News Interactive [Australia], May 23, 2004
Five hurt in Ambon blast
From correspondents in Ambon
A BOMB exploded in Indonesia's restive eastern city of Ambon, injuring five people,
three of them seriously, police and hospital staff said today.
Three young men were seriously injured and hospitalised, said a nurse at the Halong
navy hospital in Ambon, who asked not to be identified.
Ambon Police Chief Adjunct Senior Commissioner Leonidas Braksan said the blast
was due to a homemade bomb put in a large biscuit tin. The tin was put inside a bag
with three bags of peanuts and two bottles of beer and left under a bench in front of a
store.
"The victims were people who found the package and tried to open the tin," he said,
adding that two other people were also lightly injured by the bomb which exploded
around 9.15am local time (9.15am AEST).
"There are efforts to provoke the people," he said, referring to communal violence
between Christians and Muslims and separatists and pro-Indonesian supporters.
An investigation was underway.
Braksan also said another home-made bomb exploded some 30 minutes after the first
in Batumerah area, some 15 kilometers away. There were no casualties.
The blasts came the day after President Megawati Sukarnoputri paid a brief visit to
the strife-torn city, pledging that her government will firmly act against separatist
aspirations there.
Ambon was last month rocked by communal violence that claimed 38 deaths. The
clashes were sparked by a separatist parade.
Ambon was ravaged by three years of Muslim-Christian clashes which left more than
5,000 dead before a February 2002 peace pact ended the violence.
Agence France-Presse
Copyright 2004 News Limited. All times AEST (GMT+10).
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