'WTC commemoration to remember the innocent'

People gathered at Ground Zero in New York, where the World Trade Center (WTC) twin towers once stood, in commemoration of the Sept. 11, 2001 tragedy and to remember all those who died. As the global war on terror continues, particularly in Indonesia with Wednesday's conviction of Bali bombing "mastermind" Imam Samudra, several city residents shared with The Jakarta Post their feelings and thoughts about the existence of terrorism in the country.

Suryadi, 25, is a newspaper boy working in Pancoran, South Jakarta. He lives in Petamburan with a friend:

I think the commemoration of the WTC attacks two years ago is important -- at least it will be an occasion to remember the innocent people who were killed by the terrorists.

I personally hate the terrorists, especially the terrorist suspects in our country.

They don't deserve to live. They should pay for their sinful deeds that have caused the deaths of hundreds of people.

They deserve the maximum punishment. Even Nusakambangan penitentiary (Indonesia's only maximum security prison) would be too good for them. Death is the best punishment.

I wonder who they really thought were their enemies, and what reasons they really had for committing such evil deeds?

They only create imagined enemies to justify their heinous deeds.

Riyanto (not his real name), 27, is a street artist who plies his trade in Blok M, South Jakarta. He lives in Petukangan with his wife and son:

The commemoration of the dark tragedy of the WTC is necessary. It will make people aware that terrorism threats exist in every part of the world.

I wonder who is really leading these people to terrorize others through ruthless deeds like that. There must be a influential leader.

I just can't understand how people could let someone brainwash them in such a way that they would follow in blind obedience.

They have been mindlessly indoctrinated in the name of religious belief. But I should think they still have the common sense to decide whether something is wrong or right.

I think they are just paranoid people who fight against invisible enemies they create in their own minds.

One of the vendors who I used to hang around has now disappeared into a religious boarding house. Once he showed up and told me that he was brainwashed every second with religious creeds.

I guess these kinds of people, in a way, have the potential to carry out acts of terror. They don't care about their own lives because of their "faiths".

I'm just upset, knowing that terrorists remain free to continue their attacks.

I think the government should not be so greedy and selfish that it forgets to side with the people -- this kind of situation could spark terrorism, because people who feel neglected, impoverished and stepped on could resort to terror.

I'm doubtful that the death punishments (of Amrozi and Samudra) would never materialize anyway.

Instead, I'll bet the government will use them and their knowledge to make sophisticated bombs while they sit in jail.

Sutrisno, 50, is a sidewalk coffee vendor in Petukangan, South Jakarta. He lives nearby with his wife and daughter:

We need to recall the unforgettable WTC tragedy. It was a terrible, inhuman act.

I don't understand how terrorists could be so brutal, while at the same time professing their strong religious beliefs.

The terrorists are supposed to be religious people as they follow a religion and observe its rites, but what they do is the complete opposite of their religious teachings. It's ridiculous and stupid.

I'd say they are far more merciless than those who don't believe in God. They are cowards who fight against their own homelands and innocent people.

They are real traitors. I'm sure they will not be happy in their lives, as the souls of the victims will return to terrorize their blasphemous souls.

I salute those people who fight for their country, as they are the real heroes. Terrorists are just cowardly traitors.

The most incredible thing is that they really exist here and now -- and they could carry out more attacks.

Perhaps this is the era when everything in the world is so chaotic that the righteous have become victims of the evil terrorists.

-- Leo Wahyudi S.