Jakarta – Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono said on Thursday he believed a series of riots and disturbances plaguing the country were linked to supporters of former president Soeharto.

Juwono said after a commemoration of the birth of state ideology Pancasila that "the New Order people" were stirring up trouble in a bid to shake the government of President Abdurrahman Wahid.

"These incidents were to anger and confuse Gus Dur, but Gus Dur will remain strong, and he said he would fight every attempt at such," Juwono told reporters, referring to Abdurrahman by his popular nickname.

Asked whether he thought followers of Soeharto were behind the attacks, Juwono said: "Yes, and based on the information which I have received from military intelligence sources, these people are in Jakarta." At least 47 people were injured on Sunday when a bomb exploded in a church in Medan, the capital of North Sumatra. Bombs were also found at two other churches and on a road linking Medan and Deli Serdang.

The bombs have raised fears that "provocateurs", who have often been blamed for inciting violence in the country, were trying to ignite sectarian riots similar to the Muslim-Christian conflict that has ravaged Maluku since early 1999.