Jakarta -- The Bombing Season Returns

The news that the JW Marriott and the Ritz-Carlton were bombed this morning at about 07.45 Western Indonesian Time was not surprising. The idea that Indonesia was free from the prospect of terrorist activity was naive at best and negligent at worst.

My condolences go out to all of those that have lost loved ones or had loved ones injured in the blasts.

The fact that there are several high profile terror suspects still at large and suspected of being in Indonesia must be enough to ensure that security is taken seriously. In many respects, this morning's tragedy was as much to do with it "being a matter of time" and complacency than it was to good planning by a group of terrorists.

I lived in Indonesia for many, many years and have only recently returned home to Australia. I returned home with my family, this was not because of any fear of terrorist bombings, although now that we have returned to Australia, it seems like it was a wise choice. I still feel Indonesia is generally a safe place to live and we would return in a heartbeat for the right opportunity.

I have been to the Marriott on many occasions and have always found the security presence extreme. It is always an interesting sight and experience seeing young men with high-powered weapons screening visitors. That said, the screening of vehicles although giving the appearance of being strict is quite often not what it seems.

Generally, the checks are cursory and sometimes leave a lot to be desired. I have always wondered if those checking vehicles had actually been properly trained in what to look for. Nevertheless, it is these types of checks that gave rise to the complacency that Indonesia was over the terrorist hump and on the homeward stretch to ever-lasting peace, security, and prosperity.

Nevertheless, back end security is not what might be expected.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks. However, time will tell in terms of where responsibility for this horror will fall. It is unlikely that this is Jemaah Islamiyya for a number of reasons, but paramount among these is that JI is unlikely to have maintained the organizational capability in the period after 2002 and the post Bali bombing. However, this should not rule out a splinter group with some kind of loose affiliation with JI.

In any event, I guess these blasts go to show that Australia's travel advisory warnings were on the money with respect to possible terrorist attacks. (I would add here that if you maintain the tone of the travel advisory and keep it in place for long enough that ultimately the odds of being right would shorten to the point where you actually are right at some point in time.)

It was interesting to hear an interview with Kerry Collison earlier today in which he suggested that the bombings had all the hallmarks of an Indonesian military operation. The implications of military involvement is something that one does not really want to consider as this does not bode well for political stability in Indonesia over the long term.

The time is now for Indonesians to stand up with a united front and say that "enough is enough". It does not matter whether you are Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Animist, or whatever, no sane person can justify the killing of innocents. The simple reality here is that there is absolutely, let me repeat - absolutely, no chance of winning the hearts and minds of people by killing them. When will these terrorists understand that killing your own is just not going to get you the sympathy that you might feel the masses owe you. Stupid!

While Indonesians take a stand against terror in their own land, those of us who can must support our Indonesian brothers and sisters in whatever capacity that we can no matter where we live. I will do whatever it is that I can to help.

Violence is never the answer!

Postscript...

For any how have taken umbrage at some of the content of this post or the point and purpose of travel warnings or the like, irrespective of whether you leave a comment or not, I offer no apologies as it is a blog and these are my opinions and "out loud" thoughts on this issue.

I love Indonesia and her people dearly. The country has been an integral part of my development as a person, and for that I will be eternally grateful. I will always feel I have received more than I have given (although there are probably plenty of Indonesians who might disagree) but I will continue to give until my days end.

The point about terrorism is not what religion the perpetrators follow and I do not talk about Muslim or Christian terrorists, just terrorists, those individuals that would seek to disrupt the peaceful existence that the majority of us try and find in our comparatively short time in this world. The point is that there are those who will go to any length to kill and maim the innocents in pursuit of a cause and despite the in-roads Indonesia has made in getting on top of terrorism and some notable successes this has led to a degree of complacency and the idea of it being "only a matter of time".

I saw it and I was fearful of it in the sense that I truly believed it was only a matter of time.

Those that hate exist in all societies and they will always at some point in time make their presence known. Friday, 17 July 2009, was one of those days in Jakarta.

Bali Bombers -- Execution Postponed?

The word on the street is that the execution of the Bali Bombers is going to be later rather than sooner. Later being sometime before the new year. So, when I last reported that I thought that the three murderous stooges (AKA Amrozi, Samudra, and Mukhlas) were having themselves on when they said that they would still be breathing air through December, this was somewhat off the mark. It seems that the person having themselves on about an imminent execution, was me.

The reason is "technicality" or more specifically delays in the paperwork and the prospect of more appeals and the finalization of the previous last ditch effort to claim that the firing squad was an inhumane form of execution.

These constant delays and constant reminders and the continued lack of remorse must be very frustrating for the families of those who lost loved ones and who are looking forward to the day that these murderers suffer the fate that they have been sentenced to. I can only try to imagine what this frustration and constant reminder must be like.

I guess there is always hope for the families that the government will keep its word and execute them in the near future.

On a slightly different note, Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, the alleged spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiyah, was refused entry to the Batu Prison on Nusakambangan. Unfortunately for Ba'asyir he did not have the necessary paperwork to visit prisoners on death row and the guards told him to go away and come back when he was properly documented. The proper paperwork is the necessary stamps from the relevant offices of the Department of Law and Human Rights.

This did not make much of an impression on Ba'asyir or the members of the Ba'asyir entourage. However, there appears to be no such restrictions with regards to visiting regular inmates. So, he made the trip to Nusakambangan and visited those convicted of terrorism offences but not on death row.

Travel Warnings for Jakarta

The United States has lifted its eight year old travel warning for Indonesia. The US Ambassador to Indonesia, Cameron Hume, cited an improved security situation, the lack of recent bombings, and a weakened Jemaah Islamiyya.

I would reckon that this is more than just a case of Indonesia making a request to lift the travel warning. My guess is that the US would have independent intelligence that indicates that there is in fact an improved and continuing to improve security climate in Indonesia.

Hopefully this does not breed complacency.

The picture of the US Ambassador was borrowed from the US Embassy in Jakarta website.

Jihad Sheilas

The Australian and Indonesian connection; radical Islam in Australia and its foundations in Jemaah Islamiah. Interesting, I learn something everyday -- a life-long learner :)

ABC TV in Australia is televising a documentary titled "Jihad Sheilas" on Tuesday night (link here). I guess I will have to wait for it to be televised on Australia Network in Indonesia before I get to have a squiz at the documentary itself. However, there is plenty about it in the newspapers but this is probably as much a matter of coincidence as the appeals of the Bali Bombers have also been accepted for hearing.

Back to the Jihad Sheilas. The documentary focuses on two Australian women both from rural New South Wales; Dubbo and Mudgee respectively. These are not the two country towns that you might think of first as being hot beds of radical Islam or for that matter being very much anything associated with Islam. But Rabiah Hutchinson of Mudgee is known as the grand dame of extremist Jihadis in Australia. Quite a claim to fame for Mudgee. What stirs the pot most are her statements that she has little or no sympathy for the victims of the Bali Bombings because Australian tourists go their for drugs, sex, and to commit pedophilia.

The Indonesian connection is not the lack of sympathy for the victims of the Bali Bombings but rather the fact that Rabiah learned her Islam from Abdullar Sungkar and Abu Bakar Bashir of Jemaah Islamiah fame. She apparently married the Australian head of Jemaah Islamiah in the 1990s.

The other, Raisah, openly supports Osama bin Laden as someone who follows a pure undiluted form of Islam and his actions have awoken Muslims to the oppression that they were suffering at the hands of non-believers.

I look forward to being able to watch the whole documentary to properly critique it. Nevertheless, it is a fascinating link between Australia and Indonesia that I had not known of previously.

The lack of sympathy because of the suggestion that Australian tourists engage in pedophilia and take drugs is taking a broad brush and labelling all the same. If one generalizes in a manner such as this then they can hardly complain when the same things happens in reverse where people label all Muslims as radical fundamentalists.

Both of these are generalizations that simply cannot be sustained. Not all Australian tourists are pedophiles or drug users and not all Muslims are radical fundamentalists. It is high time we got past these generalizations and started addressing the future.