Bali blasts: A big jigsaw puzzle without the box<\/p>\n
Endy M. Bayuni, Deputy Chief Editor, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The official investigation into the devastating Oct. 12 bomb
\nattacks in Bali has come under strong public scrutiny. This is
\nnatural because the subject matter is very important to the
\nlocal, as well as the international, public.<\/p>\n
The whole world wants an explanation as to who were the
\nperpetrators of such a barbaric act, and what their motives were.
\nThe whole world would also like to see them punished accordingly.<\/p>\n
Let's not forget that more than 190 people, Indonesians and
\nforeigner, were killed in this tragedy, and hundreds others
\ninjured and traumatized. Hundreds of thousands of people in Bali
\nand other parts of Indonesia now have to bear the brunt as
\ntourism plunges, taking with it the rest of the national economy.<\/p>\n
The stakes are just too high that the investigators must find
\nanswers to all of the most frequently asked questions by the
\nIndonesian and international public. These answers must be
\ncredible and palatable, and for them to be credible, they must
\nfirst pass the tests of public scrutiny.<\/p>\n
To the credit of the international team of investigators, who
\nhave been working hard since day one, the team has been open and
\ntransparent about its work. Its daily briefing has kept the
\npublic informed about any progress, or even the lack of it.<\/p>\n
This transparency, for better or for worse, has helped to keep
\nthe issue very much alive in the national agenda, and therefore
\nhas kept the public involved in the process.<\/p>\n
Of course, the public would not easily buy every piece of
\ninformation that has been churned out by the police.<\/p>\n
Their cynicism is somehow aided by the many pundits and self-
\nproclaimed experts who would question and challenge the validity
\nof the police findings.<\/p>\n
The Bali bombing case has also spawned its own conspiracy
\ntheorists, some of whom are so entirely at odds with the police,
\nthat they sow even more confusion among the already confused
\npublic.<\/p>\n
Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda network, or Abu Bakar
\nBa'asyir and his Jamaah Islamiyah, are not the only prime
\nsuspects. The United States and its CIA, Australia, Israel, the
\ndisgruntled Indonesian military, the disgruntled pro-Indonesia
\nEast Timorese, the supporters of former president Soeharto, have
\nall appeared as potential suspects in the various conspiracy
\ntheories discussed by the public.<\/p>\n
The police, therefore, face a daunting challenge in making
\ntheir case convincing to an already skeptical public. Should they
\npass the public scrutiny test, however, their story would be
\ncredible.<\/p>\n
Credit is due to Insp. Gen. Made Mangku Pastika, who heads the
\ninternational team of police investigators in Bali. Pastika and
\nhis team, while being open about the progress of the
\ninvestigation, have been careful in their statements and wary
\nabout jumping to conclusions.<\/p>\n
In contrast to this, there are some Cabinet officials in
\nJakarta, and the many conspiracy theorists, who seem to have no
\nscruples at all in making accusations and claims based on mere
\nhunches or speculations rather than evidence. Keep this up, and
\nthe critical public will eventually be able to assess whose story
\nis credible and whose is not.<\/p>\n
A reality check is also necessary to help clear the confusion
\nthat these various theories have generated. Now that the police
\nhave entered a new critical phase in their investigation, it is
\nimportant that they temper public expectations, which have a
\ntendency to run faster than the police's ability to deliver.<\/p>\n
The Oct. 12 Bali bombing is like one big jigsaw puzzle for the
\npolice to solve, but this is one puzzle in which most of its
\npieces are missing. Police have to find and gather the pieces
\nfirst before putting them together.<\/p>\n
Even worse, this is a jigsaw puzzle that did not come with a
\nbox, so police have little or no idea at this stage as to how the
\npuzzle will look once the pieces have been put together. They
\nhave no picture to use as reference in putting the pieces in
\ntheir proper places.<\/p>\n
They do, however, have some of the pieces needed to pursue the
\ninvestigation, although they do not have a lot with which to
\nstart.<\/p>\n
Here is a list of what probably they do have so far: Bodies
\nand body parts, witnesses' and survivors' accounts, traces of the
\nexplosives found at the bomb site, and the wreckage of a car
\nbelieved to have been planted with one of the bombs.<\/p>\n
Their investigation of the wreckage of a van led them to the
\narrest of their first suspect, Amrozi. The junior high school
\ngraduate and car mechanic has been freely admitting his role in
\nthe bombing and this, in turn, led the police to identify six of
\nAmrozi's accomplices, including a certain Imam Samudra, whom they
\nbelieve was the real mastermind behind the bombing.<\/p>\n
Amrozi's story, of course, is not necessarily the true version
\nof the events surrounding the planning and execution of the
\nattacks. He may have told lies to the investigators, and even if
\nhe was telling the truth, he may not know the whole truth. His
\nrole, after all, was limited to the procurement of some
\nchemicals, the delivery of the van, and the purchase of getaway
\nmotorcycles.<\/p>\n
As a jigsaw puzzle, police only have a few pieces in hand and
\na general idea of what the picture looks like, or at least a
\npartial picture. This picture must be verified by others,
\nsomething that will only happen if more suspects are arrested.<\/p>\n
Amrozi and his story, including the role of the six named
\nsuspects, represent a very small part of the large jigsaw puzzle.
\nThere are other pieces of the puzle scattered around that the
\npolice have in hand, but are still unable to place them in the
\nlarger picture.<\/p>\n
The type of explosive used is one area of the investigation
\nthat the police should have been able to wrap up by now, but
\nsomehow, there is still confusion about the exact materials used
\nin the bombs that exploded at the Sari Club and Paddy's Cafe in
\nKuta.<\/p>\n
A breakthrough here could make the picture a little clearer.
\nOnce the type of explosives used have been identified, it should
\nnot be that difficult for the police to trace the source of those
\nmaterials.<\/p>\n
The analogy to a jigsaw puzzle is not meant to trivialize the
\ninvestigation, but rather to illustrate the challenges facing the
\ninvestigators. They have made some significant breakthrough, but
\nthey are still a long way to go before resolving the mystery.<\/p>\n
Will the puzzle eventually be solved?<\/p>\n
Let's hope so. Like piecing together any jigsaw puzzle,
\nthough, this will require patience and perseverance, as well as
\ndetermination, to complete the picture. Let's hope the police,
\nand the public, have what it takes to do so.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bali-blasts-a-big-jigsaw-puzzle-without-the-box-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}