National tragedy

National tragedy

The writing had been on the wall this past year or so that international terrorist groups were planning to attack Indonesia, targeting not only Indonesians, but also foreigners.

Warnings had come from governments in Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Australia and the U.S. about Indonesia being a hotbed for terrorist groups to operate, and consequently a potential target after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.

Indonesia's response to these warnings was found wanting, and certainly not very reassuring, such that the U.S. and Australian governments constantly issued advisories cautioning their citizens when traveling to Indonesia.

Putting aside the question about the Indonesian government's deficiency in dealing with the threat of terrorism, Saturday night's blast near a crowded club in Kuta, Bali, was a horrific act, one that has no justification at all. This paper wishes to express its deepest condolences and sympathy to the relatives and friends of all victims of the incident. This was an act of cowardice and the perpetrators must be condemned for it.

Let's hope the authorities, having failed to protect the lives and safety of victims, will do a better job in apprehending the perpetrators quickly. It's the very least that the Indonesian government could do, besides assisting the distraught relatives and friends of victims to deal with the trauma and begin to heal the wounds. Indonesia owes this much to the international community.

It now seems almost certain that this is the work of terrorists, be they local or international. The fact that three bombs exploded almost simultaneously -- another in Manado (North Sulawesi) and yet another in Denpasar (Bali) near the residence of the U.S. consulate -- leaves no doubt about the motive for the attacks.

Few people had anticipated, or had refused to believe, that if terrorists were to strike in Indonesia, they would choose Bali. In retrospect, if the intention was to cause maximum damage, including killing innocent Western tourists, Bali was the obvious choice. It just goes to show that you cannot predict what goes on in the minds of terrorists.

The Bali bomb blast is bound to damage the reputation and credibility of the Indonesian government, especially in the light of its lackluster response to the constant warnings from other foreign governments about terrorist activities in the country.

There are bound to be many other repercussions that the entire country will have to deal with now. The holiday island of Bali, for sure, must now brace itself for the prospect of economic devastation. Already, Australia has told its citizens to stay away from the island.

Could the attacks in Bali have been prevented? That is hard to say, but Indonesia's entire attitude toward the threat of terrorism was so lax that it raised serious questions about the government's commitment to fight the threat, and consequently, to protect the lives of the public, both Indonesian and foreign.

We don't believe that the arrest of Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir -- whom Singapore and Malaysia have identified as the leader of a regional group with aspirations to turn Southeast Asia into an Islamic state -- would have prevented Saturday's attacks.

Ba'asyir, if anything, has been a diversion or even a decoy. While we have all debated his role in Jemaah Islamiyah, and whether or not to put him under arrest on suspicion of terrorist activities, the real operatives, whoever they may be, were quietly plotting the attacks.

What is most deplorable is our whole attitude toward the threat of terrorism since it became an international issue in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. Until Saturday night's blast, very few people in Indonesia had taken the threat of terrorism seriously. This goes not just for the government, the politicians and major political parties, but also the public, including the media.

Just about every single warning that has come from foreign governments was treated with disdain, as most people here continued to believe, and to insist, that there were no international terrorists operating in this country. Instead of acting on these warnings, officials and politicians were willing to exploit the issue to whip up nationalist or religious sentiment for their own short-term political gain. And the media duly reported them.

This kind of response has consistently been shown by Indonesia since the Sept. 11 attacks. It was wrong because it diverted our attention away from the real problem, which is the threat of terrorism.

For much of the time since Sept. 11, Indonesia was in denial when most other countries in the region were taking the steps necessary to counter the terrorist threats. When the government finally decided to tell the public about the presence of international terrorists in the country two weeks ago, it unfortunately failed to make its case sound convincing enough to the public, such that it did not get the support it needed to make its campaign against terrorism effective.

Besides, it came much too late. Had the government treated the threat of terrorism more seriously from the beginning, and then got the public fully behind it, perhaps, just perhaps, the bomb blast in Bali might have been prevented.

Now, we have to brace ourselves for the many domestic and international repercussions. Besides condemnation, we can expect more serious action that will hurt our political and economic standing. We do not know even half the story yet.