Readwrotes Blog

Dicky Christanto , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sat, 08/08/2009 9:37 PM | National National Police chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri has called on the public to keep an eye on former terrorists as they may seek another chance to launch attacks. Bambang said the public played a pivotal role in reintegrating the former terrorists into the society. “We hope the public to monitor the former terrorists after they serve their jail sentence and accept them so as to prevent them from rejoining the terror group,” Bambang told a press conference on Saturday. Bambang made the statement after the police identified a terror suspect shot dead in a raid on a house in Jatiasih in the West Java town of Bekasi earlier on Saturday as Air Setiawan, who had been released from prison after serving a five-year jail term for his role in the bomb attack on the Australian Embassy in Jakarta in 2004. The police confiscated from the house around 500 kilograms of explosiv...

Dicky Christanto , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sat, 08/08/2009 8:55 PM | National Most wanted terror suspect Noordin M. Top stayed in a house rented by his accomplice in Jatiasih in the West Java town of Bekasi after suicide bomb attacks on two South Jakarta hotels last month, police say. “We found that Noordin stayed at the safe house in Jatiasih after the July 17 bombings,” National Police chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri told a press conference on Saturday. He said a terror suspect who was arrested on Aug. 5 in North Jakarta, Amir Abdillah, told the police investigators during a questioning that Noordin was in Jatiasih to lead a plan to launch fresh attacks in Jakarta. The police’s counterterror squad raided the house early Saturday, killing two terror suspects following an exchange of fire. Noordin is believed to have been shot dead in another raid on a house in the Central Java town of Temanggung on Saturday.

Dicky Christanto , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sat, 08/08/2009 8:20 PM | National President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is among the targets of a series of new attacks to be perpetrated by the terror network under Noordin M. Top after Aug. 17, police say. National Police chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri said the terror group intentionally rented a house in Jatiasih in the West Java town of Bekasi, which is located 12 minutes drive from the president’s private residence in Cikeas in the West Java town of Bogor. “Why Jatiasih? Because it is situated just about 12 minutes drive from the president’s [private] residence. It’s a legal fact that the target is the president’s house,” Bambang told a media conference on Saturday. Bambang said a terror suspect who had arrested before a raid on the house in Jatiasih, Amir Abdillah, told police investigators during a questioning that the terror group set their sight on the presidential palace and his privat...

Dicky Christanto , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sat, 08/08/2009 7:45 PM | National The terror group under Noordin M. Top had planned to launch a series of bomb attacks in Jakarta after the anniversary of Indonesia independence on Aug. 17, police say. National Police chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri told a media conference two terror suspects who were shot dead in a raid on a house in Puri Nusa Phala housing complex in Jatiasih in the West Java town of Bekasi had prepared a car bomb for the fresh attack. Bambang said an interrogation of an arrested terror suspect, Amir Abdillah, the planned attack was discussed at the house, which was rented by Ahmad Fery. “Already prepared were a car for the suicide bomb attack and its driver. The man recruited for the attack that would be perpetrated after August 17 was IB alias Boim,” Bambang said. Bambang said Amir had reserved a room at JW Marriott Hotel for Dani Dwi Permana and Nana Ikhwan Maulana who bl...

Dicky Christanto , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sat, 08/08/2009 7:19 PM | National After weeks of investigation, police revealed on Saturday the identity of the suicide bombers of two hotels in South Jakarta. National Police chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri said the suicide bomber of JW Marriott Hotel was identified as Dani Dwi Permana, a 18-year-old senior high school graduate of a private senior high school in Bogor, West Java. Bambang said the police confirmed the suicide comber’s identity on Aug. 3 after DNA tests on his family. “The perpetrator was recruited in Bogor,” Bambang said. The suicide bomber of Ritz-Carlton Hotel was identified as Nana Ikhwan Maulana, a youth from Pandeglang in Banten. Bambang did not unveil Nana’s age. Bambang said the two suicide bombers were recruited by a man identified only as SJ alias AT, who is still at large. The bomb attacks on the two hotels on July 17 killed nine people, including six foreigners.

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sat, 08/08/2009 7:13 PM | National The National Police chief said Saturday they could not confirm Noordin M Top was killed during a police shootout in Temanggung, Central Java, despite media speculations that Noordin was killed. National Police chief Bambang Hendarso Danuri told a press conference that the police could not yet confirm whether the man killed during the shootout was Noordin because the police had not yet conducted a DNA test. "We could not yet disclose the identity of the killed man," Bambang Hendarso said during the press conference. "After the DNA test, we will announce it, based on facts, not based on speculations." Bambang Hendarso said the police would seek from the family of Noordin M Top a DNA sample to confirm his death. The remains of a man believed to be Noordin had been transported from Temanggung in Central Java to Jakarta. The remains are currently kept at a polic...

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sat, 08/08/2009 5:35 PM | National President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono congratulated the National Police on Saturday for its crackdown on the terrorists’ network in the country, which led to the death of most wanted suspect Noordin M. Top. The president called the police raids on terror suspects in two houses in the West Java town of Bekasi and the Central Java town of Temanggung as “a successful operation” to enforce the law. “On behalf of the state, the government and people of Indonesia, I thank the police for their successful operation,” Yudhoyono told a media conference after a meeting with National Police chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri at the presidential office. Yudhoyono said the operation was “important” in the country’s fight against terrorists and to protect the people. The raids in the last two days capped a concerted law enforcement operation in Jakarta, West Java and Central Java, the president sai...

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sat, 08/08/2009 4:59 PM | National President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono received National Police Chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri at the presidential office on Saturday afternoon, hours after the police’s counterterror squad raided terror suspects in two houses in the West Java town of Bekasi and the Central Java town of Temanggung. The president was accompanied by Cabinet Secretary Sudi Silalahi, State Secretary Hatta Radjasa and presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng. The president is expected to hold a media conference afterward. Reports said most wanted terror suspect Noordin M. Top was killed in the raid in Temanggung.

Slamet Susanto , The Jakarta Post , Yogyakarta | Sat, 08/08/2009 4:46 PM | National A Trans Wisata Fokker-100 plane left Adi Sucipto airport in Yogyakarta for Jakarta on Saturday, carrying the remains of a man believed to be most wanted terror suspect Noordin M. Top. An ambulance belonging to the Central Java police transported the body from Temanggung. There was only one coffin inside the ambulance, which bears vehicle registration number 1313-9. The police have not confirmed if Noordin was killed in the raid on a house in Beji village in Temanggung earlier in the day. National Police chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri refused to comment upon arrival at the Adi Sucipto airport. The body will be brought to the police hospital in Kramat Jati, East Jakarta for identification.

Irwan Firdaus , The Associated Press , Beji, Temanggung, Central Java | Sat, 08/08/2009 4:29 PM | National Death penalty: Policemen take the coffin of killed terrorist Noordin M. Top into an ambulance in Temanggung, Central Java, on Saturday. Noordin was reportedly killed during a 16-hour siege on a suspected militant hide-out that ended Saturday when police stormed the house. Antara/R. Rekotomo Southeast Asia's most wanted terror suspect was reportedly killed during a 16-hour siege on a suspected militant hide-out that ended Saturday when police stormed the house. Local TV stations reported militant chief Noordin Mohammad Top, who is blamed for last month's attacks on two American hotels in the capital, Jakarta, was killed in the bathroom of the house in a rice-growing village in central Java province following a lengthy bomb and gun battle. Those reports were not confirmed by police. DNA tests will likely have to be performed to ensure the identification. The ...

Slamet Susanto and Suherdjoko , The Jakarta Post , Temanggung, Central Java | Sat, 08/08/2009 4:25 PM | National Curious citizens: Hundreds of people flock to the location of a suspected militant hide-out in Beji village, Temanggung, Central Java, on Saturday. Noordin M. Top was reportedly killed after the police stormed the house. J P/Suherdjoko The thrilling shootout that marked the counterterror police force’s raid on a group of terror suspects in Beji village in the Central Java town of Temanggung on Friday and Saturday proves a trauma for people who live in the neighborhood. Sumadi and his wife Tri Sutriyati said they could not sleep throughout the night as the police kept them from their home, where they had left their three small children for daily work. Sutriyati said she could not stop crying as she was afraid of her children’s safety. “We were collecting grass for our cattle when the raid began before the dusk on Friday. We heard expl...

Anthony Deutsch , The Associated Press , Jakarta | Sat, 08/08/2009 3:40 PM | National Noordin Mohammad Top, an aspiring regional commander for al-Qaida who evaded capture for years until he was reportedly shot dead in a raid Saturday, has been linked to a series of bombings in Indonesia that killed 250 people. The manhunt for Southeast's Asia's most wanted militant escalated last month when twin suicide blasts killed seven at the Ritz-Carlton and J.W. Marriott hotels in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta - ending a four-year lull in terrorsm. Noordin has most notably has been linked to the Bali bombings in 2002 and 2005, which together killed 222 people, the majority of them foreigners vacationing on the resort island. He emerged as a regional terrorist leader with extensive bomb-making skills after the first Bali bombing and is accused of masterminding at least three major strikes in Indonesia. If confirmed, his death would mark a major set...

The Associated Press , Jakarta | Fri, 08/07/2009 9:10 PM | National Police hunting terror suspect Noordin Mohammad Top were involved in a shoot out on Java island on Friday, Indonesian media reported. Noordin is one of Southeast Asia's top terror suspects. He is suspected in all Indonesia's major terror attacks, including last month's bombings of two luxury hotels in the capital, Jakarta, and the blasts on the resort island of Bali in 2002. TV One channel quoted an officer as saying the man who rented the house where Friday's fighting took place resembled Noordin. Officers were not available to comment. The stations reported the shoot out took place in a village in central Java.

The Jakarta Post | Mon, 08/03/2009 8:50 AM | Opinion It is obvious now that Megawati Soekarnoputri and Jusuf Kalla, the defeated candidates in July’s presidential election, are trying to force Indonesia to hold an election rerun. They are determined not to accept the results announced by the General Elections Commission (KPU), claiming massive fraud was behind incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono winning 60 percent of the nationwide vote. But Megawati, Kalla and their running mates, former generals Prabowo Subianto and Wiranto respectively, are horribly mistaken if they believe the public are behind them. The huge endorsement for Yudhoyono was a clear indication not only of his popularity but also of the public’s desire to see the election decided in one round. Indonesia essentially said a runoff was not wanted and they wished to get on with their lives. Megawati and Kalla, clearly humiliated by the defeat, are still in denial. They have f...

Ketut Kartika Inggas , Bangkok | Tue, 08/04/2009 1:15 PM | Opinion Pan Merta stared emptily at a small corner of the rice field in front of him. His only son, Putu, was running around barefoot chasing away birds trying to eat the rice grains. He remembers many years back when he was his son's age: He also liked to chase the birds away with the other village boys, only then the rice field was much larger - at least ten times its size now - and all the land belonged to his father. Now, almost all of this huge paddy field of his youth has changed into a five-star resort. The rest, the little piece of the land that is still used to grow rice, is not his property any more. Pan Merta's childhood was wonderful. After school, he always ran to his family's paddy field and played there until sunset. Little Merta always had enough to eat, wore new clothes for the Galungan holidays, and the whole family were always together. Now, these are only swe...

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Tue, 08/04/2009 12:34 PM | National Singer Urip Ariyanto died of what is suspected to have been a heart attack on Tuesday, only a few months after his phenomenal rise to stardom. An assistant to Urip, who was more commonly known as Mbah (Grandpa) Surip, told kompas.com that the 70-year-old reggae singer fainted on Sunday evening after arriving from Yogyakarta for a concert. "Mbah Surip died after drinking iced water. It seems that the iced drink triggered his illness, causing him to suffer a stomachache and a fever," Farid explained. Previously a street singer, Urip ammassed a total of Rp. 4.5 billion in royalties from cellular phone providers, which have been selling his hit single Tak Gendong (I carry you on my back) as a ringtone. He had traveled across the country for concerts. His body is currently at a police hospital in Kramat Jati, East Jakarta.