The Oct. 12 Bali bombings made 2002 a year of terror for
The Oct. 12 Bali bombings made 2002 a year of terror for Indonesia. The bombings marked the culmination of a series of terrorist outrages in a country plagued by bloodshed, corruption and near-anarchy since the fall of president Soeharto in 1998. The Bali bombings forced the government finally to face up to the deadly threat posed by terrorists. Indonesia then decided to actively join in the global war on terrorism. This forced a number of domestic hard-line groups, such as Laskar Jihad and the Islam Defenders Front, to ostensibly dissolve themselves. On a positive note, Indonesia managed to reduce sectarian and interreligious conflicts in various parts of the country. Indonesia also appears to be moving in a positive direction in Aceh with the signing of a peace agreement between the government and the separatist Free Aceh Movement. It is to be hoped that further positive developments will mark 2003.
Photo A, B, and G
President Megawati Soekarnoputri (photo above) walks past wrecked cars during her tour of the scene of the Oct. 12 bomb blasts in Kuta, Bali, while unidentified foreign tourists (photo right) carry their luggage past the devastation. The Oct. 12 bombings killed more than 190 people, mostly foreign tourists, and injured over 300 others. An Acehnese (photo left) waves at Indonesian Marines aboard their armored vehicles as they pull out of Cot Trieng, Lhokseumawe, North Aceh. The Indonesian Military (TNI) withdrew its forces from Cot Trieng after sealing off the area where a large group of separatist Free Aceh Movement fighters were allegedly holed up, following the signing of a peace agreement between the Indonesian government and the separatist group on Dec. 9.
Photo C and H
A number of police officers (photo above) guard a road leading to the cooper and gold mine operated by American-owned PT Freeport Indonesia in Tembagapura, Papua. The police enhanced security in the area following an attack on a convoy of vehicles carrying Freeport employees, which killed two Americans and one Indonesian, and injured about a dozen others. Members of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) (photo right) are sent reeling by a jet of water from a police water cannon during a demonstration in Jakarta. The FPI, known for its notorious attacks on entertainment centers, decided in November to freeze its operations following an apparent move by the hard-line Laskar Jihad to dissolve itself.
Photo D & E
Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso (photo above) poses for a photographer shortly before presenting his accountability statement to the Jakarta Legislative Council. Despite massive public opposition, Sutiyoso was reelected Jakarta governor in September. Indonesian migrant workers (photo right) wait for food at a refugee camp in the East Kalimantan town of Nunukan, which borders with Malaysia. Hundreds of thousands of Indonesian undocumented workers were expelled from Malaysia in August and September, many of whom landed in Nunukan. Over 30 of them died on the border island as a result of various illnesses.