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Arrested army pair 'planted exchange bombs'

Source
South China Morning Post - September 27, 2000

Agencies in Jakarta – Two soldiers among 28 suspects arrested over a spate of bombings in the capital planted the explosives at the Jakarta Stock Exchange which killed 15 people, police said yesterday. But police said they were still looking for the mastermind behind the blasts.

The two soldiers, along with a civilian, were arrested in Bandung on Sunday after a shootout with police which left two officers and one of the suspects injured. Brigadier-General Dadang Garnida, the national police spokesman, said security forces had evidence the two soldiers were responsible for building and placing the bomb in a garage at the exchange on September 13 and that police were still hunting for three suspects.

National police chief General Surojo Bimantoro said: "The recent blasts are being looked into, case by case, and we are still searching for links between one and the other. We want to find the mastermind."

As well as the blast at the stock exchange, there have been several other bombings recently, including a car bomb outside the Philippine ambassador's residence that killed two people and injured dozens. One of the 28 suspects arrested told police the group also planned to attack the US Embassy.

Some of the blasts coincided with advances in a corruption case against former dictator Suharto. Some people have speculated they were the work of his supporters and elements of the security forces opposed to President Abdurrahman Wahid's democratic reforms.

Lawyers for Suharto, who was ousted from office in 1998 amid pro-democracy protests, have denied the allegations. The former strongman's trial is scheduled to reconvene tomorrow. Police have stepped up patrols and alertness ahead of the hearing.

General Bimantoro said all 28 suspects, including the soldiers, were from Aceh, where separatists are fighting for independence. Acehnese rebels have denied any involvement in the bombings. The national police chief said on Monday that the two soldiers were acting as individuals and working outside the military chain of command.

"I have ordered Kostrad [strategic reserve] and Kopassus [special forces] chiefs to take steps to investigate the involvement of the two soldiers," armed forces chief Admiral Widodo Adi Sucipto said, vowing there would be no cover-up. The Kopassus member arrested in Bandung was a deserter, General Bimantoro said. He said a Kostrad soldier, Ibrahim, was also being held.

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