Bomb threat at Mangga Dua shopping area kills business
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Four days have passed since a janitor at the Wholesale Trade Center in Mangga Dua, Central Jakarta, or WTC for short, found an unfolded sheet of paper lying among the garbage at the entrance at 6 a.m. on Friday, which the janitor first thought might be an interesting love letter.
Little did the employee know that the unsigned bomb threat against the "WTC Mangga Dua", which specifically referred to some time between "March 11 and March 14", would cause a ripple effect that was felt throughout the weekend not just by the tenants of the WTC, but also by the whole business community in Mangga Dua.
"We only had half the normal number of shoppers that we get over the weekend," said Roespina Simorangkir, the manager of the Club Store hypermarket, the anchor tenant in the 200,000 square meter WTC.
She had a hunch that the WTC was threatened as it had the same acronym as the World Trade Center in New York City, which was demolished by a terrorist attack on Sep 11, 2001.
"It's silly ... all because of a name," Roespina said on Monday, while adding that the majority of the store's shoppers were Indonesians, Arabs and Indians. "Are they going to attack every building called the WTC?"
Luggage stall owner Ramses, who is one of the over 4,000 tenants in the 12-story WTC, said that he was initially expecting to sell more than his normal turnover of 25 bags due to the long holiday weekend in conjunction with the Hindu Day of Silence.
"I only sold five!" he exclaimed dejectedly, adding that it was his worst experience since he began trading in the WTC in October 2003.
However, he added that he was not scared of the bomb threat.
"It's simply a matter of finding money to pay the rent," he said. "Bomb or no bomb, I'll still be here."
One kilometer west of the WTC at Pasar Pagi Mangga Dua, which is famous as the place to find bargain-priced quality clothes, weekend shoppers were also in short supply, according to parking attendant Maryono. "Only two parking levels were used. Normally all four would be packed."
Next door to Pasar Pagi, at the International Trade Center (ITC), a popular tourist shopping destination, the threat also had an affect.
Ojong, a beverage seller whose sales were down 80 percent, said that those who did brave the bomb threat were generally in a hurry and did not spend as much time shopping as they normally would.
The WTC management notified the police and the tenants about the letter.
"The security of our visitors and tenants is of the utmost importance," said the WTC's general affairs manager Budia Santosa, adding that the WTC had 180 security guards.
The bomb squad combed the area but did not discover anything suspicious. Feel free to cut this para
According to Budia, the WTC has received two bomb hoaxes since it opened in September 2003, which the management later determined were crank calls, possibly from disgruntled former employees.
However, the US and Australian embassies quickly warned their nationals to avoid the area.
Max Kwak, the US embassy press attache declined to comment on how the embassy learned about the threat, which it was monitoring on an ongoing basis. "I cannot predict what will happen after March 14."
Indonesia has been hit by a series of terror attacks over the past three years, which killed 202 in Bali in 2002, 12 people at the Marriott Hotel in 2003, and 14 people in last year's blast in front of the Australian Embassy.
The Associated Press reported that Australian foreign minister Alexander Downer said that the latest travel warning over the WTC should not create a problem between the two countries.
Despite the bomb threat, Aria of Semper, North Jakarta, decided not to be deterred from taking his wife and three-year- old son Ardi on their weekly Monday shopping trip to the WTC.
"When there is a threat, usually nothing happens," said Aria. "I feel it is completely safe for myself and my family to make this trip." (002)