Jakarta Awaits Results of Philippines Bombing Investigation
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3 February 2019 18:00 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno L. P. Marsudi said she was still awaiting the confirmed results of the Philippines authorities' investigation into a recent church bombing and identification of the bombers. The government, she said, has heard a report saying that Indonesian citizens may get involved in the bombing.
"I have been communicating with the Philippine authorities since Friday, but as of Saturday morning, the confirmed results are not yet available," she remarked on Saturday.
Speaking at the Diplomacy Festival at the Andalas University here, Marsudi said she had continued to maintain communication with the Philippine authorities that have been conducting a thorough investigation and identification process.
"Today, I will again contact the Philippine authorities to get the confirmed results," she noted, adding that as of Saturday, circulated information saying that Indonesians were the suicide bombers might still be a hypothetical statement.
Read also: Govt Probes Indonesia`s Involvement at Philippines Bombing
"An Indonesian couple was behind the bombing of the Catholic church in Jolo, Sulu Province, on Sunday (Jan 27) that killed 22 people and wounded 123 others," Philippine Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano was quoted by Inquirer.Net as making the accusation.
Speaking on Friday, Ano said the couple was assisted by "Abu Sayyaf bandits", According to witnesses, the man was identified as "Abu Huda," who committed the crime along with "his female companion, who placed the bomb inside the Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel."
"Ano's remarks are the latest twist in a probe that has been fraught with inconsistent and sometimes contradictory accounts from authorities and, according to one investigator interviewed on TV, complicated by a contaminated crime scene," The Inquirer.Net reported.
The Philippines is one of the Southeast Asian countries that is vulnerable to terrorist attacks and kidnapping for ransom. Among the victims of the kidnap-for-ransom group are foreign nationals, including Indonesian citizens.
ANTARA
