_WORLD WATCH______________________________
________________Indonesia_______________
Suspects arrested
Face charges for Christmas
bombing
Indonesian authorities have announced the arrest of 13 people in connection with
the Christmas Eve 2000 bombings that killed 19 people in several cities.
The men were arrested in the town of Pandeglang, about 60 miles southwest of Jakarta. Officials said they admitted involvement in the bombings, which targeted Christian churches in nine cities.
The arrests resulted from the interrogation of a Malaysian citizen who was detained following an August 1 explosion at the Atrium Plaza shopping mall in central Jakarta. The motive for the Christmas Eve bombings remains unclear, but some of the suspects have been linked to a militant Muslim group in Malaysia and Islamic paramilitaries in the Moluccas region.
Thousands of people have been killed in fighting in the Moluccas, a majority Christian region in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, since fighting between rival gangs began in 1998. Organized militias of Muslim jihad fighters entered the region with more sophisticated weapons and embarked on a campaign to eradicate Christians.
Back to Catholic World Report November 2001 Table of Contents