9 Blasts Rip Largest Buddhist Temple
Nine bombs ripped through the world’s largest Buddhist temple Monday, wrecking major sections of the 1,100-year-old archeological wonder that underwent a multimillion-dollar facelift three years ago.
Authorities said the Borobudur temple in central Java sustained heavy damage. No injuries were reported.
No group immediately claimed responsibility but authorities speculated that Muslim extremists involved in numerous violent incidents in recent years may have planted the explosives.
President Suharto denounced those responsible, saying they “stand for people who have no sense of national pride, considering that the Borobudur temple constitutes a national, even a world monument.”
Authorities said eleven bombs were planted among the 76 bell-shaped towers--known as stupas --on the multi-tiered temple’s upper level. Each of the stupas contains a life-size statue of Buddha.
The Borobudur temple, about 250 miles east of Jakarta on the island of Java, is a major tourist attraction and regarded as one of the world’s greatest archeological wonders.
Borobudur was built between the 8th and 10th centuries and incorporates elements of both the Indian Buddhist and Javanese architectural styles.
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