behind the murders. He said he could not recall Suwarjo ever
having a dispute with other party members or members of rival parties.
Sugiono demanded the police solve the case as quickly as possible in order to end
speculation in Bondowoso.
Suwarjo's brother Surachman dismissed the possibility of a family dispute being
behind the murder, saying there were no conflicts within the family.
Kopassus Soldiers Sentenced
A panel of judges at the Yogyakarta Military Court sentenced on Friday (16/7/04) two
soldiers from the Army's elite Kopassus unit to 18 months in jail each for a brutal
assault that claimed the life of civilian Widyo Prabowo, 29, and left another civilian,
Subekti Eko Nugroho, 34, injured.
Two other defendants, First Pvt. Andi Topan and First Pvt. Bambang Siswanto, were
dishonorably discharged from the Army.
The 18-month jail terms were harsher than the one-year and 14-month terms
prosecutors had been seeking for Andi and Bambang, respectively.
Negligence Blamed for Suramadu Death
Human error was at first blamed for the collapse of six concrete slabs at the
Suramadu bridge construction site connecting Surabaya and Madura on Tuesday
afternoon (13/7/04), which killed one worker and injured seven others.
The 5,438-meter-long bridge will be the longest in Indonesia. The $150 million project
was only recently inaugurated by President Megawati Sukarnoputri and is due to be
completed in 2006 or 2007.
A preliminary investigation by a team from the Ministry of Resettlement and Regional
Infrastructure found that the accident was due to a failure by workers to properly
position the sixth slab, with the result that it fell and toppled the other five slabs.
A separate police investigation also found that part of the bridge should be supported
by 35 steel masts, but was supported by only 27 masts.
Police have charged Karto Sujono, a project supervisor for construction company CV
Citra Jaya Sutra, with negligence. He is accused of violating Article 359 of the
Criminal Code, which carries a maximum sentence of four years in jail.
Sr. Comr. Sutarman, the East Java Provincial Police's chief of detectives, said Sujono
had ignored warnings from a number of witnesses during the installing of the concrete
slabs.
Maluku Separatists on Trial
Two members of the Christian separatist group the Maluku Sovereignty Front went on
trial Thursday (15/7/04) in the provincial capital Ambon.
One of the accused is the wife of Alex Manuputty, the leader of the group who now
lives in Los Angeles after fleeing Indonesia last year.
Oly Manuputty and Moses Tuanakotta were among 30 alleged separatists arrested on
April 25 after a small secessionist parade in Ambon that triggered several days of
clashes between Muslims and Christians in which 40 people were killed and hundreds
of homes were torched.
Manuputty and Tuanakotta are accused of being key members of the Front and if
found guilty of treason, could be sentenced to 20 years in jail.
The Maluku Sovereignty Front has no armed wing and has little support, despite
claims to the contrary by its leadership. Analysts say it poses no threat to the
country's integrity.
New Outbreak at Mimika
One more person died on Friday (16/7/04) in Mimika regency, bringing the number of
deaths in renewed violence there to two, Mimika Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Paulus
Waterpauw said. Yosias Nawipa, 30, was found dead early the same day at the
Kwamki Lama bus terminal.
A new round of violence between residents of Djayanti and Kwamki Lama villages
began on Tuesday (13/7/04). The situation in the area remained tense on Friday and
police officers were seen patrolling the villages.
IOM Extends W. Timor Stay
The International Organization for Migration (IOM), a United Nations body that has
been helping to repatriate East Timorese refugees in West Timor since 1999, has
decided to extend its work in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) province.
In a letter to the NTT governor dated June 29, an official with the IOM in Jakarta, John
Stephen, said the IOM would continue its work repatriating East Timorese refugees
until the end of this year. Earlier, it had planned to shut down its operation in the NTT
in June.
UN bodies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have repatriated 250,000 out
of a total of 295,000 East Timorese refugees in West Timor to their country of origin
since 1999, when the tiny country seceded from Indonesia. The remaining refugees
are still living in camps in West Timor.
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