Suharto camp behind blasts: Minister

By Amit Baruah

SINGAPORE, DEC. 29. The Indonesian Defence Minister, Mr. Mohamad Mahfud, has accused a ``strong man'' of the erstwhile regime of Gen. Suharto as being responsible for the Christmas eve bombings at churches in the country.

The death toll in the blasts, which took place across the country, has now risen to 17.

According to the Minister, a strongman of the previous Government, with huge financial backing and experience in running the Government, could organise any kind of activity. Mr. Mahfud was of the view that the ``strongman'' was not necessarily Gen. Suharto. It could be one of his former Ministers or colleagues, Mr. Mahfud was quoted as saying.

``The aim is clear, they do not want to be dragged into court with former President Suharto. That's why they mobilise funds and (the) masses to divert public attention from (the) Government investigation (in the Suharto case),'' he said.

In a related development, The Jakarta Post newspaper described the Christmas eve carnage as the ``most heinous mass crime ever committed in this country''. ``This was clearly a concerted and carefully planned campaign designed to kill as well as to instill terror among the population of this country,'' the daily said in its editorial.

``We have seen this type of campaign work with such devastating effect in Maluku, North Maluku and in Central Sulawesi, where Muslims and Christians have been fighting each other. Now, the perpetrators are trying to expand their war theatre to the rest of the country, including Jakarta. Let us hope that enough cool heads prevail in Jakarta and the rest of the country to prevent a religious conflict from erupting,'' the paper said.

``This is a campaign clearly designed to terrorise and provoke a bigger conflict...'' it said.

Blaming the police for not being able to unearth the perpetrators behind previous blasts like the one in the Jakarta Stock Exchange, the paper said: ``It would not be surprising that these previous attacks were carried out by the same people who launched Sunday's bombing campaign. They certainly have had the same effect: to instill terror...''

``Until the police catch the perpetrators, or at least come up with a credible explanation for the latest bombing campaign, this country will continue to live in terror and the entire nation will forever be held hostage by the perpetrators. We do not know who they are and what they really want. We only know what they are capable of. And we know they can strike again, anytime, anywhere,'' its editorial said.

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Section  : International
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