Tentena Marketplace Bombing

Jul 4th, 2006, in News, by

The Tentena marketplace bomb, and aftermath,

The case of the marketplace bombing in Tentena, central Sulawesi, last year in which 23 people died appears to have been largely settled.

Additionally the special security force responsible for keeping the peace in the province has been disbanded as of today.

Occurring in the mainly Christian town on May 28th 2005, and injuring about 100 people in addition to the 23 lost lives, the bombing represented one of the worst atrocities in the “post-conflict” era of the Poso and Palu area, and surrounding towns like Tentena.

Yesterday, 3rd July, Paulus Purwoko, the head of the security operation in central Sulawesi (Komando Operasi Keamanan (Koopskam)), said mediaindo that four men were believed to have been behind the attack.

Four people carried out the attack and they have already been arrested and sent to Jakarta to undergo interrogation.
(Pelakunya sebanyak empat orang serta mereka sudah ditangkap dan dibawa ke Mabes Polri (Jakarta) untuk menjalani pemeriksaan di sana.)

He did not give their names and said only that they had been caught by the police anti-terror squad, Detachment 88, in Poso regency.

The four men were caught separately some time ago.
(Pokoknya, keempat orang yang dijadikan tersangka dalam kasus Bom Tentena itu adalah yang ditangkap di sejumlah tempat terpisah beberapa waktu lalu.)

he said and added that the four had confessed to the bombing, as well as involvement in the beheading murders of three Christian schoolgirls in October 2005. He said that the four men would shortly be brought before a court.

Separately, in Palu, central Sulawesi police chief Brigadier General Oegroseno said that the four men had the initials D, I, R, and H.

The four men are a part of the nine men who were captured, separately, previously in Tolitoli and Poso.
(Keempat oknum (warga sipil) yang dijadikan tersangka itu merupakan bagian dari sembilan orang yang sebelumnya ditangkap secara terpisah di Tolitoli dan Poso.)

Some Muslim clerics in the town are known to be very unhappy with the actions of the police and claim that the constabulary keep arresting the wrong men.

A while ago a number of [different] people were accused of the Tentena bombing because the police said they had found traces of TNT, of the same kind as found at the Tentena bomb site, in their shoes and cars. But recently the courts freed those men because nothing was proven.
(Beberapa waktu lalu sudah ada sejumlah orang ditangkap karena dituduh terlibat kasus peledakan bom Tentena, bahkan polisi ketika itu menyatakan menemukan serbuk TNT di sepatu dan mobil pelaku mirip dengan yang ditemukan di tempat kejadian perkara. Tapi belakangan, pengadilan membebaskan mereka karena sama sekali tidak terbukti.)

said a cleric who wished for anonymity.

Meanwhile the Jakarta Post reports that the task force (Komando Operasi Keamanan (Koopskam)) that for the past six months has worked to maintain security in Poso, has seen the end of its mandate (July 4th), and, Detik says detik, the mandate will not be renewed.

The task force, set up January 5th 2006, answers directly to the Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, Widodo, in Jakarta. It was formed to investigate a series of violent attacks in Poso and Palu following the 2001 Malino peace agreement, which largely brought an end to the jihadist war against Christians in the province.

House of Representatives speaker Agung Laksono advised detik that since Poso was no longer safe and still the scene of attacks on churches and individuals, the work of Koopskam should continue.

Don’t end the mission too quickly before Poso is safe. We don’t want the problems in Poso to go on and on.
(Jangan terburu-buru ditutup sebelum masalah di Poso aman. Kita tidak ingin masalah di Poso berlarut-larut.)

There are some who claim that Koopskam has been disbanded due to personal clashes between its leaders and the local police. Agung Laksono advised that personnel changes were the solution to this, rather than the group’s disbanding..

Thousands of weapons and rounds of ammunition confiscated by the Security Restoration Operation Command during its term were put on display at Poso military headquarters to mark the event. General Paulus Purwoko said most of the weapons and ammunition on display were seized during a series of operations in Poso over the past six months. He added that some of the items had been voluntarily turned in by residents.

The weapons on display include 1,698 bullets of various calibres, 278 rifles and 85 handguns. There are also two grenades manufactured by state armoury PT Pindad, 18 homemade bombs, 133 detonators and 74 arrows.

Commenting on the bomb blast at the Eklesia Church in Poso on a few days ago Purwoko said police had identified the perpetrators. He said the explosion, which did not cause any casualties, was linked to groups opposing the renovation of the church, which was badly damaged during the conflict in 2001.

December 4th 2007. Amril Ngiode alias Aat was sentenced to 15 years in a Jakarta court for his role in transporting two bombs to the market. antara Abdul Muis alias Muis received a sentence of 19 years tempo, and Syaiful Anam alias Brekele 18 years. tempo


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