Marriott sends defiant message to terrorists

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak and Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The wounds and trauma of the victims of the terrorist bombing on Aug. 5 might not be healed yet, but the luxury JW Marriott Hotel, in a valiant display of public defiance against terrorism, will again be open for business, starting on Monday.

"The doors will be open again on Monday. All of the staff are ready to resume work ... and let the incident be put in the past," the hotel public relations manager Mellani Solagratia told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

Mellani said the hotel would beef up security, and the design of the hotel's entrance would be modified while the system to drop off hotel guests, usually right in front of the hotel doors, would be changed. She didn't reveal how the new system would work.

Although she said no great fanfare would be held at the reopening, Governor Sutiyoso said on Friday that he received an invitation to the hotel's reopening ceremony.

A powerful truck bomb exploded during the busy lunch hour on Aug. 5, and claimed 12 lives and injured 147 others, many of whom were hotel guests and staff. The explosion caused major damage to the hotel lobby, the Sailendra Restaurant and the adjacent Plaza Mutiara building.

The explosion took place just two days before the Denpasar District Court handed down a death sentence to convicted Bali terrorist Amrozi, who played a key role in the deaths of 202 people, mostly foreigners in last October's nightclub bombing.

Situated in the center of the Mega Kuningan business and foreign diplomatic square in South Jakarta, the luxury hotel -- which started operating in September 2001 -- had become a meeting point for prominent figures and businesspeople.

The hotel carried out repair work around the clock in the last two weeks soon after the police completed their field examinations.

The police investigation has revealed that a key perpetrator Asmar Latin Sani died in the blast. The police have also named 11 suspected accomplices in the hotel bombing.

The Marriott will make every effort to attact customers back by offering its same excellent service, according to Mellani.

"We won't offer special packages to the guests nor will we lower our rates. I won't hazard a guess on when we will be back at our normal occupancy, but we will persevere day by day," Mellani said.