Plot to ‘burn Chinese shops’ in Jakarta would have used real bombs, Indonesian police say

A series of bombs that two Indonesian men were assembling to “burn Chinese shops” in Jakarta were not filled with petrol as previously thought, but were instead explosive devices with gunpowder and nails, police have said, as they accused a university lecturer of financing the plot. The academic, from the Bogor Institute of Agriculture, was arrested on September 28 for the illegal possession of what was then believed to be petrol bombs. But upon inspection by the police bomb squad, the items were found turned to be explosive devices, according to a senior police source. “There were 28 glass bottles filled with gunpowder and nails complete with fuses. Based on forensic analysis, the devices are real bombs, ” the source told the Post. He declined to be named as he was not authorised to speak on the matter. Indonesia, which has seen multiple bomb attacks by radical Islamists, has been grappling with threats from both home-grown terrorist networks and those loyal to Islamic State (IS). Details of the plot emerged recently as the country reeled from a series of protests that started on September 24, when thousands of people – mostly young people and students – clashed with police in several cities across the archipelago, with authorities using tear gas and water cannons on them. The protesters were opposing new laws that critics said would cripple anti-corruption investigators and compromise the rights of women and minorities, among other issues. The protests – the latest bout of unrest since President Joko Widodo won re-election in April this year – have since tapered off. On September 30, videos appeared on social media showing two men telling police they were each paid 300,000 rupiah (US$21) to buy petrol “to assemble Molotov cocktails” that would “burn Chinese shops” in Jakarta and “provoke the masses” into a looting spree. Such chaos last took place in 1998, when ethnic Chinese residents were attacked by mobs amid a crippling economic crisis and widespread political unrest that eventually led to the downfall of then-dictator Suharto. In the videos, the men – who said their names were Ali Udin and Yudhi Febrian – said the petrol bombs were intended for usage from “Roxy to Grogol”. They were referring to ITC Roxy Mas, a mall in west Jakarta selling mobile phones where many shops are owned by ethnic Chinese, and Grogol, a neighbouring district that was the scene of violence during the riots that left more than 1,000 people dead. Police spokespersons said the explosive devices were “fish bombs” – low-level explosives used to catch fish but are actually powerful enough to maim or even kill people. Fishermen are banned from using these explosives but the practice is still carried out by some fishing communities. Indonesian national police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo said the lecturer, known by the initials “AB”, had recruited four men to make the bombs, and another three to detonate them. “The targets are in the economic heart of Jakarta, in the city centre and in west Jakarta. This is what we discovered so far. Further investigations are being conducted,” Dedi said. Jakarta police spokesman Argo Yuwono told reporters that AB had brought the bomb assemblers from Papua and the Maluku Islands in Indonesia’s east. “The suspect provided the funding to recruit fishing bomb experts. They came to Jakarta from Papua and Ambon and he gave 8 million rupiah to pay for their plane tickets,” Argo said. Joko Widodo promises probe after violent unrest leaves two students dead At least nine men have been arrested in connection with the bomb plot, including a retired rear admiral of the Indonesian Navy. The man, Sony Santoso, has been accused of masterminding a plan to set off the bombs during an anti-government rally on September 28 waged by Muslim hardliners from the Mujahid 212 movement. The suspects have been detained under the 1951 Emergency Law for the illegal possession, transport and storing of explosives. Police said the plotters wanted to cause mass unrest and discredit Widodo, who is expected to be inaugurated for his second term on October 20. According to The Jakarta Post, police arrested 1,489 people during the protests in the capital and intend to prosecute 380 of them on a host of charges, such as spreading false information, hurling rocks at police, possessing sharp weapons, vandalising police stations and possessing Molotov cocktails.