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.