Govt condemns Marriott bombing, asks people to stay calm<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
The government condemned on Tuesday the bombing in the driveway
\nof JW Marriott Hotel in South Jakarta that killed 13 people and
\nseriously wounded more than 140 others.<\/p>\n
The government also called on people to stay calm despite the
\nincident, saying that the government would tighten security in
\npublic places and immediately arrest the terrorists.<\/p>\n
\"The government expresses deep condolences to the victims of
\nthe bombing and their families. The government will immediately
\narrest those responsible for this inhuman attack,\" Susilo Bambang
\nYudhoyono, the coordinating minister for political and security
\naffairs, told reporters while visiting the scene of the bomb
\nblast.<\/p>\n
The visit was made right after the bomb blast at midday. It
\nwas the fifth bomb attack that hit Jakarta this year, but this
\nwas the only one that has brought wide repercussions in the lives
\nof Jakartans, as it was the first bomb blast that has claimed
\nlives.<\/p>\n
Susilo asserted that the public must help police hunt down the
\nperpetrators and pass on information to the security authorities.<\/p>\n
In order to prevent such an incident from recurring, Susilo
\ncalled on owners of restaurants and hotel chains, malls and other
\npublic places to beef up security on their premises. \"Don't think
\nthat open public places are safe,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Asked about the motive of the bombing, Susilo said that it was
\ntoo early to tell.<\/p>\n
Separately, Vice President Hamzah Haz called on the people to
\nstay calm after the incident.<\/p>\n
Interviewed by journalists shortly before he attended a
\nCabinet meeting, Hamzah said that the government would beef up
\nsecurity measures in public places as the security in those
\nplaces was related to investors' confidence.<\/p>\n
Asked if the attack deliberately targeted an American facility
\nhere, Hamzah said that \"it may have been the goal, but the move
\nmay not be an organized one.\"<\/p>\n
The Five-star JW Marriott which opened in September 2001 is
\npart of Washington-based Marriott International, one of the
\nworld's largest hotel groups.<\/p>\n
Marriott International, founded by J.S. Marriott in the 1950s,
\nmanages 2,600 hotels in 66 countries and employs about 129,000
\npeople<\/p>\n
Another Marriott hotel situated on the 40th floor of the World
\nTrade Center was devastated in the September 11 attacks on New
\nYork and Washington in 2001, but its employees and guests managed
\nto escape.<\/p>\n
Separately, People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Amien Rais
\ncalled on people not to blame each other or to convey premature
\njudgments over the incident, saying that it would be
\ncounterproductive. \"Let the police, which is a professional party
\nin this case, resolve the case,\" Amien said.<\/p>\n
Amien said that people should remain calm, otherwise economic
\nactivities would be disrupted and it would badly affect the
\nrupiah and the national economy.<\/p>\n
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Akbar Tandjung,
\nunderlined the danger of terrorism.<\/p>\n
\"We must not take the threat of terrorism lightly. This has
\nbeen a real and present danger in this country,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Pramono Anung Wibowo, the deputy secretary-general of the
\nruling party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, said
\nthat the police must immediately arrest the perpetrators behind
\nthe bomb blast. Only by a quick arrest of the perpetrators, he
\nsaid, the police could bring back the feeling of security among
\nordinary people.<\/p>\n
A.M. Fatwa, a politician from the National Mandate Party
\n(PAN), said that the bomb blast posed a challenge to the
\ngovernment to resolve it immediately and to guarantee people's
\nsafety, especially foreigners.<\/p>\n
\"The government must step up security measures in the foreign
\nembassies here. The safety of foreigners will affect the good
\nname of Indonesia in the international arena,\" said A.M. Fatwa,
\nwho is also MPR deputy speaker.<\/p>\n
The Regional Representatives Faction (FUD) of MPR condemned
\nthe bombing and said that the incident was designed to terrorize
\nthe public.<\/p>\n
In a statement signed by faction deputy chairman Ghazali Abbas
\nAdnan, FUD speculated that the Marriott bombing might have been
\nan attempt to distract the public from the MPR Annual Session.<\/p>",
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