Killers among us<\/p>\n
If nine months of relative peace after the Bali catastrophe
\nhave allowed Indonesians to lapse into a false sense of security,
\nthen the events of the past few days should take them firmly back
\nto reality: the terrorist game is far from over here. If nothing
\nelse, the two successive bomb blasts that ripped through the
\nHouse of Representatives building on Monday should be reminder
\nenough that even a few moments of laxity could have some dire
\nconsequences.<\/p>\n
In Monday's incident, it was fortunate that only a bit of
\ndamage was inflicted on the building and no one was hurt, the
\nnational legislature having gone into recess. The incident,
\nhowever, brings to light the inadequate security systems that
\nprevail, even at the Indonesian national legislature, which is
\nsupposed to be one of the most tightly guarded non-military
\nvenues in the country, it being a frequent target of noisy and
\nsometimes violent street demonstrations.<\/p>\n
And it could have been worse. Police officers said over the
\nweekend that they had arrested nine suspected members of the
\nJamaah Islamiah (JI) regional terrorist organization, which
\ninvestigators are holding responsible for last year's Bali
\nbombings. The arrests, they said, took place in a number of
\ncities, including Jakarta and Magelang, in Central Java. One of
\nthe key suspects, known as Ikhwanuddin, was reported to have
\ncommitted suicide by shooting himself in the chest when he was
\nabout to be questioned while in police custody.<\/p>\n
In a related raid in the Central Java capital of Semarang,
\nofficers said they had found and seized more than 1,000 bomb
\ndetonators, almost a ton of potassium chlorate, 350 pounds (160
\nkg) of TNT, 65 PETN high-explosive detonators, 11 shoulder-
\nlaunched rockets, more than 20,000 rounds of ammunition, two M-16
\nassault rifles, timers as well as maps and documents from the
\nsafehouses of the plotters. Part of that material was taken by
\nIkhwanuddin to Jakarta, where the plotters had planned to launch
\na number of bomb attacks on public places such as shopping malls
\nand possibly churches. They apparently had also planned to
\nassassinate a number of politicians, among them Roy B.B. Janis,
\nPramono Anung, Jacob Tobing and J.E. Sahetapy -- all from the
\nIndonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) as well
\nas a businessman named Ciputra.<\/p>\n
At least those are the things that the police have chosen to
\nmake public so far. But what to make of it all? The list of
\nmaterials seized by the officers and the names that were
\nreportedly contained on their \"hit list\" are certainly enough to
\ncreate some alarm among those allegedly targeted for
\nassassination. All of these developments certainly justify the
\nterror alert that was issued over the weekend by the National
\nPolice Chief, Gen. Da'i Bachtiar, especially for the residents of
\nbig cities like Jakarta and Semarang, who would be wise to heed
\nthe good general's warning seriously.<\/p>\n
However, as we all know that one of the main purposes of
\nterrorism is to destabilize society by striking fear and panic
\ninto the hearts of the population at large -- by attacking \"soft
\ntargets\" if necessary -- people living elsewhere had better heed
\nGen. Bachtiar's warning as well, especially those living or
\nstaying in towns and cities visited by foreigners, such as
\nYogyakarta, Bandung and Medan.<\/p>\n
It must be said that for some reason or another many
\nIndonesians tend to disregard statements and warnings that are
\nissued by officialdom. It pays to bear in mind, however, that
\nthere are parties out there who do not feel so kindly towards the
\npresent secular-nationalist dominated regime of President
\nMegawati Soekarnoputri -- or towards the military, for that
\nmatter -- with whom the Free Aceh Movement is currently at war.<\/p>\n
All in all, Indonesians should feel free to think of the
\nterrorist warnings as they see fit. Nevertheless, for the sake of
\ntheir own safety and for the well-being of their families and
\ntheir communities, wisdom dictates that they not dismiss those
\nwarnings, and that they alert the authorities whenever they
\nwitness any suspicious goings on taking place in their
\nneighborhoods, like people unloading a ton of chemicals into a
\nrecently rented house. The price of apathy in this matter could
\nwell be another Bali tragedy taking place elsewhere in this
\ncountry.<\/p>",
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