The Bali bomb investigation

The Bali bomb investigation

The police investigation of the Bali bombing is apparently coming to its final stages, despite many important, lingering questions among the general populace.

Are those people said to be involved in the Bali bombing real, or just the fictitious result of police or intelligence agents' manipulation? Are they all members of Jamaah Islamiyah (JI)?

The police have arrested a suspect named Amrozi. Now they want Hambali (Riduan Isamudin), the alleged operational leader of JI. The police are also hunting at least four people close to Amrozi, while intensively questioning Muhammad Zakaria, leader of the al- Islam Islamic boarding school in Lamongan, East Java.

With these facts, it seems to us that things are clear; those behind the Bali bombing have all been identified.

First it was al-Qaeda, now it is JI's turn to be suspected as a Muslim radical group. And the stigmatization of JI as a new ghost has begun. Does JI really exist? Where is its head office and who is the top leader?

Alfitra Salam, an observer who has been living in Malaysia for many years, could be right when he speculates that JI is an imaginary organization created by intelligence agents working for Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. Mahathir's move was apparently made in an effort to block the opposition party led by Anwar Ibrahim.

There are always mysterious possibilities when it comes to terrorism. We do hope that the Bali bomb mystery will be resolved soon in as transparent a manner as possible.

-- Republika, Jakarta