[Kabar-indonesia] Indo News - 1/02/06

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- Another Indonesian dies of suspected bird flu
- Murder in the Sky
- 22 Women’s NGOs Urge Government to Protect Munir Family
- Five militants on trial in Indonesia
- Indonesian torrential rains cause deadly floods in east Java
- Aceh peace deal: now for the hard part
- The ball is in Senayan's court
- Squad Removes Bag Suspected Containing Bomb in Ambon
- Attack On Christian Market Kills Eight, Islamic Militants Suspected
- Indonesian Police Probe New Year‘s Bombing
- Focus - Police Rivalry Contributing To Volatility On Sulawesi
- Two held over Sulawesi bombing
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Today Online (Singapore)
Another Indonesian dies of suspected bird flu
Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 3-Jan-2006 02:38 hrs

An Indonesian man suffering symptoms of bird flu died, as tests on another
man suspected of being the country's 12th fatality from the virus showed
he was not infected, health officials said.

A 39-year-old man died after being treated for a day at Jakarta's Sulianti
Saroso hospital, Indonesia's main bird flu treatment center, hospital
spokesman Ilham Patu said.

Tests were being carried out to determine if he died of bird flu, he said.

If confirmed, the man would be Indonesia's 12th fatality from the H5N1
virus, which has killed at least 70 people across Asia since 2003.

"The patient is a suspected bird flu case. He had a history of contact
with live and dead chickens," Patu said.

The patient had been transferred on Sunday from an international hospital
south of the capital. He was from Tangerang, a town southwest of Jakarta
where there have been bird flu outbreaks.

Meanwhile Hariyadi Wibisono, a top health ministry official, told AFP that
test results had showed that a 48-year-old man from Central Java who died
last week suffering bird-flu like symptoms was not infected as had been
suspected.

Scientists warn that continued contact between infected birds and humans
may eventually result in the virus mutating into a form that could be
easily passed on by humans, sparking a pandemic with a potential toll of
millions.

Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous nation, was accused of
covering up initial outbreaks of bird flu.

Most victims in the archipelago nation have so far hailed from densely
populated Jakarta and its environs, where many people live in close
proximity to poultry, providing ideal conditions for the virus to pass to
humans.
-- AFP
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tempo Magazine
No. 17/VI/Dec 27, 2005 - Jan 02, 2006
Murder in the Sky
-- A panel of judges has declared that Munir was poisoned by noodles eaten
on a flight to Amsterdam. Pollycarpus conspired with two cabin crew
members to commit the crime.

I’M not the one who did it,” shouted Pollycarpus full of emotion at the
court hearing. His spontaneous outburst followed the judges’ reading of
the final verdict in the case of the death of human rights activist Munir,
last week.

The Garuda Airlines pilot seemed unable to hide his disappointment. That
morning, he entered the courtroom convinced he would be released. “The
prosecution has been unable to prove the charges [against me],” said
Pollycarpus, born in Solo, just moments before the judge began the court
hearing.

Presided over by Justice Cicut Sutiarso, the Central Jakarta District
Court sentenced Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto—his full name—to 14 years in
jail. After a trial that lasted some five months, the 44-year-old was
found guilty of committing the premeditated murder of Munir on September
7, 2004, as well as using false documents to board the flight. He was
ordered to remain in custody. Immediately after being sentenced
Pollycarpus declared that he would appeal the verdict.

Initially Pollycarpus’ camp expressed the hope that he would be released.
The public prosecutor was unable to argue the main element of the
charge—that is the act of taking another person’s life—even after
examining 39 witnesses. There was neither testimony nor evidence linking
Pollycarpus to the act of poisoning Munir’s food or drink during the GA974
flight from Jakarta to Amsterdam via Singapore.

When and how the arsenic was able to get into the orange juice remained a
mystery right up until last month when the last witness gave evidence. “If
[we] want to be honest, he should have been freed on the murder charges,”
said Adnan Wirawan, the Garuda Airline pilot’s defense lawyer. With regard
to the secondary charge of falsifying documents, Adnan concedes that
Pollycarpus’ case was not very strong.

In their indictment the prosecutors put forward an orange juice or glass
theory to explain the presence of poison. The prosecution drew this
conclusion from the testimony of expert witness Budi Sampurno. The
forensic specialist from the University of Indonesia Faculty of Medicine
believes the arsenic was dissolved in liquid that entered Munir’s body
orally. Suspicions were directed at a welcome drink of orange juice served
at medium temperature—according to Budi’s testimony—that was drunk by
Munir when the plane was about to leave Jakarta.

The prosecution then drew together facts to support the charges.
Pollycarpus, after giving his business class seat 3K to Munir, immediately
moved towards the aircraft’s pantry. There, he met two other witnesses in
the trial, cabin crew members Yetty Susmiarti and Oedi Irianto. The only
other choice of welcome drink served before takeoff was wine. Munir did
not drink alcohol so it was certain that he would take the orange juice.

As it turns out, Pollycarpus’ lawyer was able to show that the glass
theory was flawed. “The witnesses only said that he was in the vicinity of
the premium bar. How could he (Pollycarpus) have been able to put poison
[into a drink] in the pantry?” argued Adnan. Prosecutor Domu Sihite was
not unaware of this weakness. “We were only able to base it on clues.
Direct evidence was difficult [to find],” he told Tempo.

But the judges overturned all of these doubts and Pollycarpus was declared
guilty—although admittedly he was not sentenced to life as had been sought
by the prosecution. In their final decision, the five judges—all of whom
hold a masters degree in law—played through an interpretation of the facts
or drew on various clues.

The judges decided to disregard the testimonies of the three main
witnesses—Pollycarpus, Oedi and Yetty. “They were unwilling to give an
honest explanation of what took place,” said Cicut reading the
considerations in the verdict.

The judges also believe Pollycarpus was intentionally misleading in his
evidence in order to avoid punishment. “The court found indications
existed of emotional levels in the defendant [compelling him] not to tell
the truth. [He] even preferred to say that all [of the charges] were wrong
and that [he] did not know [anything about the case],” said Cicut.
Although they have yet to be tried, Yetty and Oedi are also suspects in
Munir’s murder.

Pollycarpus is believed to have been able to enter the pantry, which is
only screened by a partition with the premium bar on the Boeing 747-400
aircraft. According to the judges, there was no need for testimony from an
eyewitness in order to prove the validity of the charge. Also,
Pollycarpus, who was shown to have flown as an extra crew member without
official orders, intentionally wore a pilot’s uniform without insignia so
that it was almost identical with the flight crews’ uniform.

The judges then drew on other clues after comparing the testimonies of
supervisor Brahmani Hastawati and crew member Tri Wiryasmadi against Oedi
and Yetty’s testimonies. Brahmani, by his own admission, clearly explained
how Pollycarpus had walked to and fro past the premium bar, the business
class section, the area in front of the toilet, and that he read a
Dutch-language magazine. His actions were unlike other extra crew members
who sat quietly or mostly slept. “They were not busy like Pollycarpus to
the point of disturbing the active crew that were working,” said Brahmani
when giving testimony.

Denials by Oedi and Yetty, who admitted not to knowing about Pollycarpus’
actions, could not negate Pollycarpus’ claim that he did not “slink” into
the pantry. “Were these two witnesses not always present and ready to
serve in the vicinity of the business section?” read the judges’
consideration in the decision. The testimony by Tri Wiryasmadi who served
the meal to premium class seat 11B, Pollycarpus’ seat, also supported such
a view. Pollycarpus told Tri that he could not sit for long because he was
suffering from hemorrhoids.

The panel of judges then drew on different facts to those used in the
prosecution’s charges. According to the judges, Munir was killed by
arsenic added to the fried noodles. This conclusion was drawn from a
calculation of the amount of time until Munir felt nauseous. Munir began
to feel nauseous 15 minutes after taking off from Singapore—around 2pm
local time or 1pm Western Indonesian Time (WIB). Nausea is believed to
have been caused by the poison starting to act on the body.

>From there the judges compared the time of the aircraft’s
departure—10:40pm local time or 11:40pm WIB, September 6, 2004. Twenty
minutes was then added—the time taken to serve the meal. The time duration
found was not more than three hours. This means that three to four hours
had not yet passed being the maximum time for an arsenic reaction to take
place in the body, according to evidence by the two forensic experts. The
judges then concluded that the poison was ingested at the time when food
was served on the flight between Jakarta and Singapore.

The modus operandi said the judges, was after the seatbelt sign had been
extinguished when Pollycarpus immediately got out of his seat. He then
went to the pantry where he encountered Yetty and Oedi who were in the
middle of preparing the evening meal. The three quickly discussed how to
administer the poison. In business class there are only two choices of
food—fried noodles or pasta. Oedi then took the two types of food and
opened the tin foil seal on top of the container. Pollycarpus then quickly
sprinkled the arsenic on it. Oedi then carefully replaced the tin foil
top.

Pollycarpus then exited the pantry and headed towards the bar in premium
class. Yetty and Oedi simply continued working, arranging the meals in the
shelves or trolley. The food that had already been poisoned—that had been
“prepared” for Munir—was kept separate. Yetty then pushed the trolley out
of the pantry and distributed the food according the passengers’ requests.
Munir, it turns out, chose fried noodles. While Yetty was distributing the
food, Pollycarpus kept watch although he pretended to be busy.

According to Ridwan Masyur, one of the members of the panel of judges,
Pollycarpus conspired to commit the murder of Munir. The judges even went
so far as to assert that there was sufficient evidence for their decision,
including the “fried noodles theory.” It was not just based on clues. “The
[testimonies of the] expert witnesses and the facts are enough, don’t you
think,” they said. Although the judges agreed that Pollycarpus was guilty,
they admitted that in the meeting to decide on a verdict they were not
unanimous in determining how heavy the sentence should be.
-- Arif A. Kuswardono
-----------------------------------------------
Murder on the Garuda Express

Cengkareng, Jakarta, September 6, 2004—21:00 Western Indonesia Time (WIB)

1. Munir is greeted by Polly at the front cabin door of the Boeing 747-400
flight GA 764 Jakarta-Singapore-Amsterdam. (Munir is wearing black pants
and a grey short-sleeved shirt with blue motifs. Polly is wearing a
pilot’s uniform: black pants and a long-white shirt, without insignia.)

2. Polly offers Munir an upgrade to seat number 3K in business class.
Munir’s boarding pass shows seat number 40G in economy class. Polly then
reports the seat change to the head flight attendant, Brahmani Hastawati.
Polly takes a seat in number 11C in premium class, not far from Munir’s
new seat.

3. After the plane takes off and levels out, the flight attendants serve
the passengers a welcome drink of orange juice or wine. Munir chooses an
orange juice, offered by flight attendant Yetty Susmiarti. (According to
the prosecutor’s indictment, Polly had earlier met with flight attendants
Oedi Irianto and Yetty Susmiarti in the pantry. Oedi and Yetty were
preparing the welcome drinks at the time. Polly poured poison into two
glasses of orange juice, to be served among glasses of wine and placed at
the front of the tray. According to the prosecutor, Polly is sure that
Munir would take the juice because his neighbor, a Dutch national of
Chinese descent, would surely choose the wine).

4. The plane takes off from Cengkareng at 21:30 WIB. The seatbelt signs
remain turned on until the plane levels out.

5. As soon as the seatbelt signs are turned off, Polly gets up and heads
towards the pantry to meet up with Yetty and Oedi, who are preparing
passenger meals of fried noodles and pasta. All three of them plan to
further poison Munir. Oedi takes a noodle and pasta meal from the food
carriage and opens the aluminum covering. Polly then pours poison onto the
food. Oedi then covers the meal again.

6. Yetty then delivers the food to Munir, offering him a choice of fried
noodles or pasta. Munir chooses the noodles and is served the poisoned
meal.

7. Polly watches the whole scene from the bar, while Oedi watches from the
pantry.

8. Polly observes Munir eat while walking back and forth between the
toilet and bar, and pretending to read a magazine. Polly watches Munir
until he finishes the meal.

Changi Airport, Singapore, September 7, 2004

Singapore-Amsterdam leg.
(The journey takes 13 hours. This section is not included in the judge’s
considerations. It is taken from the prosecutor’s indictment)

1. The plane departs for Amsterdam at 01:45 Singapore time. Munir returns
to seat number 40G in economy class. Approximately 15 minutes after
takeoff, Munir begins to show signs of nausea and makes several trips to
the toilet. Munir vomits repeatedly in the toilet.

2. Approximately 2-3 hours into the journey, Captain Pantun Matondang asks
Dr. Tarmizi Tahir to help Munir. Tahir gives Munir stomach pain tablets.
Munir continues to complain of stomach pain, whereupon Tahir gives him
anti-vomiting and anti-nausea medicine. The doctor also gives Munir a
low-dosage sedative. Munir is moved to seat number 4E in business class.

3. Munir asks permission to lie down on the floor. He is placed near the
toilet.

4. Munir falls asleep. Three hours before landing in Amsterdam, Munir is
found on his side, dead
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tempo Interactive
22 Women’s NGOs Urge Government to Protect Munir Family
Friday, 30 December, 2005 | 22:54 WIB

Tempo Interactive, Jakarta: Twenty-two women’s non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) from Indonesia and foreign countries have urged the
Indonesian government to give security protection to Munir’s family. “This
is because Munir’s situation is not an ordinary case. In Munir’s
circumstances, there is conspiracy and power embezzlement from Garuda
Indonesia and the State Intelligence Agency (BIN),” said Kalyanamitra
Executive Director Rena Herdiyani in Jakarta.

Up to now, Herdiyani said, Garuda is yet to give any security guarantee or
compensation over Munir’s death. Therefore, Herdiyani added, there was a
need for compensation for Munir’s family such as life insurance and
education for Munir’s children.

Twenty-two women’s non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including the
Dubar Network from Bangladesh, the Northeast Network from India, Women’s
Law and Development International from the US, sent a letter to Indonesian
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on December 15 to follow up the
recommendation of the fact-finding team on Munir.

Up to now, Herdiyani said, there is yet to be any response from Yudhoyono.
-- (Fanny Febiana-Tempo News Room)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Five militants on trial in Indonesia
02 Jan 2006 07:44:07 GMT
Source: Reuters

Jakarta, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Five Indonesian militants went on trial on
Monday, accused of hiding top terror fugitive Noordin M. Top after a 2004
car bombing outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta that killed 10
people.

Police have said the Sept. 9, 2004, bombing was masterminded by Top and
fellow Malaysian Azahari bin Husin, who police killed in a raid on his
East Java hideout last November. Both Top and Azahari before his death
were senior operatives of Jemaah Islamiah, a group seen as al Qaeda's arm
in Southeast Asia.

One of the defendants who went on trial was Ahmad Rofiq Ridho, a brother
of Fathur Rohman al-Ghozi, an Indonesian Jemaah Islamiah operative who was
killed in the Philippines after escaping from a Manila jail in 2003.

"(Ridho) was indicted for failing to inform on the whereabouts of Noordin
Top and the involvement in criminal conspiracies. The charges against the
other four were for the same things," said Gilroy Noviandi, a member of
the defence team representing three of the five defendants, including
Ridho.

Police almost caught Top hours before the raid that led to Azahari's
death. Authorities believe he is still in Indonesia.

Prosecutors also indicted Ridho for surveying bombing targets in East Java
that include a Christian school and a plush hotel.

Authorities believe Azahari and Top played crucial roles in other bombings
in Indonesia in recent years that have been blamed on Jemaah Islamiah.

In the 2004 Jakarta blast, a one-tonne bomb was detonated inside a
delivery van just before the driver reached the embassy gate. It ripped
open the blast-proof fence of the embassy and badly damaged numerous
buildings in one of the city's busiest business areas.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ABC/Radio Australia
Indonesian torrential rains cause deadly floods in east Java
Last Updated 03/01/2006, 00:09:47

In Indonesia, at least 48 people are dead and 100 missing after two days
of torrential downpour caused a river to break its banks in the Panti
district of East Java.

Thousands more have been forced from their homes.

Peter Cave reports from Jakarta.

Police spokesman Dedi Priyo in Jember told the ABC that three villages and
an Islamic boarding school were hit by the flash flooding at the weekend.
Hundreds of houses were submerged or washed away by the waters and
subsequent landslides . In one village 21 bodies had been recovered, and
in another 19. The spokesman said in all about 100 people were still
missing. Deforestation by logging companies and unregulated development of
natural water cachment areas have been blamed for previous flooding in
East Java.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Australian
Aceh peace deal: now for the hard part
Sian Powell, Jakarta correspondent
January 03, 2006

The most difficult stage of Aceh's peace deal begins with the new year:
negotiating it through the national parliament without it sinking in the
deep waters of Indonesian nationalism.

The Indonesian nay-sayers have already been at work. Insiders say last
month's noisy demonstrations in Jakarta, demanding the splitting of Aceh
into three provinces, were orchestrated by those who want the peace to
fail.

Aceh Monitoring Mission chief Pieter Feith, who has been in charge of
overseeing the implementation of the peace deal, acknowledged there were
elements of the Indonesian Government and military acting independently on
Aceh, as they had in the past in East Timor.

"Indonesia doesn't act as one," he said.

The peace agreement hammered out by the rebel Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and
Indonesian Government in Helsinki last year leaves room for error, not
least in the need to persuade Indonesia's fractious parliament to enact an
autonomy law for Aceh.

Yet there is so much general goodwill towards the peace that Mr Feith said
he believed that, with the support of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
and Vice-President Jusuf Kalla, the deal would succeed and that peace
would become entrenched in tsunami-ravaged Aceh.

"The spoilers, so far they haven't made many inroads," Mr Feith said.

The deal has lasted longer than many thought it could. Confounding the
pessimists' predictions, it remains on track, with the decommissioning of
rebels' weapons and the withdrawal of the Indonesian armed forces.

It now appears certain that the mandate of the Aceh Monitoring Mission,
backed by both the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the European
Union, will be extended by at least three months past its original
deadline of March.

"These (the weapons decommissioning and the troop withdrawal) have been
very significant steps and there's still more to come, but it will become
more political," Mr Feith said. "Now it's up to the Government to show its
political will."

Yet there remains opposition in the national parliament, which will have
to pass Aceh's autonomy bill in order for GAM to become a political party
and stand in elections - a crucial element in the peace deal.

Scarred by East Timor's independence, nationalists remain sensitive about
the rebels and their earlier attempts to hive Aceh off from Indonesia,
leading to a conflict that claimed thousands of lives.

The draft bill should be finished within a week or two, said Aceh Recovery
Forum convenor Ahmad Humam Hamid, a possible contender for the Aceh
governorship. "There will be people who disagree with it for various
reasons, such as nationalist feelings or political jealousy."

Many say the notoriously slow parliament will not pass the bill by the
deadline of March 31, possibly thwarting the rebels' desire to stand in
local elections in April, and preventing them potentially filling the
positions of 18 mayors and the governor.

Political science lecturer at the University of Indonesia Syamsuddin Haris
said the biggest Indonesian opposition party was certain to oppose the
bill, as were other smaller parties. "Some of these parties still have the
conservative view that problems in Aceh should be finished with a gun," he
said, adding that many thought the Government had agreed to too much
compensation for the rebels.

The GAM guerillas have formally announced their demobilisation and have
begun the transformation into civilian leaders.

The changes are inevitably bringing tensions, although no rebel would ever
admit that any disagreements exist between the Acehnese GAM leaders and
those exiled in Sweden.

"The chain of command runs fairly clearly but there are some tensions,
yes," Mr Feith said. "For instance, who will be the GAM candidate for the
governorship. There are some differences of view on that."

Dr Hamid said he did not believe the Acehnese would have a second chance
for peace if this one were missed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
Editorial
January 02, 2005
The ball is in Senayan's court

The first phase of the Aceh peace agreement ended pretty much on schedule
before the turn of the year. The Indonesian Military (TNI) withdrew the
last of its non-local troops. The Free Aceh Movement (GAM) handed over all
its remaining fire arms and formally disbanded its military wing.

With the exception of the remaining local TNI troops, we could safely say
that Aceh has been demilitarized. Kudos to both sides for seeing through
the peace process. And congratulations to the independent Aceh Monitoring
Mission for a job well done.

Having gone through so much for the past year or so, including the
devastating tsunami amidst a raging 30-year civil war, the people of Aceh
could not have asked for a better present to begin the New Year. They
already face a difficult challenge as it is in rebuilding their shattered
lives without the war. The ongoing peace process raises their hopes for
2006.

The demilitarization of Aceh, however, is half of the story of the peace
agreement that GAM and the Indonesian government signed in Helsinki in
August. The other half is the political concessions Indonesia has to give
to GAM in return for the latter's decision to work for peace within the
framework of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia, commonly
known by its Indonesian acronym NKRI. Although it has not publicly
denounced its aspirations for an independent Aceh state, GAM's decision
paved the way for the peace deal.

A lot of the concessions government negotiators gave in Helsinki are still
subject to approval by lawmakers in the House of Representatives (DPR).
But they are doable and agreeable, for otherwise the government would not
have given in to them. Even GAM's demand that the people of Aceh be
allowed to form local political parties to contest national and local
elections seems reasonable if we profess to be a democratic country.

Now, the ball is in Senayan's court; in the dome-shaped DPR building. If
the cool-to-lukewarm response one heard from Senayan around the time of
the signing of the peace agreement was any indication, then the government
could be in for a tough battle over the next few months. The road to peace
in Aceh could come to a stumbling block unless the government plays its
cards right.

Under the Helsinki agreement, the government must ensure that a new law on
Aceh government should be in place by the end of March, thus allowing for
local elections to choose the governor and regency chiefs to take place in
April. The Aceh provincial legislative council had already drafted a bill
taking into account GAM demands in the Helsinki deal. The bill is now in
the hands of the Ministry of Home Affairs in Jakarta, which appears to
want to revise it before sending it to the House of Representatives.

House Speaker Agung Laksono has promised to give the bill priority so that
it can be enacted in time as scheduled. But Agung and his Golkar party do
not necessarily control the House, despite holding most of seats. A lot
will depend on the political skills of Golkar, and particularly of their
leader Jusuf Kalla, who is also vice president, whose initiative it was to
begin the negotiations with GAM in 2004.

Those who understand Indonesian politics know that peace in Aceh is not
most important thing on the minds of politicians and their political
parties in Jakarta. Most are already looking at the 2009 elections, and
the last thing parties outside the government coalition want is to allow
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono bask in the glory of bringing peace to
Aceh. As important as peace is to Aceh and to the overall nation-building
process, the dynamics of Senayan may dictate differently.

Many politicians from parties outside the government coalition have
already denounced the Helsinki agreement as a sellout, as they consider it
a danger to the future of Indonesia as a unitary state. They have many
friends in the military and in media to mobilize support for their cause.

It does not take much to derail a peace train. All they need to do is
delay the deliberations of the bill on Aceh government and the Helsinki
agreement will be in tatters.

We have also seen their maneuvers in attempting to carve Aceh into three
provinces as another way of botching the Helsinki deal. This is a classic
divide-and-rule approach that has been applied with devastating effect in
Papua, creating an even bigger mess than before. The move to carve up Aceh
was carefully timed to coincide with the upcoming deliberations of the
bill on Aceh government.

The real peace spoilers are here in Jakarta, and not in Aceh.

The challenge is for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to secure the
support of all the factions, or at least the majority of factions, in the
DPR to make sure that the law on Aceh government is enacted on time, and,
where appropriate, incorporating the terms of the Helsinki agreement.

The price of failure is too high. It will irreparable hurt Indonesia's
international reputation, it will ruin the Helsinki agreement, and it will
create renewed uncertainty in Aceh.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Antara
Jan 02 18:49
Squad Removes Bag Suspected Containing Bomb in Ambon

Ambon, Maluku (Antara News) - A bomb disposal squad of the Maluku Police
removed a bag suspected of containing a bomb found in front of Ligina
Future coffee shop at Jl.A.M.Sangadji, here at noon on Monday.

Chief Brigadier Nazir Samal told ANTARA News that, Rolobesi, a staff
member of PT Bank Maluku reported he found a bag in the trunk of his car.
Rolobesi believed that the suspicious bag was laid down by an unknown
person when he was filling a water container.

Surprised by the sudden presence of a large red bag in the trunk of his
car, he reported his finding to Chief Brigadier Nazir Samal, who then took
the bag out of the trunk, laid down it in front of Ligina Future coffee
shop and called the bomb-defusing squad. The squad then carried the bag to
its post for disposal.

The finding of the bag suspected of containing a bomb has caused panic
among people living at Jl.A.M.Sangadji, who remember of the tragedy which
occurred on January 19, 1999.

The police and members of the Indonesian Military (TNI) called on people
to continue their activities as the bag has been removed by the bomb
disposal squad. Deputy Chief of the Ambon Police Comr.Denny Hermana said
the police was still examining whether the bag contains a bomb.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pacific Magazine
Indonesia: Attack On Christian Market Kills Eight, Islamic Militants
Suspected
Sunday: January 1, 2006

The Associated Press reports in The China Post Online that suspected
Islamic militants detonated a powerful bomb in a Christian market in
Indonesia on Saturday, killing eight people and wounding 45 others as they
bought pork for New Year's Eve celebrations.

The blast occurred in Palu on Sulawesi Island, which has been plagued by
religious violence in recent years, and followed repeated warnings that
militants belonging to the al-Qaida-linked Jemaah Islamiyah terror network
were planning fresh attacks over the holiday season. The early morning
explosion sent ball bearings and nails tearing into vendors and shoppers.

According to the AP, witnesses reported seeing dismembered bodies lying on
the ground. Television footage showed police and passers-by carrying
bloodied bodies into cars. One man, apparently unhurt, was holding his
head in his hands and screaming.

"There was a billow of smoke and then a massive bang and my ears were
deafened," said Kartini, a 32-year-old Christian women who was
hospitalized with shrapnel wounds to her chest and feet.

"I was in shock and had to tell myself to move away, I screamed for
helsp," said Kartini, who goes by a single name.

Eight people died in the attack and at least 45 others were wounded, more
than 20 of them seriously, hospital officials and police said.

The religious affiliations of the dead were not immediately released.
However, the market sold only pig and dog meat, both of which are
forbidden under Islam. Few, if any, Muslims would have been in the covered
market when the bomb exploded.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono condemned the blast, which occurred
despite heightened security nationwide -- more than 47,000 soldiers and
police had been deployed at churches, shopping centers and hotels to try
to ward off terror attacks over Christmas and New Year's.

The country's security minister, Widodo Adisucipto, told reporters the
bombing was linked to terrorist groups "that have been operating in the
country."

He refused to elaborate, but suspicion immediately fell on Jemaah
Islamiyah, which has been blamed for a series of bloody bombings in
Indonesia since 2000, including two strikes on Bali that together killed
222 people, many of them foreigners. It is also accused in Christmas Eve
church bombings five years ago that left 19 dead.

According to the AP, Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation,
but Sulawesi's 12.5 million people are roughly split between Christians
and Muslims. It is also home to tiny Buddhist and Hindu communities.

Central Sulawesi was the scene of fierce battles between Muslims and
Christians in 2001 and 2002 that killed about 1,000 people and attracted
Islamic militants from all over Indonesia who responded to calls for a
jihad or holy war.

Despite a peace deal, Islamic militants have continued a campaign of
bombings, shootings and other attacks on Christians, including market
blasts in May that killed 20 people and the beheadings of three
schoolgirls in October.

Police have yet to charge anyone over those attacks.

"When will the authorities be able to reveal the barbaric perpetrators in
the province?" asked Rinaldy Damanik, leader of the Synod Churches of
Central Sulawesi. "There is no happy new year in our republic this time
around," he said, urging Christians to show restraint.

Ken Conboy, author of several books on Southeast Asian terrorism, said
Islamic militants were almost certainly behind the bombing.

"But it is too soon to say from which group they came from, or who
inspired them," he said. "It's likely they were involved in the earlier
conflict and still possess the skills to make bombs."

Maj. Gen. Firman Gani, the Jakarta police chief, said last week that
members of Jemaah Islamiyah might use the holidays to retaliate for the
November death of bomb-making expert Azahari bin Husin, who was gunned
down in a police raid.

On Christmas Eve, bomb squads searched for explosives at churches in the
capital Jakarta and its satellite cities, where thousands gathered to
worship. Security forces also tightly guarded dozens of churches on
Sulawesi.

Palu is about 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) northeast of Jakarta.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Brocktown News
Indonesian Police Probe New Year‘s Bombing
01 January, 2006
Staff and agencies
By Abdi Mari, 42 minutes ago

Palu, Indonesia - Authorities searched Sunday for the suspected Islamic
militants who set off a bomb at a Christian market in central Indonesia,
killing eight people and underscoring the ongoing battle against terror in
the world‘s most populous Muslim nation.

The explosion sent nails and ball bearings tearing into vendors and
shoppers at the market, which was packed with people buying pork for New
Year‘s celebrations. Forty-five people were wounded, officials said.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono condemned the blast, which occurred
despite more than 47,000 soldiers and police being deployed nationwide to
ward off attacks.

He refused to elaborate, but suspicion immediately fell on Jemaah
Islamiyah, an al-Qaida-linked group that has been blamed for a series of
bombings in Indonesia, including two attacks on Bali that together killed
222 people, many of them foreigners. It is also accused in Christmas Eve
church bombings five years ago that left 19 dead.

Central Sulawesi was the scene of fierce battles between Muslims and
Christians in 2001 and 2002 that killed about 1,000 people and attracted
Islamic militants from all over Indonesia responding to calls for a holy
war.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ADN Kronos International
Indonesia: Focus - Police Rivalry Contributing To Volatility On Sulawesi
Jakarta, 2 Jan. (AKI)

The coordinator of the Crisis Centre for Indonesian Churches doubts the
country will see a return to the sectarian violence that beset Sulawesi in
past years. But Mona Saroinsong believes further bomb attacks will follow
the bloody New Year's Eve blast at a Christian market in Palu that killed
at least seven people and wounded 56. And she blames the behaviour of the
police for the area's volatility.

"The police and the army do not cooperate, but actually obstruct each
other. This makes it very difficult to maintain law and order.....which is
very low," Saroinsong said. Most terrorism experts agree the bomb in Palu
was the latest attempt by radical Islamic groups to re-kindle the
religious conflict that reached a peak in Central Sulawesi in 2000-2001,
leaving nearly 2,000 dead. Central Sulawesi is one of the few areas in
Indonesia where the Christian and Muslim populations are almost
numerically equal.

The New Year's Eve bomb attacks followed the brutal beheadings of three
Christian schoolgirls near Poso, Central Sulawesi on 29 October by Islamic
militants, and an attack on the Christian settlement of Tentenna on 28
May, in which 22 people died.

"The anger and mutual hatred still exists, but Muslims and Christians both
consider the recent atrocities to have been caused by external
manipulation rather than the outcome of a religious conflict ," Saroinsong
said. She was referring to Islamic militants who settled on Sulawesi
during the worst years of the sectarian violence and who have stirred up
extremist sentiment on the island.

A recent study by the Brussels-based think-tank, International Crisis
Group, found that Central Sulawesi has become a refuge for Islamic
'mujahadeen' or holy warriors, including Kompak - a rump group formed from
the first militant Islamic group on Sulawesi, Darul Islam. The al-Qaeda
linked Jemaah Islamiya (JI) southeast Asian terror network - whose goal is
the creation of an Islamic caliphate - is also present on the island
according to International Crisis Group.

Rivalry between the Indonesian police and the army, aids the presence of
Islamic extremists on Sulawesi, Saroinsong argues. "If president Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono doesn't intervene and reorganise the two forces, I fear
further attacks are inevitable," she warned.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Australian
Two held over Sulawesi bombing
Sian Powell, Jakarta correspondent
January 02, 2006

Indonesian police have detained two men in connection with the deadly
bombing of a market kiosk selling pork in the Central Sulawesi city of
Palu on the weekend - an attack that experts fear signals a spread of the
sectarian violence that has racked the province.

The blast, which killed seven people and wounded 53, is the latest in a
series of attacks on Central Sulawesi's Christian community. The violence
has largely gone unpunished, despite the deployment of 3000 extra police
in the province.

The kiosk bombing is the worst attack in Palu since the 2001 Malino peace
accords ended the sectarian violence that had killed thousands in the
region.

Christians fear more attacks as militant Muslims, possibly aligned with
terror networks such as Jemaah Islamiah, try to reignite the conflict.

Most of the violence has been confined to the Poso district, about 300km
east of Palu, which jihadists consider central to the war against
Christians.

International Crisis Group analyst Dave McRae, who wrote a recent report
on jihadist networks in Central Sulawesi and Maluku, said the Palu bombing
was worrying.

"This is by far the largest incident in Palu," Mr McRae said yesterday.
"It's the third bombing since 2001, but the first two were very small."

Unlike in Poso, Christians and Muslims in Palu are rarely segregated, and
while the New Year's Eve bombing sparked no communal violence, tensions
remained high yesterday.

As well as detaining two men seen near scene of the blast, police said
yesterday they had carried out several raids in the area and set up
checkpoints around the city in the hunt for those responsible for the
bombing.

Police spokesman Rais Adam said officers were "intensively questioning"
two men but stressed the pair had not been formally charged.

The Palu bombing followed warnings from Indonesian police that militants
could attack over Christmas and New Year.

Churches across Central Sulawesi, as well as in the Indonesian capital of
Jakarta and other districts, were being tightly guarded.

Mr McRae said it was too early to know exactly why the Palu market had
been bombed, but it was likely increased security in Poso had forced the
attackers to find a "soft target".

By choosing a pork kiosk, he said, the attackers could be relatively
certain they would avoid killing Muslims, who are forbidden from eathing
eat pork.

Despite increased political will to find and punish the militants who
launch attacks in Central Sulawesi, a culture of silence has often
thwarted attempts to investigate the violence.

Following widespread community revulsion at the beheading of three
Christian schoolgirls in Poso in October, President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono sent high-ranking police and security chiefs to the province.
But so far no one has been charged over the murders. Five men were
detained and later released.

Many people were reluctant to offer information because those detained
were often beaten, Mr McRae said.

His October report for the International Crisis Group found that violent
jihadist networks, including Jemaah Islamiah, remained strong in Central
Sulawesi.

Militant propaganda has included films of violence perpetrated by
Christians, and a call to support the troubled Muslims of the province.

A handful of Muslims have been killed in Central Sulawesi since the peace
accords were signed, but most of the victims of shootings and bombings
have been Christians, who have mostly refrained from fighting back.

"Retaliation is always possible after each event, but so far there has
been no rioting," Mr McRae said.