T

he police claimed Friday that they had identified the culprits responsible for the firebombing of a Makassar church early on Thursday.

Makassar City Police chief Sr. Comr. Joseph Wisnu Sanjaya said his officers had identified the perpetrators of the attack against Indonesian Christian Church (GKI) Makassar.

“We have identified the culprits through the CCTV recording from the church,” he said.

He said that the recording showed four people riding two motorcycles.

“We are, however, still questioning witnesses and collecting evidence in order to name suspects,” he added.

In addition to GKI Makassar, Panakkukang Toraja Klasis Church on Jl. Andi Pangerang Pettarani and Toraja Klasis Tallo Church on Jl. Gatot Subroto were also attacked on Thursday.

On Sunday, Tiatira Church in Malengkeri and Toraja Mamasa Church (GTM) on Makassar’s Jl. Dirgantara had also been targeted in the same way by unidentified persons using homemade incendiary devices.

Wahyu said the perpetrators were part of a group, although he was not yet able to conclude whether the people who threw Molotov cocktails at the five churches were the same people or belonged to the same network.

However, from the evidence collected from the crime scenes, each attack used Molotov cocktails. The only difference was the choice of container — between glass and plastic bottles.

“Hopefully we can name the suspects and arrest them soon,” Wahyu said.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the National Human Rights Commission’s (Komnas HAM) terrorist monitoring and mitigation team, Siane Indriani, visited the churches on Friday.

From her visit, she said the attacks was conducted systematically and planned by professionals because they knew the targets well and picked the right time to attack.

Siane pointed to the fact that the perpetrators could throw the firebombs through a 50x50 centimeter window, breaking the window glass, and slipping through the trellis before exploding on the floor inside the church.

“If [the attackers were] not professionals, the Molotov cocktails would have gotten through the trellis and landed one meter away inside the church,” she said.

She said the attackers were trying to convey a message on the sensitive issue of interfaith harmony and it was possibly an effort to bring religious communities into conflict.

“Therefore I urge the police to solve the case as soon as possible,” she said as she met with South Sulawesi Police deputy chief Brig. Gen. Syahrul Mamma on Friday.

“The police should be serious in investigating the case and reveal the motive and culprits because the attacks on the five churches can jeopardize interfaith harmony.”