`Bali attack result of internal politics'<\/p>\n
Supalak Ganjanakhundee, The Nation, Asia News Network, Bangkok<\/p>\n
Visiting American Indonesianist Benedict Anderson said here on
\nThursday that internal political affairs were more likely behind
\nthe Oct. 12 Bali bombing than international militant groups such
\nas al-Qaeda.<\/p>\n
Private conversations in Indonesia these days rarely mentioned
\nthat the bombing was commanded by al-Qaeda, said the professor
\nwho recently returned from Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Al-Qaeda, founded by Saudi-born millionaire Osama bin Laden,
\nmostly attack American interests due to Washington's support for
\nIsrael, and its operational areas are in or near the Middle East
\nwhere there are plenty of the U.S. interests, he said.<\/p>\n
\"Bali is neither of political nor economic importance, and
\nkilling young Australians does not make sense in al-Qaeda's point
\nof view,\" said Anderson at a seminar hosted by Five Area Studies
\nProject at Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre.<\/p>\n
Anderson, nevertheless, supported arguments that Jamaah
\nIslamiyah (JI), the regional terrorist group, was responsible for
\nthe Bali blasts.<\/p>\n
JI has deep roots in Indonesian history. Some of its members
\noriginally fought against the Dutch colonialists in the 1940s, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"The history of extremist Islamic Indonesians began long
\nbefore Osama Bin Laden was born,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The professor from Cornell University suggested that
\nIndonesian state apparatus, notably the military, used to be
\ninvolved in many acts of terrorism in the country.<\/p>\n
Deposed authoritarian ruler Soeharto founded the Komando
\nDjihad in the 1970s as a \"black operations\" unit to fight
\ncommunist movements, he said.<\/p>\n
This unit had been involved in many terrorism style acts of
\nviolence in the country, he said. Some members of the unit were
\nprivatized in order to help create violence for the commercial or
\npolitical gains of certain groups.<\/p>\n
The C4 explosive used by the bombers in Bali is an American
\nproduct and is usually used by Indonesian military engineers and
\nthe Red Beret Special Forces (Kopassus), Anderson said.<\/p>\n
The masterminds behind the Bali bombing may be part of a
\nmilitary faction that used to control East Timor and wanted to
\nhit back at Australia, which supported the territory's drive for
\nindependence, he said.<\/p>\n
They would also be the ones who would benefit from
\nreinstalling the military to the central position in Indonesia
\npolitics, he added.<\/p>\n
\"It [Bali bombing] is not an international conspiracy by al-
\nQaeda but is to do with domestic politics, especially this
\nmilitary group which has a long experience in black operations,
\nhe said. \"Terrorists, in the case of Indonesia, can be found
\nwithin the state apparatus.\"<\/p>",
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