Broken promises and terror denial

Broken promises and terror denial

Madness is too mild a word to describe the horrible Bali tragedy. Who did it and why? Who can possibly benefit from killing and destruction, from misery and nameless sorrow? But those complex questions will never get an answer, I am afraid. And since 1998 hardly any of the bombings here have been resolved.

Whenever and wherever during the past four years a bomb explosion takes place, the government and high-ranking police and military officers promised "firm actions" and "stern measures". But in fact, nothing ever happened. I am convinced that the police do indeed have the capability to solve the bombing cases if only they could do their job without massive interference from different interest groups.

Keeping in mind all the terrorist attacks during the last four years, it is hard to understand the statement by the noted Muhammadiyah chairman Syafi'i Ma'arif who said: "...counterterrorism is not relevant here. How can we have a war with something that doesn't exist in the country?" (The Post, Aug. 1, 2002). Another no less remarkable statement was made by People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Amien Rais. His response to U.S. warnings of possible terrorist attacks in Indonesia was that the country should not dance to the same beat as the U.S. and to be more cautious to any information provided by that country. He said: "The more we react, the happier the U.S. will be seeing our foolishness." (The Post, Sept. 24, 2002).

These two and a number of other similar statements by well- known politicians might explain why the government hesitated to do what needed to be done to counter the threats of terrorism. Trapped by the fear of being seen as puppets of the Americans, the government ignored all serious warnings, not only from the U.S., but also from other "western" countries like Australia and Spain.

Hopefully, the government has learned its painful lesson of the Bali tragedy and will free itself from the pressure of those politicians and interest groups who have so far prevented it from taking clear and firm action against terrorists.

HILDE MAY

Jakarta