Terrorists among us
Terrorists among us
It is hard to understand why anybody would want to kill and
injure innocent people and complete strangers. But somebody must
have derived a twisted pleasure in seeing people, their bodies
and faces covered in blood, fleeing in fear from the scenes of
the two bomb attacks in Bali on Saturday night. It is sickening
to think that there are people who get their kicks by setting off
bombs in restaurants and cafes, with the intention of killing and
maiming complete strangers, including children, who just have the
bad luck of choosing the wrong place to get something to eat.
But we have learned by now that terrorists have sick minds
that are beyond comprehension. Sadly, these people exist among
us, and they struck again this weekend.
The death toll from Saturday's explosions -- two in open-air
cafes on Jimbaran beach and one inside a restaurant in Kuta
Square -- had reached 25 by Sunday afternoon. Dozens others were
being treated in Bali hospitals, some in very serious condition.
It is not the first time that terrorists have struck in this
country. Still, each attack is a tragedy in itself.
The bombings on Saturday are a personal tragedy for the people
who were killed and injured, and for the loved ones they left
behind. They are a tragedy for the people of Bali, whose tourism-
based economy had only just recovered from the devastation of the
2002 bombings. And they are a tragedy for the nation because we
continue to live in fear and with the knowledge that there are
terrorists in our midst.
This latest attack lays bare the ineffectiveness of our
intelligence institutions and our police. There had been no prior
warnings, not even from the usual foreign governments advising
their citizens to stay away from Indonesia. Making this failure
even more difficult to comprehend, the police were already on the
alert for protests following the government's decision to raise
fuel prices by an average of 126 percent on Friday.
The only public warning came from President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono, who in August cautioned of possible terrorist attacks
in September and October. But even as late as last week
government officials were saying that the threat from Jemaah
Islamiyah (JI), blamed for most of the terrorist attacks in
Indonesia in recent years, had been brought under control. While
it is too early to point the finger at anyone, Saturday's attacks
in Bali bear all the hallmarks of JI.
For a nation that has unfortunately experienced numerous
terrorist strikes over the last few years, such a security and
intelligence lapse is unacceptable. Indonesians, especially those
living in Bali, should be able to expect at the least that the
government get its act together.
Police have yet to arrest the two Malaysian bombmakers,
Azahari Husin and Noordin Top, who allegedly planned the 2002
attack in Bali and several bombings in Jakarta. Their arrest
should be the main priority of Gen. Sutanto, the chief of the
National Police since July. His job security, along with that of
Syamsir Siregar, the head of the National Intelligence Agency,
should be tied to his handling of terrorism, and more
specifically to the arrests of Azahari and Noordin.
Someone should be held accountable for this latest
intelligence lapse and the continuing failure to arrest the two
most wanted men in the country. If Sutanto and Syamsir are not up
to their jobs, they should be replaced.
Condemning the bombings in the harshest of terms the way
President Susilo did on Saturday night does not relieve him of
the duty to protect the lives of the people in this country,
whether they be Indonesian nationals or overseas tourists. The
President, and his security advisers, must do more to ensure that
this is the last terrorist outrage in this country.