Megawati visits Bali amid sharp criticism

Megawati visits Bali amid sharp criticism

The Jakarta Post, Denpasar/Jakarta

Praised abroad but chastised at home, President Megawati
Soekarnoputri on Tuesday flew from the APEC conference in Mexico
to Bali to visit for the second time the site of the deadly Bali
blasts in a move aimed at mending the image of her much-
criticized leadership in the fight against terrorism.

At the press conference during the surprise visit, Megawati
expressed gratitude for the assistance given by the international
community to Indonesia in its time of grief.

"I would like to say thank you to everybody, both locals and
foreigners, for their voluntarily help so that we could cope with
the situation," Megawati said.

The Bali tragedy has put Megawati's leadership to the test at
home.

Despite the fact that she managed to secure much-needed
foreign aid and assistance during the Asia Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC) summit, she failed to secure much domestic
support for her campaign.

U.S. President George W. Bush and Australian Prime Minister
John Howard lent their support to Megawati during their bilateral
meetings on the sidelines of the summit in Los Cabos, Mexico,
over the weekend.

However, arriving at home, Megawati was met with sharp
criticism from various quarters, including from People's
Consultative Assembly Speaker Amien Rais.

Megawati has been especially chastised for her lack of firm
leadership in the war on terrorism.

Instead of leading the war on terrorism herself, she mandated
Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono to take the lead in the campaign.

Besides, suspicions continue to be rife in the country that
Megawati's administration was targeting Muslim groups to please
the international community, especially the U.S., which has
repeatedly accused Indonesia of being too weak when dealing with
extremist groups.

The government's move in issuing government regulations in
lieu of laws on antiterrorism also raised suspicions among some
Muslims that the government was moving against Muslims.

Worse still, Megawati has maintained her silence.

Her aids, including Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan
Wirayuda, have to repeat the government's denial that the various
moves the government have taken are purely local initiatives to
secure the country, and are not from foreign pressure.

Hassan said upon his arrival at the Halim Perdanakusuma
Airport on Tuesday that the financial aid promised by some
foreign countries, including Australia, was not tied with any
move the government had taken or would take.

"The aid is mostly to improve our capabilities in dealing with
terror, not some kind of compensation," Hassan told reporters at
the airport.

Analysts, nevertheless, warn Megawati to be more articulate,
not to depend too much on her aides and to take the lead in the
campaign because the suspicion would lead to more domestic
conflicts in the world's most populous Muslim country.

Following the criticism, Megawati held a rare press conference
at Bali's Ngurah Rai International Airport, giving the joint
investigation team until the end of November to complete the
probe to find the perpetrators of the bombing and also the
identification process of the victims.

More than two weeks after the carnage in Kuta, the police have
not named any suspects, although some quarters have linked the
bombings to Jamaah Islamiyah, a shadowy terrorist group allegedly
linked to al-Qaeda terrorist network.

The police, nevertheless, have said that they had identified
one possible suspect, and were currently hunting him down.

The President also ordered an immediate opening of the bomb
site so the Balinese can get on with their lives.

"Local people plan to hold a purification ceremony, a
traditional Hindu ceremony, on Nov. 15," Megawati said.

The President is scheduled to attend the purification ceremony
of Pemarisuddha Karipubhaya, along with the families of the
victims.

This Hindu ceremony has rarely been conducted in Bali as it is
meant to release the souls of the victims who died in a violent
death.

State-owned airline company Garuda Indonesia agreed to provide
two free tickets to each family who lost a loved one. The Bali
hotel association had also agreed to provide free rooms.