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Here's some advice, cement-head:
1. Remove your head from that deep hole in the sand.
2. Wake up.
3. Look around.
187 Killed in Blast at Indonesia Nightclub
Indonesia Faced With New Demands to Crack Down on Islamic Militants
By Alan Sipress and Ellen Nakashima
Washington Post Foreign Service
Sunday, October 13, 2002; 4:52 PM
KUTA, Indonesia, Oct. 13 – The death toll rose to 187 today in the aftermath of a devastating car bomb blast Saturday that turned several teeming Bali nightclubs into deadly infernos. Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, faced new demands that it crack down on Islamic militants.
No one claimed responsibility for the attack. At least three-quarters of the victims were foreigners, packed into crowded bars in the beach entertainment district here. The buildings burned and collapsed in a series of fires and explosions set off by a bomb hidden in a large Toyota vehicle.
Many of those killed were Australian, including tourists celebrating the end of various football competitions, as well as those from Canada, Britain, Germany and Sweden. A U.S. embassy official said one American was known dead and three were among the 300 injured. The U.S. Embassy was considering evacuating some non-essential personnel and their families from Indonesia.
In Washington, President Bush condemned the attack as "a cowardly act designed to create terror and chaos." Indonesia's National Police Chief Da'I Bachtiar called it "the worst act of terrorism in Indonesia's history." Australian Prime Minister John Howard declared, "The war against terrorism must go on with unrelenting vigor and an unconditional commitment."
Australia dispatched passenger jets and Hercules C-130 military planes to evacuate frightened tourists and the injured. Bali hospitals reported shortages of some medicines to treat the wounded.
The attack seemed to signal a shift in tactics by militant groups, diplomats said. They noted that earlier attacks were aimed at embassies and U.S. Navy vessels, including a threat that forced the American embassy to shutter for six days last month.
But the Bali attack was aimed at civilians. "It's clear that whoever's behind these attacks is branching out to softer targets," a U.S. embassy official said. "That's why we're concerned about it."
"The fact of the matter is, groups are targeting Westerners and using the most outrageous [means] to target foreigners," U.S. Ambassador Ralph L. Boyce said.
The explosions came on the second anniversary of the bombing attack on the USS Cole off the coast of Yemen in which 17 sailors died. In other attacks Saturday, police reported bombings near the U.S. consulate in Bali and at the Philippine consulate in the Indonesia city of Manado. No injuries were reported in either.
After an emergency cabinet meeting, Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri flew here to see the devastation, which was centered at a popular club, the Sari.
According to police accounts, the attack came Saturday night about 11:30 p.m. when a small, homemade bomb went off in front of one disco, Paddy's, followed by a huge blast about 30 yards down the street at the Sari Club. The second bomb, hidden in the Toyota, ripped into the open-air bar, triggering a massive burst of flames caused by gas cylinders used for cooking. The subsequent fires and explosions flattened about 20 buildings and much of the block, trapping victims under flaming debris.
"This bombing is a warning to all of us that terrorism is a real danger and potential threat to national security," Megawati said. "The Indonesian government will continue cooperation with the international community to overcome terrorism."
Indonesia has been under growing pressure to deal with Islamic militancy, and today's blast brought new demands from abroad for action. Although Indonesia's Muslim population is overwhelmingly moderate, U.S. officials have said the country's geography – 17,000 islands offering myriad ports of entry that are difficult to control - makes it easy for militants to penetrate and operate away from official scrutiny. Bali, a largely Hindu enclave, had previously been considered immune to political violence.
Megawati's chief security minister vowed that the attack in Bali would force the Indonesian government to strengthen its efforts at tackling terrorism. "This incident has created a turning point and from now on the government will not be able to entertain doubts about harsh action," the minister, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, told Indonesian reporters.
He added that the Indonesian government has a suspicion who was behind the bombing but declined to provide details. Several foreign diplomats said they suspect the work of the Jemaah Islamiyah, a militant Islamic network in Southeast Asia that intelligence officials say is led by radical Indonesian cleric Abubakar Baasyir, and linked to al Qaeda.
Boyce, the U.S. Ambassador, told the Associated Press that while it was not possible to pin the attack on al Qaeda, there has been growing evidence that the network of Osama bin Laden has been reaching out to local militants.
"In recent weeks, we have been able to put to an end a year of speculation as to whether al Qaeda might be in Indonesia, or relocating to Indonesia, or using Indonesia as a base of operations, after the fall of Afghanistan," he said.
Howard, the Australian prime minister, said, "We would like to see a maximum effort on the part of the Indonesian government to deal with the terrorist problem within their own borders. It's been a problem for a long time."
Jusuf Wanandi, founder of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Jakarta, said Megawati's government must now act "for their own survival and for the republic's survival." Failure to do so "will damage the credibility of Indonesia." He added, "If she does not make a real effort to combat terrorism, the number one backlash will be from the international community."
Australia said it was sending sending an investigative team, including some forensic specialists, to help with the investigation. The U.S. has also dispatched a regional security officer from the embassy in Jakarta and an FBI agent from Singapore to help, officials said.
Before the Bali bombing, the United States has been urging Indonesia to investigate more vigorously some earlier attacks. In particular, U.S. officials want to see the police actively pursue a Sept. 23 grenade explosion outside an American embassy house in central Jakarta. Indonesian and Western officials said the blast was a bungled attempt by Islamic militants to attack a U.S. target. The police have dismissed the grenade explosion as debt-collection effort gone awry unrelated to terrorism.
U.S. officials also signaled that they are preparing to withdraw about 100 non-essential diplomats and 250 embassy family members from Jakarta as a security measure. They said they were still awaiting a decision by Bush administration officials in Washington to proceed with the move.
The last time the embassy sent home staff was during the 1998 riots that led to President Suharto's downfall.
A withdrawal of U.S. diplomats could further sour the confidence of investors and enthusiasm of tourists for Indonesia. The Indonesian economy is already struggling to recover from the 1997 Asian financial crisis and tourism, a crucial component of the economy, was dealt a major setback by the Saturday attack in Bali, which offers tropical beaches, lush forests and a mystical aura for tourists. |
