Indonesia: Restive Poso town enters New Year with two bomb blasts

Jihad in Indonesia update. From AFP, with thanks to Jeffrey Imm:

JAKARTA (AFP): Two home-made bombs exploded in a town in the sectarian violence-hit Indonesian province of Central Sulawesi early Saturday just minutes into the New Year, but there were no casualties, police said.
The first bomb exploded on a street in the center Poso town just 45 minutes after midnight and another one went off a few streets away shortly after, Second Brig. Ridwan of Poso Police said.

There were no casualties and no significant damage, Ridwan said, adding that both bombs exploded on vacant plots of land....

On Christmas Eve in Poso, a Christian cleric and his friend were seriously injured in an attack by several men armed with machetes.

6 Comments

Informed Christian | January 1, 2005 9:20 PM

Members of the Aceh separatist movement (GSA) were most probably behind these bomb blasts. It might be better if these people go back to Aceh and try to help in the Tsunami disaster relief. Besides they should leave the Christians alone since Christian countries are the biggest aid donors to them. How ironic.

http://www.mcot.org/query.php?nid=34119

POLICE SUSPECTS INVOLVEMENT OF GSA MEMBERS IN BOMBING CHURCHES IN PALU
PALU, Dec 24 (ANTARA-TNA) - The police special team tasked to probe the recent bombing of two churches in Palu suspected the involvement of some members of the Aceh separatist movement (GSA) in the incident, the Central Sulawesi Police Chief Brig Gen Arianto Sutadi said on Thursday.
Arianto said such allegation was prompted by the fact that some Acehneses had arrived in the provincial capital city of Palu in the past three months.
"They are so exclusive on their daily life. They also curtail their social interaction with their neighbors," he added.
Arianto, however, refused to give further detail on the number of the GSA rebels who have fled to Central Sulawesi, but said that they are now on the police list of wanted persons.
One of them, he said, ever [sic] offered some money to one of the Anugerah Church's congregation to put a bomb in the church area.
"We are chasing those people," he said.
He added the local Police have also had the sketches of those people, but said that the sketches are now disseminated for the sake of the manhunt operation.
"They (GSA members) might have no place to live in Aceh anymore under the civilian emergency and consequently they are trying to deflect the government's attention," he said.
Two people were injured when four unidentified people on board two motorcycles -- sprayed the bullets at the Anugerah Church, thus injuring and one was injured when some other unidentified people threw bomb in the Immanuel Church.

(ANTARA-TNA)--E002

Last Update : 2004-12-25 / 22:00:03 (GMT+7:00)

Morgane | January 1, 2005 9:57 PM

Am sickened to read about attacks on civilians and churches. Particularly when their are 80,000+
Tsumani casualities in Indonesia. These sick Perpetrators belonging to Death Cult of Islam do not stop for a moment from their killing and ferocious savagery. There is no hope for them or for helpless minorities exposed to their lust for
violence in the name of Allah. Am afraid things are going to get much worse there...

Franze | January 2, 2005 6:55 AM

These muslims are a shame for the mankind, what a hate have, and when I known that Muhhamad was agree with abortion until 17 weeks because the person don´t have for islam until 17 weeks a soul, what a shame is islam!

cubed | January 2, 2005 10:29 AM

"Am sickened to read about attacks on civilians and churches. Particularly when their are 80,000+
Tsumani casualities in Indonesia."

Posted by: Morgane at January 1, 2005 09:57 PM

Well, it shows you where their priorities are. . .

cubed | January 2, 2005 10:34 AM

Morgane, You can take at least a little comfort in knowing that many Islamic fundamentalist terrorists, and their assets were washed away or buried in the rubble in Banda Aceh, a main hub of Jihadists activity. You can also bet that many other jihadist's were cleansed from the earth in the other affected regions as well.

I hope that the aid going into the region goes to the people who need it, and doesn't end up in the wrong hands, which is likely to happen if the UN starts managing the funds. That would be the second disaster to hit the region, the UN. They have a lovely track record of providing relief, Rwanda, Sudan, Niger, Balkans, etc. Terrorists never seem to have trouble getting UN relief funds though.

Posted by: Nathan at January 2, 2005 07:34 AM

Ooooh, a VERY comforting post indeed, Nathan! Didn't know that Banda Aceh was such a power house for Jihad!

Can't agree more that the control of anything that could involve money, directly or indirectly, is a fricken' DISASTER!

hawkwind | January 2, 2005 2:37 PM

POLICE SUSPECTS INVOLVEMENT OF GSA MEMBERS IN BOMBING CHURCHES IN PALU
More likely Laskar Jihad behind these latest attacks,or the Indonesian armed forces

Informed christian
would you believe this
Your crowd are no strangers to Hanky Panky
The Government made some progress during the year in prosecuting those responsible for human rights abuses committed in the Malukus in 2002 and previous years. On July 23, the North Jakarta District Court convicted Berty Loupatty, former leader of the Christian Ambonese "Coker" gang, of numerous bombings and other attacks committed in 2000, 2001, and 2002 and sentenced him to 11 years in prison. Loupatty's attorney reported that his clients told him that Kopassus troops had facilitated many of the attacks, providing instructions, weapons, and bombs, and police asserted that some Kopassus members had helped the gang commit various crimes. A senior TNI official denied these assertions and stated that police had tortured the gang members. These allegations were not investigated, and no TNI members were charged. Among the attacks for which Loupatty was convicted was the April 2002 raid on the Ambonese village of Soya, which killed at least 12 persons.