Low-Grade Explosives at Thamrin

Last Thursday, Frank Feulner and Johan Kieft chatted over their coffee and muffins. Feulner, a German national, checked the time on his cellular phone, which read 10:10am. He has lived in Indonesia since 1997 and works as a consultant at an international organization. Kieft works as coordinator of the United Nations Green Economy Unit in Indonesia. The two old friends were sharing stories about their year-end vacations with their respective families.

During the course of their conversation, Feulner occasionally glanced around the Starbucks coffeehouse at the Skyline Building in Jalan M.H. Thamrin, Central Jakarta, where he and Kieft sat. He saw about 12 customers inside, seated on the sofas and chairs around the cafe. One of them was Manfred Stoifl, an acquaintance, who was seated near the counter. "We sat on a sofa next to the glass wall facing Jalan Thamrin," Feulner told Tempo last week.

January 19, 2016