It Happenned 5 Minutes ago :
Thursday 9 September 2004 . 10.40 AM ( GMT +7 )

NEAR AUSTRALIAN EMBASSY ...!!!

Detik com bilang bomb nya di Australian Embassy?
Tp CNN bilang near Australian Embassy?
Expect IHSG drop 50 point todae.

They've got footage on CNN f/n.


:(

Explosion outside Australian Embassy in Jakarta

JAKARTA (JP): A powerful explosion caused extensive damage to the Australian Embassy building and other high rise buildings nearby in the busy Kuningan district area in South Jakarta.

Details of casualties were still sketchy. Anteve reported that three bodies had been taken to the MMC Hospital near the site of the location.

Witnesses said two bodies were lying on the street, covered with plastics, as police and rescue workers cleared the area.

No embassy workers were injured in the blast, said Lyndall Sachs, a spokeswoman for the Australian foreign ministry in Canberra. She said that windows of the building were shattered and that power was down.

The mission was evacuated in line with standard procedures, Sachs said as reported by Associated Press.

But Anteve reported that one of the victims was a security guard of the Embassy.

In recent weeks several Western embassies, including those of the United States and Australia, have warned their citizens about possible attacks by militants. Last year, 12 people died in a suicide attack on the JW Marriott hotel in the same district. In 2002, more than two hundred people died in an attack on two nightclubs on the tourist island of Bali.

it's only 200 metres to my house.. luckily I already go to the office.. 10.00 .. don't know what happenned if I 40 minutes late :(

Shits!
Remember there are usually LONG QUEUE of (read:innocent) people at Australian Embassy gate???!!!
So far 3 ppl confirmed killed.
THOSE BASTARDS TERORIST!!!


Australian embassy bombed in Jakarta
September 9, 2004 - 2:27PM

The Australian embassy in Jakarta has been damaged by a powerful explosion which blew up vehicles in front of the complex, the federal government and witnesses said today.

At least three people had been killed, witnesses told the Associated Press. Others had been wounded.

However no Australian embassy staff had been confirmed injured, the federal government said.

Four cars and the embassy's high metal fence were damaged, witnesses reported. The windows on several surrounding buildings were smashed.

ElShinta radio station quoted a witness saying a police truck and a taxi in front of the Australian embassy had been blown apart and the high steel fence surrounding the building was damaged.

A Reuters reporter on the scene said there was a hole in the embassy gate and he saw some people with what looked like minor injuries leaving the complex.

Other nearby buildings had been badly damaged in the blast, which could be heard kilometres away, said witnesses.

One witness said a man was seen being carried on a stretcher into an ambulance.

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A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokeswoman said it was not clear if the Australian embassy was the target of the blast.

She said officials in Canberra had been in contact with staff at the embassy, who said there had been a blast in the vicinity of the embassy.

Windows at the embassy were shattered by the explosion and staff had been evacuated.

"There are shattered windows, including at the Australian Embassy, and cars have been damaged, but there are no confirmed injuries," the spokeswoman said.

The blast occurred about 1.30pm Australian time, she said.

Witnesses reported white smoke into the air after the blast.

A spokesman at national police headquarters in Jakarta said bomb squad officers were on their way to the embassy.

Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous nation, has been hit by sporadic bomb attacks in recent years, including blasts in Bali in October 2002 that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians, and at a luxury Jakarta hotel in August 2003 that killed 12.

In recent weeks several Western embassies, including those of the United States and Australia, have warned their citizens about possible attacks by militants.

Last year, 12 people died in a suicide attack on the JW Marriott hotel in the same district.

The Al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah group has been blamed for several high profile bomb attacks in Indonesia including the August

2003 attack on Jakarta's Marriott Hotel and the October 2002 bombings on the resort island of Bali.

- AAP

From The Age Melbourne:
http://img76.exs.cx/img76/1290/j_1_narrowweb__200x2701.jpg

Wow.. I just realized this.. shattered window?
http://img76.exs.cx/img76/4504/j_1_narrowweb__200x2702.jpg

http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20040909/capt.jak10709090456.indonesia_blast_jak107.jpg

Is it true that some Indonesian are going to be expelled from Australia due to the Bomb Blast in Australian Embassy ?

far out... bloody terorristtssss.... god damnn...
I just got the news like half an hour ago...
apparently, Kuningan Plaza is destroyed.. which is the building in that pic tha sanhenn posted.. but the AUstralian embassy is alright.. only the ground floor was damaged...

Is it true that some Indonesian are going to be expelled from Australia due to the Bomb Blast in Australian Embassy ?

I dont think so macgyver.. I mean.. what are the reasons behind it?
just hope that it doesnt affect the Indonesian economy.. cause we're recovering right now.. and now another bomb blast.. investors will run away again.. and it'll take time to recover from this bomb blast.. dammit

From cnn.com

Blast hits central Jakarta
Thursday, September 9, 2004 Posted: 1:14 AM EDT (0514 GMT)



Scene from the blast site in the embassy district of Jakarta.


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JAKARTA, Indonesia -- A powerful blast has hit Jakarta's central business district near the Australian Embassy, killing at least three people and wounding many more, news agencies say.

"Several bodies" were seen just outside the Australian Embassy's 6- meter (20-foot) high steel gate, which was mangled in the blast, CNN's Maria Ressa reported.

A spokeswoman for the Australian government in Canberra told CNN that no Australia-based staff at the embassy had been hurt. However, she said some local staff were still being accounted for.

The blast -- which Ressa said was "far larger" than a blast which killed 12 in the JW Marriot Hotel in the same district last year -- shattered nearly all the windows in seven surrounding buildings, including several high-rises.

Witnesses reported hearing the blast as far as 10 kilometers (6 miles) away.

Video of the blast site showed rescue workers carrying an injured man on a stretcher to a nearby ambulance.

Police have cordoned off the area as a bomb squad searched for more explosive devices. A burned out vehicle sat in front of the area, and other vehicles sustained damage.

A series of smaller blasts reportedly followed the major explosion and police have set up checkpoints in an effort to keep people away from the area in case of further explosions.

A four-lane highway near the blast site has been closed.

The Australian embassy has been evacuated, with a government spokesman saying they are still trying to ascertain if any nationals are hurt, according to media reports.

Several countries including the United States and Australia have warned their citizens about possible attacks by militants in recent weeks.

Last Friday, Australia warned that "particular caution should be exercised in Jakarta, including the central business and embassy districts," and said that security at its embassy in the capital remained at a high level.

Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous nation, has been hit by a series of bomb attacks in recent years.

In October 2002, 202 people were killed in the resort island of Bali, many of them Australians.

Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), a militant group with ties to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network that is trying to set up a pan-Islamic state in Southeast Asia, has been linked both those blasts.

10:30 AM..
*sigh*
Its peak hour around that area
Once again.. lots of INNOCENT PEOPLE GOT KILLED!
DAMN IT! SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT
Sorry guys. This is really2 sadddddddddddd.

yeah this is really really sad..
it just pisses me off sooo much..
I just want to Indonesia to be peaceful... damn...

check this link for video footage
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/mediapopup.aspx?MediaID=4786#

6 dead so far. Murdering terrorists...

Another video footage, maybe the same with Maha post.
http://media.theage.com.au/?rid=14715&site=age&sy=age&source=theage.com.au%2F&t=628HL9&ie=1&player=wm7&rate=356&flash=1

Oh God! I just got the news when coming to Yahoo... I wonder how still this can happen? Isn't that the master mind of bomb making has been captured and still being held in the Guantanamo Bay? If so, possibly there are more guys expert at making deadly bombs.

I just don't get why some idiots in this world spend their time making bombs and killing innocent people. Sure, they dont like Australia, or the US, but they think bombing embassies and civilians would solve any problem? Bloody idiots. F*ck those terrorists.

Oh my God! This is HORRIBLE....this hardens the resolve of everyone around the world AGAINST these idiots...it does not help their cause, it hurts their cause...do they not understand this????!!!

My parents just ring me. They are worry because they saw news on TV that Indonesian in Aussie is being harrassed and kicked out of Australia.
Gosh! What kind of wrong news is that.

I dont think so macgyver.. I mean.. what are the reasons behind it?
just hope that it doesnt affect the Indonesian economy.. cause we're recovering right now.. and now another bomb blast.. investors will run away again.. and it'll take time to recover from this bomb blast.. dammit

Don't believe it either Maha ...
Got the news from that AnTeve Live Broadcast ...
Hope The news was wrong ...

well if anything the bomb further deteriorate Indonesia's image in the world, particularly in Australia

Don't believe it either Maha ...
Got the news from that AnTeve Live Broadcast ...
Hope The news was wrong ...
yeah the news is wrong, it can't possibly happen

6 dead so far. Murdering terrorists...

7 dead until now...

bloody hell.. I heard that.. there are 8 people killed.. all Indonesians..
and there are about 100 people injured...

okay.. just got the latest update...
11 Indonesians killed

waduh.. kayak begini mah.. gw alamat kaga jadi balik ke Indo dah...
sialan teroris teroris... aarrgghh....
have any of u guys watched the news?
do u think that it's directed at the Australian embassy? cause according to Australian newspapers, it is directed at Australian embassy, but according to other newspapers, they dont really conclude that the target was the australian embassy..

Jakarta stocks drop after blast
Thursday, September 9, 2004 Posted: 1:58 AM EDT (0558 GMT)


JAKARTA, Indonesia (Reuters) -- Jakarta shares fell more than three percent on Thursday morning after an explosion near the Australian embassy in the capital city.

The Jakarta Composite Index fell as much as 3.12 percent to 764.51 points at 0335 GMT.

By 0404 GMT, the index had regained some ground to 774.04 points.

"I heard there was an explosion. The fall is because of that," said Bambang Setiadi, a portfolio manager at Sinarmas Sekuritas.

The explosion rocked central Jakarta on Thursday, damaging the Australian embassy and sending white smoke into the air, witnesses said.

The largest capitalized firm on the bourse, PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk, lost 1.84 percent to 8,000 rupiah ($0.86) while the country's second-largest bank, PT Bank Central Asia Tbk, fell nearly four percent to 1,825 rupiah.

The rupiah was quoted at 9,350/9,400 to the dollar, down from earlier levels of around 9,280/9,300.

http://i.cnn.net/cnn/interactive/world/0409/gallery.jakarta/gal.1.ap.jpg

http://i.cnn.net/cnn/interactive/world/0409/gallery.jakarta/gal.1.ap.jpg

how do u insert the pictures maha?

http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2004/09/09/jakarta_bomb_gallery__550x395.jpg
Photo of the embassy bomb blast taken from the 42nd floor of the BNI City Building in the business district immediately after the explosion.
Photo: Gavin Wong
http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2004/09/09/bomb1_gallery__550x338.jpg
http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2004/09/09/bomb2_gallery__396x550.jpg http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2004/09/09/bomb3_gallery__550x359.jpg http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2004/09/09/bomb_gallery__550x416,0.jpg http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2004/09/09/indon1_gallery__550x394.jpg http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2004/09/09/indon2_gallery__550x358.jpg http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2004/09/09/indon4_gallery__550x444.jpg http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2004/09/09/indon3_gallery__550x367.jpg http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2004/09/09/indon6_gallery__550x415.jpg http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2004/09/09/inddon5_gallery__550x387.jpg http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2004/09/09/indon9_gallery__550x369.jpg http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2004/09/09/indon8_gallery__550x376.jpg http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2004/09/09/indon10_gallery__550x407.jpg http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2004/09/09/indon11_gallery__550x381.jpg http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2004/09/09/indon12_gallery__338x550.jpg http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2004/09/09/indon13_gallery__550x383.jpg http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2004/09/09/indon15_gallery__550x367.jpg http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2004/09/09/indon14_gallery__550x361.jpg

how do u insert the pictures maha?
you right click on a picture, copy the URL, then go to a Reply Box, and click the 'Insert Image' icon (its yellow with mountains and sun), then paste the URL.

Are Islamic leaders in Indonesia publicly denouncing this outrage?? If not why?

Are Islamic leaders in Indonesia publicly denouncing this outrage?? If not why?
I'm sure most of them do, as most Islamic leaders in Indonesia are moderates. Only a handful of radicals would condone this outrage. Its sad to see that the world's largest Muslim-populated country's image torn apart by the actions of a small number of radicals...people often overlook that the vast majority of Indonesians are tolerant and would condemn things like this..I mean, who wouldnt? since most if not all the victims are fellow Indonesian Muslims anyway.

I'm sure most of them do, as most Islamic leaders in Indonesia are moderates. Only a handful of radicals would condone this outrage. Its sad to see that the world's largest Muslim-populated country's image torn apart by the actions of a small number of radicals...people often overlook that the vast majority of Indonesians are tolerant and would condemn things like this..I mean, who wouldnt? since most if not all the victims are fellow Indonesian Muslims anyway.

I personally think its vitally important for the vast majority of moderate Muslims (through their leaders--and thru public demonstrations) publicly and in the STRONGEST clearest terms DENOUNCE these crimes against innocent humans....(including the recent unbelieveable acts in the Beslam school in Southern Russia)....... otherwise the world believes that all (or a majority) of Muslims actually support this...and start unfairly discriminating against and hating Muslims....this is VERY sad because Islam as a religion is wonderful and Indonesia great....

Cmon, Its not 11 killed, latest from the news are 5 killed, all indonesian

security guard, taxi driver and others unindentified

anyway, not to worry

Rupiah is closing stronger at 9290
JSX is recover ar 782 points...

whats with the fuzz? I am here in in Jakarta and everybody in overseas panicked...relax...I am sure they will be rapid arrest

Speed, Indonesia islamic society is very different with the Arab world, with their wahabis thing, and I am sure soon many muslim organisation will denounce their condolonces....anyway all the victims are muslim too...so whatever your religion is, they dont care...as long they got their aim.

cheers

VERY HORRIBLE turn of events. And quite scary too. I was in school when it happened and my school considered letting us home early...we didnt though. A lot of my classmates (including me) were worried about our parents working in the offices nearby. Damn terrorists...:mad: The pictures i saw in tv were really moving and worrying. Its so terrible to see people suffering right after the blast. My heart goes to those affected.

Just when the political and economic situation in Indonesia improves, this happens! i'm afraid economic progress will once again stagnate.

Cmon, Its not 11 killed, latest from the news are 5 killed, all indonesian

security guard, taxi driver and others unindentified

anyway, not to worry

Rupiah is closing stronger at 9290
JSX is recover ar 782 points...

whats with the fuzz? I am here in in Jakarta and everybody in overseas panicked...relax...I am sure they will be rapid arrest

Speed, Indonesia islamic society is very different with the Arab world, with their wahabis thing, and I am sure soon many muslim organisation will denounce their condolonces....anyway all the victims are muslim too...so whatever your religion is, they dont care...as long they got their aim.

cheers

:omg: I cant believe your response...yr main concern is the stock market and FX rates???!! whats all the fuss???!! innocent souls have been MURDERED!!

One last thing, there was a police barrier and a police truck right in front of the embassy before and when it happened. The terrorists were still able to attack. A lot of the injured were police officers.

@Speed:
Its been kind of habit for Indonesian to quickly remember stock market and exchange rate after this kind of thing. Blame the media hehehe.

But this is not because stock and exhanchge market is our main concern. Really not. I think David is only replying to one of the other post above.

@GreyX
Latest news I heard to bomb is not a car bomb. But a 4 person suicide bomb using 2 motorcycle. Thats why you can see burnt out motorcycle at one of the pics.
The police barrier and truck can not do much, since they slam the motorcycle to that truck.
And the bomb is not exploded in front of the embassy, but in front of a building opposite with the embassy.

Well all that is not yet confirmed. But i heard about the motorcycle theory also.
The burnt out motorcycles could be innocent motorcyclists just going about their business when the bomb exploded. Poor them, nothing to block them from the blast.

I personally think its vitally important for the vast majority of moderate Muslims (through their leaders--and thru public demonstrations) publicly and in the STRONGEST clearest terms DENOUNCE these crimes against innocent humans....(including the recent unbelieveable acts in the Beslam school in Southern Russia)....... otherwise the world believes that all (or a majority) of Muslims actually support this...and start unfairly discriminating against and hating Muslims....this is VERY sad because Islam as a religion is wonderful and Indonesia great....
In Indonesia its a dilemma...politicians who condemn terrorism in the strongest terms are afraid that they'll lose support from Muslims - although there is no support for islamic fundamentalism in INdonesia, the issue can be manipulated by opposition figures (and so called hardliners) so that it appears that politicians who are against terrorists are against ALL muslims. Thats why fighting terrorism in Indonesia is often dilemmatic, although it has improved SIGNIFICANTLY after Bali and Mariott (through greater cooperation with Australian Federal Police and the establishment of a special anti-terror unit), and hopefully they will really get their acts together after this tragedy. There is something to be said about former President Suharto's approach to religious fundamentalism...- detention without trials, mysterious disappearances - sure, they violate human rights and civil liberties etc, but terror acts/bombings were pretty much non-existent back in those days. Nowadays everything has to be dealt through the law, open trial, etc, and with it, all the complications that the law brings.Note that I am NOT supporting a return to New Order repressive policies, I'm just presenting an alternative perspective here.

I personally think its vitally important for the vast majority of moderate Muslims (through their leaders--and thru public demonstrations) publicly and in the STRONGEST clearest terms DENOUNCE these crimes against innocent humans....(including the recent unbelieveable acts in the Beslam school in Southern Russia)....... otherwise the world believes that all (or a majority) of Muslims actually support this...and start unfairly discriminating against and hating Muslims....this is VERY sad because Islam as a religion is wonderful and Indonesia great....

Some comments from Indonesia's Muslim leaders:
Hasyim Muzadi - Head of NU, the world's largest Muslim organisation and Vice-Presidential candidate:
"Perbuatan ini merupakan perbuatan yang sangat keji dan terkutuk karena secara sengaja dan terencana menghilangkan nyawa orang lain yang tidak berdosa."
rough translation: "This act is barbaric and deserve to be condemned because of the fact that it is purposely and with prior planning designed to kill innocent people"

Hasannudin, Head of HMI (Indonesian Muslim Students Association):
He criticised the Police and the Intelligence for failing to protect the citizens, and said that whoever was responsible, HIM strongly condemns this act ('Siapapun pelakunya, kami mengutuk keras pelaku peledakan ini')

Abdurrahman Wahid, former President and probably the most influential Muslim cleric in the country, through his spokesperson, has also condemend the bombings.

I cant believe your response...yr main concern is the stock market and FX rates???!! whats all the fuss???!! innocent souls have been MURDERED!!

Doh! I am responding to that Anteve news that Indonesian got kicked and some people who are panicking. Yes my main concern is the currency rates and Stocks market because those are the important thing for Indonesian in the near future. Rupiah down means bad for the economic and for the government to repay their debt. Stocks market down means bad for the investment and capital market which will affect the economy. What matter for the ordinary Indonesian are now safety and good economic progress....

Relax mate....i can say we are lucky, with those kind of explosion...there would be more victims if you asked me....but anyway...lets hope those who died are resting in peace and for those died and who concerned, may God bless you...

cheers

Thanks Alvin for your informative responses :)

The idea of the bomb explosion is still in proces of investigation

Some folks from BPPT (Bomb expert) are saying that the bomb wasnt creating any crater because it was outside and the affect would spreading to the building nearby. But the Police chief said it was in the car and there was a crater outside the embassy..so until further investigation from the Join Australian-Indonesian Police, maybe we can get the official result.

Two Malaysians are suspected to mastermind the bomb. One is british trained bomb expert...

http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,10716768%255E401,00.html

cheers

SBY: Jangan Beri Ruang Teroris Beraksi di Indonesia

Laporan -

JAKARTA, investorindonesia.com

Capres Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) mengharapkan agar intelijen Kepolisian dan TNI serta semua pihak kembali meningkatkan langkah-langkah pencegahan yang efektif.

"Jangan berikan ruang kaum teroris untuk melakukan aksinya lagi di Indonesia," kata SBY saat mengunjungi korban ledakan di depan Kedubes Australia di RS MMC Jakarta, Kamis.

Ia juga menyatakan keprihatinannya dan mengutuk aksi yang tidak bertanggung jawab itu dan menyebabkan jatuhnya korban orang-orang tak berdosa.

Pada kesempatan itu, SBY juga menyampaikan rasa belasungkawa atas jatuhnya korban pada peristiwa ledakan di depan Kedubes Australia.

SBY berharap agar hukum dapat ditegakkan oleh pemerintah dan negara dengan cara bekerja keras untuk menghukum pelaku.

"Teroris itu ancaman nyata. Jangan berhenti untuk mencegah dan memberantas terorisme. Saya berharap pemerintah melanjutkan langkah-langkah yang lebih gigih meskipun saat ini sedang musim politik. Jangan lengah dan tinggalkan tugas tugas untuk menjaga keamanan negara," katanya.

Ia berharap pelaku dapat segera ditangkap dan dihukum seberat-beratnya.

Aparat terkait, menurut SBY, harus mencari akar-akar permasalahan dari hulu sampai dengan hilir agar dapat mencegah dan memerangi terorisme secara efektif .

"Ini masalah hukum, bukan masalah lain mari tegakkan hukum untuk menjaga keamanan negeri kita," tegas SBY.

Megawati: Mari Bersatu Padu Perangi Terorisme

Laporan -

JAKARTA, investorindonesia.com

Presiden Megawati Soekarnoputri mengajak seluruh rakyat Indonesia untuk bersatu padu guna memerangi terorisme karena tidak mengetahui siapa pelaku tindakan terorisme.

Saat mengunjungi korban ledakan di depan Kedubes Australia di RS MMC, Jakarta, Kamis sore, Presiden juga menyatakan rasa duka cita dan keprihatinannya.

Presiden yang menengok korban bersama suaminya, Taufik Kiemas, dan putrinya, Puan Maharani, mengatakan sangat menyesalkan kejadian tersebut yang mengakibatkan jatuhnya banyak korban.

"Saya mengajak seluruh rakyat Indonesia untuk bersatu padu memerangi terorisme karena kita tidak tahu siapa pelaku tindakan terorisme, kapan akan terjadi," kata Megawati.

Megawati mengatakan bahwa polisi sangat membutuhkan bantuan masyarakat dengan cara selalu bersikap waspada untuk melihat lingkungannya dan mewaspadai orang yang patut dicurigai.

Presiden bersama Menko Polkam ad interim Hari Sabarno, Menko Kesra ad interim Malik Fajar dan Menko Ekuin Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti dan Kapolda Irjen Pol Firman Gani, tiba di RS MMC Jakarta pada sekitar pukul 16.30. WIB.

President asks people to remain calm
JAKARTA (JP): President Megawati Soekarnoputri called on the people to remain calm, stay on alert and secure their areas following Thursday's bomb attack in front of the Australian Embassy in Kuningan, South Jakarta.

Hospital medical staff have confirmed eight people were killed in the attack, which happened on a busy thoroughfare in the central business district. More than 160 people were injured in the blast.

"I ask all Indonesian people to stay united in fighting terrorism ... Everybody should remain calm but on alert," Megawati said after visiting victims at the MMC hospital nearby the bomb site.

She said it would be difficult for the police to foil such an attack without the help of the people.

"Please watch over and around your neighborhoods and inform the authorities if you find something suspicious," Megawati said.

The President went to the bomb site on Jl. HR Rasuna Said after cutting short her trip to Brunei where she had been attending the wedding of Crown Prince Muhtadee Billah Bolkiah.

Megawati visited the hospital accompanied by several cabinet ministers and her husband Taufik Kiemas.

"Let us condemn this incident that has taken the lives of innocents ... I also express my deepest condolences to the families of the victims," she said.

Megawati said she would be talking to Australian Prime Minister John Howard about the affair as soon as possible. She is slated to meet Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer on Friday. (dja/nvn)

Its a very sad day for Indonesia, and just at a time when we thought the terrorist threat was over. My mom cried the entire day watching the television screen.

I heard the terrorist mastermind were two Malaysian; Dr. Azahari and another guy. Baashir also learned his fundamental traits in Malaysia. I mean, if they hate America and Australia so much, why don't they just light the f***** bomb in their own country?

Indonesia was always known to be a pretty moderate place. The muslims here are mostly moderate, but were in the process of getting more and more extreme in the 90s.

The terrorist must be apprehended! And they should get the death penalty.

Indonesia is the target because the country is very weak in implementing its security. Just several days ago the police chief denounced the US for sending a travel warning to its citizen to Indonesia....We should have stepped up the security after the american intelligence told the world that there will be an attack soon in Indonesia - but what we did was to denounce and to drop in vigilance.

Just look at all those terrorists who got the second wind from the cancellation of the Bali terror act.

I think we need to blame our government for not being tough on terrorists and seriously the way Indonesian are, this thing will pass after several weeks and life as we know it will go back to normal again. Our government should from now on constantly tell our public the danger of terrorism and let the public know what they know about the next possible attack or the JI 25 year attack plan - a little propaganda may be good to garner more public support for the government to crack down on all the would be terrorist groups in the country.

:bash:

Indonesia is the target because the country is very weak in implementing its security. Just several days ago the police chief denounced the US for sending a travel warning to its citizen to Indonesia....We should have stepped up the security after the american intelligence told the world that there will be an attack soon in Indonesia - but what we did was to denounce and to drop in vigilance.

Just look at all those terrorists who got the second wind from the cancellation of the Bali terror act.

I think we need to blame our government for not being tough on terrorists and seriously the way Indonesian are, this thing will pass after several weeks and life as we know it will go back to normal again. Our government should from now on constantly tell our public the danger of terrorism and let the public know what they know about the next possible attack or the JI 25 year attack plan - a little propaganda may be good to garner more public support for the government to crack down on all the would be terrorist groups in the country.

:bash:

Yes, but the flipside is that increased power to crack down on radical groups etc may be abused...and terrorism may replace communism as a 'momok' to justify any extra-judicial acts by the government in the name of public order and security.

I agree with Alvin. Unfortunately we have a history of violent government. But I also agree we have to do something to reduce the threat. I think more study should be conducted on why people join such organization. I think some sort of dialogue can be arranged.

We should have stepped up the security after the american intelligence told the world that there will be an attack soon in Indonesia - but what we did was to denounce and to drop in vigilance.

Medano1, This happen because the lack of sharing information from the American side, Remember Hambali? Indonesia asked for access to his jail in order to get private investigation, the US turned it down, instead they gave the Indonesian police a list of his investigation script.

So the problem is in the two side. We should enforce together to fight terrorism.

Yes, but the flipside is that increased power to crack down on radical groups etc may be abused...and terrorism may replace communism as a 'momok' to justify any extra-judicial acts by the government in the name of public order and security.

Right, Thats why i said if only the authority wont abuse the use of ISA or internal security act, I am looking forward to activate ISA.

cheers

Sometimes we also need to bite our tongue a bit and let out ego slides.....I am not pro american but I think it is wise to at least heed the american intelligence report with or without us getting access to hambali.

What's with that incident where Muklas is having coffee in Starbucks in Plaza Indonesia with the police? This is a terrorist serving life sentence for Bali and yet enjoying a cup of premum java in the downtown of Jakarta. Who would not want to be a terrorist in Indonesia if you are to be given such treatment?

I am just so disturbed that this has to happen in Indonesia again and as usual the real victims are Indonesians again. When are we going to learn so that the world will truly respect us and that there will be no more senseless victim due to the silliness of our own doing?

I truly agree with ISA - as long as it is implemented properly and not to be used to silence political opponents. I think that the process in place at this moment in Indonesia will make sure that ISA can be implemented properly. Just look at Bali Bombing Act.....

Indonesia's enemy within
September 10, 2004

The embassy bombing bears the hallmarks of JI, but by killing only locals it will be counter-productive, writes Greg Fealy.
The size of the bomb that exploded outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta, and the similarities to the Marriott Hotel bombing there last year, means that the immediate suspicion has fallen on Jemaah Islamiah for carrying out the attack, and indeed the Indonesian police lost little time in going public with their suspicions.

As the only known group in Indonesia with the expertise to build this kind of large bomb and, given its previous bombings in Bali and on the Marriott, it was only natural that the finger be pointed firmly at the group.

Yet, the motives are puzzling, since yesterday's bombing, like the Marriott attack, was always more likely to kill - and injure - many more Indonesians than Westerners.

As a result, there will be renewed revulsion within the Islamic community to the bombing, which will strengthen support among Indonesians for the strong anti-terrorism measures that have been taken already by the Indonesian Government.

Indonesia has legislation in place to deal with terrorism, and the latest blast may serve to increase the political resolve of the Government to take additional steps.

Following the Marriott bombing, there has been an intense debate within JI about the benefits - or otherwise - of bombing soft targets, which many within the JI leadership believe to be counter-productive, given the adverse reaction within the local community to these terrorist attacks.

This debate has been the cause of internal division within JI, between those with the skills to make these bombs who want to go after soft targets as they did in Bali and at the Marriott, and others who argue that a more effective strategy would be to foment inter-religious conflict, particularly between Christians and Muslims, which has historically been more conducive to fund-raising and recruitment for JI.

After the Bali and Marriott bombings, the full weight of Indonesian and foreign investigations was brought to bear on JI, which has affected its operations - not just as a terrorist group, but more broadly as a religious organisation, driving it underground in the first instance.

At the same time, bombings such as yesterday's alienate Indonesian Muslims, making it more difficult for JI to achieve its goal of moving towards an Islamic state for Indonesia.

Is there a link with the election campaign in Australia?

Anyone who understands the state of politics here will know that the embassy bombing will probably favour John Howard, politically, while also assisting the Government in maintaining its strong anti-terrorism stance.

But perhaps the people responsible for the blast do not know enough about Australian political dynamics; maybe it was more an accident of timing, coming while Indonesia's President, Megawati Soekarnoputri, was out of the country, and ahead of the Indonesian presidential elections.

Yet as both Megawati and her rival, former general Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, have a similar stance on terrorism, with both favouring a continued strong anti-terrorism posture, it is difficult to understand what the game plan could be on this score.

Within JI, there are two senior figures who are experts in making these types of bombs: Dr Azahari Husin and Noordin Top, who has worked as Azahari's assistant.

Azahari is a Malaysian engineering academic who narrowly escaped capture in Indonesia last year when his apartment, in the city of Bandung, western Java, was raided. The apartment was found to be full of bomb-making material.

Azahari is the key figure. He had a role in the Bali bombing and has been on the run since.

We know is that he is committed to the continued bombing of soft targets - and in particular the spectacular bombing of such targets.

Both Azahari and Noordin are Malaysians, although there are Indonesian JI leaders with bomb-making expertise who are also fugitives, and who may be involved in this latest incident.

For the embassy bombing to hit a target of Westerners, it would have to have been timed to coincide with Westerners entering the embassy, either on foot or by car, to achieve maximum impact.

If the gates were closed, as was the case, then it would primarily kill locals, not foreigners, because there are always many Indonesians queued up in front of the embassy. It would also hit Indonesian guards, along with passers-by.

With the Indonesian presidential elections to be held on September 20, the incumbent, Megawati, is likely to lose office, amid widespread disappointment with her performance.

Her opponent, Yudhoyono, led the first-round voting a few months ago, and is seen by many within the country as likely to perform better economically, as well as on security matters.

Voters are keen for change.

Even though Megawati left the Brunei royal family's wedding celebrations to return to Jakarta once news of the bombing broke, it is difficult to see that the bombing will help her chances of being re-elected.

Dr Greg Fealy is a research fellow in Indonesian politics at the Department of Political and Social Change Research, School of Pacific and Asian Studies, at the Australian National University, Canberra.

http://jkt.detik.com/berita-foto/2004/09/images/ACF359E.jpg http://jkt.detik.com/berita-foto/2004/09/images/ACF35A4.jpg

Well, we can only hope that from the carnage and destruction this act might be a catalyst for progress. Maybe no more taking terrorists out to Starbucks for coffee, and maybe no more 10-year sentences for those that actively supported multiple-homocides of innocent civilians.

@GreyX, I just read on the news, its a car. The police trying to rebuilt the car from pieces.

@Alvin. Yup. This bombing will only put JI in more difficult situation. Indonesia get used with this already. Plus, their suicide bomber stock will dry up.

Who ever did this , they are cowards and think they can achieve whatever they want . The only thing they achieve is dead people and no new investors.
Indonesians should now go to the streets and demostrate to let the world know that they condemmed these kind of actions.

I cancelled my trip to go to Jakarta by the end of this months due to these terrorist actions.

I heard this on CNN. Terrorism is spreading worldwide now. The recent new vitctims are Bangladesh and Jakarta.

Terrorist way of thinking: If you don't like Australia's government policy on Iraq, kill innocent Indonesian civilians in Jakarta.


Islamic Group Says Behind Jakarta Bomb

DUBAI (Reuters) - The Jemaah Islamiah group said in a purported Internet statement it carried out Thursday's attack on the Australian embassy in Jakarta, and warned of more unless Australia withdraws forces from Iraq (news - web sites).

"We decided to make Australia pay in Jakarta today when one of the Mujahideen brothers carried out a martyrdom (suicide) operation at the Australian embassy," the Arabic statement from the "al-Jama'a al-Islamiya in East Asia" said, in apparent reference to the Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiah in Indonesia.

It was not immediately possible to verify the claim which appeared in a public web forum which has sometimes carried claims from Islamic groups which turned out to be false.

A powerful car bomb exploded outside the Jakarta embassy on Thursday, killing at least nine people and wounding 182 in an attack Indonesian police said bore the hallmarks of Jemaah Islamiah.

The al Qaeda-linked Islamic network has been blamed for previous blasts in Indonesia such as the Bali bomb attacks in 2002 that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians.

It was also accused of a suicide bomb blast at Jakarta's J.W. Marriott Hotel in August 2003 that killed 12 people.

The group does not usually post statements on Arabic Web sites which have become popular among insurgents fighting U.S. troops and their allies in Iraq over the last year.

"We advise all Australians to get out of Indonesia, or we will make it a grave for them ... and the Australian government to get out of Iraq, and if it doesn't we will direct a number of painful blows," the statement said.

aiyah! :eek: sad thing ah! :no: i hope this can sorta wake up the Indonesian authorities as well as authorities in the Philippines and Malaysia to work together to crack down on J.I once and for all! They pollute minds and cause mayhem.. Jema'ah Islamiyyah: doesnt seem very "Islamiyyah" to me. They are just a new breed of Anarchist: using religion as a cover. they infuriate me more than anything else: they put down their country; they put down their religion; they put down the price of humanity... :no:

My condolences go to Australia and Indonesian victims on this terrible attack in one of ASEAN's shining cities :(

Terrorists are the latest breed ( or inbreed ) of cowards, what a terrorist isto peace is what a paedophile is to society. I am sick of them !

My hearfelt condolences to the victims and their families

btw what is aiyah Lumpia ?.. cos ( aiyah.. or aiyoh ) means 'oh no' or 'oh pity' or simply an exclamation ( usually in a negative way ) in Tamil

Terrorists win if they destroy friendship
September 10, 2004


A hasty, outraged response would be just what the bombers wanted, writes Peter Hartcher.

The purpose of terrorism is to sow fear, anger and confusion, so the responsibility of the national leadership is to strive for calm and rationality at a time when they are not naturally to the fore.

The bombing in Jakarta yesterday was timed and placed to wreak maximum havoc. It was detonated at the centrepoint of multiple converging fissures - in the midst of election campaigns in both countries, and along the fault line of relations between Australia and Indonesia.

To contain the havoc and to defeat the terrorists, the national leadership of both countries needs to attend to three vital agenda items, and first is to look to the essential framework for getting anything done - the state-to-state relations between Australia and Indonesia.

The cumulative effect of repeated terrorist attacks on Australians on Indonesian soil could easily poison relations - Australians grow frustrated at Jakarta's inadequacies while Indonesians become resentful of Australian pressure.

If relations break down, the basis for counter-terrorism collapses. The terrorists win.

Second, within that framework, national leaders need to do a great deal more to assist counter-terrorist operations within Indonesia.

As a leading authority on South-East Asian terrorism, Sidney Jones of the International Crisis Group, points out, "the fact that they can penetrate the heart of the Jakarta business district so close to the last attack, 13 months ago, shows that a lot of work has yet to be done".

Third, national leaders need to be exactly that, and not yield to any temptation to be politicians.

John Howard's reaction yesterday was a model. He was serious but calm, and impeccably bipartisan. Mark Latham, too, was suitably sober and reprimanded a reporter who invited him to comment on the implications for security policy.

This is vital for the national interest. It's also useful politics. When the Spanish Government of Jose-Maria Aznar was seen to be exploiting the Madrid railway bombing, Spain's voters reacted furiously and dumped the government.

"The lesson of Madrid," said a senior Australian official yesterday, "is that you don't know how this will play out and so, if Howard and Latham are wise, they will be very cautious."

The Indonesian leadership faces its own challenges. "This is the least good time" to get a strong, public commitment against terrorism from President Megawati Soekarnoputri and the leading contender to replace her at the September 20 election, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, according to Professor Andrew MacIntyre of the Australian National University.

"It's not easy in the lead-up to an election where both the candidates are accused of being too Western - it's not easy for them to be overt."

This is a likely source of tension. The work of counter-terrorism can draw together countries with divergent interests, as it has brought the US and China closer, for instance. Or it can drive them asunder, as it has with India and Pakistan, or Britain and France.

"There have been so many signals to the Australian public that suggest that there is little or no affinity between Australia and Indonesia," said Professor MacIntyre.

The danger is that Australians come to regard Indonesia as nothing but a dark and dangerous place, and miss the opportunities for co-operation.

"It's important for Australians to know that most Indonesians will consider this attack to be an outrage."
The embassy bombing illuminates the terrorists' limitations - they were unable to penetrate the embassy, unable to kill Australians, unable to hit their true target but killed ordinary Indonesians.

But it also demonstrates that they retain the will to kill civilians indiscriminately and the power to act.

Ms Jones has advice for both countries.

For Indonesia: "The police work has been quite good, but by definition it's about solving past crimes. Indonesia needs a much wider set of activities. Not a single official has gone on TV to explain the problem of terrorism in any way that's understandable to ordinary Indonesians.

"There is a small group of schools - fewer then 20 - where people are engaged in criminal activity, with links to Jemaah Islamiah, where the Government needs to find some way of dealing with them.

"But the Government has been constrained by politics. It doesn't want to offend conservative Muslim constituencies, it doesn't want to look like a lackey of the US and Australia.

"And it's under a lot of pressure from groups that, reasonably enough, don't want the Government taking steps that start to look like a pathway back to authoritarianism."
Indonesia needs to get more active. Australia can provide assistance and impetus.

Ms Jones's advice to Australia: "Keep as low a profile as possible, stick to using your superb forensic expertise to find the perpetrators, and try to keep outrage to a minimum until we know for sure who did it."

It was an excellent start that, as Alexander Downer prepared to fly to Jakarta last night, the heads of the Federal Police, ASIO, and ASIS, as well as forensic experts, also were preparing to make the trip.

Behind the scenes, the Australian Government is making every effort to give maximum assistance and impetus to the Indonesian counter-terrorism effort. And Australian officials reported that Jakarta was being very receptive.

The urge to engage in partisan politics needs to be managed tightly. This might seem self-evident, yet last week we saw the distressing spectacle of the Attorney-General, Phillip Ruddock, calling a press conference to exploit the hostage-taking in Beslan as an opportunity to attack Labor's national security policy.

The urge to indulge in recriminations over Australia's Iraq policy will also need to be controlled. The truth here favours neither side of Australian politics. Invading Iraq certainly did not placate terrorists.

But, as the head of the Lowy Institute for International Policy and former Keating adviser, Alan Gyngell, points out, it wasn't necessary to galvanise them either: "JI has quite enough reasons to want to harm Australian interests. The roots of this obviously predate Iraq."

One point of evidence: the plot to bomb the Australian high commission in Singapore, foiled by the Singapore authorities, long preceded the invasion of Iraq.

Calm, rationality and unity of purpose - the terrorists will hate it.

Religious leaders condemn bombing, call for unity


The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Thursday's bombing at the Australian Embassy, which killed at least seven people, drew strong nationwide condemnation, with many saying the latest terror attack would further tarnish the predominantly Muslim country's image.

Muslim leaders and leaders from different faiths extended their deep condolences to the families and relatives of the dead and the at least 161 wounded victims, while urging the nation to unite to fight and root out terrorism.

"We would urge the police and legal authorities to thoroughly probe the incident and find the bombers, and to punish them severely," Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the nation's largest Muslim organization, said in a press statement.

It asked the United States, Australia, Britain and other countries, which are often targeted by terrorist, to exercise "introspection" as regards the possibility that their global policies could be misplaced.

"Feeling oneself to have an monopoly on truth and power will benefit no one except the terrorists," said the statement signed by acting NU chairman Masdar Farid Mas'udi.

Muhammadiyah, the nation's second biggest Muslim organization, also condemned the latest bombing as "savage and inhuman", saying that any form of violence was strictly against universal and religious values.

In a press released signed by Muhammadiyah chairman Ahmad Syafii Maarif, the organization demanded that the security authorities intensify measures to combat terrorism.

The bombers should be captured and punished to the maximum extent of the law, Muhammadiyah added, while extending its condolences to the victims.

It also appealed to all members of the community to join forces to crush the terrorists whose aim was to destroy the Muslim-majority nation.

Also condemning the blast was the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), which has been campaigning for the implementation of Islamic sharia law in Indonesia.

"We strongly condemn the latest bomb explosion ... which has shattered Indonesia's international image and offended against its sovereignty," said a press statement signed by PKS chairman Hidayat Nurwahid.

The PKS warned, however, against the linking the bombing with any religion "as all religions forbid and condemn such acts of terror".

The hard-line Hizbut Tahrir group voiced a similar warning to the PKS, calling on the authorities to be careful in responding to speculation that linked the incident with any particular Islamic organization or movement.

Hizbut Tahrir's Muhammad Ismail Yusanto said the huge explosion could have been perpetrated by groups wanting to destabilize the country and discredit Islam for their own political ends.

Australia and other countries quickly blamed the incident on the regional Jamaah Islamiyah terror network, which has also been accused of masterminding the bombings in Bali and at the JW Marriott Hotel.

The police should immediately uncover the motives behind the incident, and the government do its utmost to ensure peace and security for its citizens by taking resolute action against the bombers, Hizbut Tahrir said.

"This bombing is extraordinarily evil. Islamic sharia strictly bans Muslims from killing others whatever the reasons may be, from damaging private and public property, and from spreading fear and terror," Ismail was quoted by Antara as saying.

The Christian-orientated Prosperous Peace Party (PDS) voiced a similar condemnation, and said that the blast showed the terrorist threat still persisted in Indonesia.

"Therefore, the government and security authorities must strengthen the war on terrorism," the PDS said in a statement.

The party said the bombing would further worsen Indonesia's image around the world.

The Indonesian Confucian Assembly (Matakin) joined the chorus of nationwide condemnation of the bloodthirsty bombing.

"We appeal to those committing evil acts to desist and not to repeat their sinful deeds. Let's overcome all our problems with open hearts and sincerity without causing innocent people to suffer," it said in a press release.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian Muslim Students Association (HMI) condemned the government and the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) for failing to protect the public as evidenced by the death and suffering that had resulted from the bombing.

All elements in society should avoid worsening the situation by refraining from availing of the tragedy to further their political interests, it added.

'I can't bear the pain,' father says


Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

"Eva, I'm sorry! My beloved sister! I'm so sorry ..." cried Kristina Emi Widati, 37, upon seeing her younger sister's body at Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital (RSCM) morgue.

She then grabbed a photograph of a five-year-old girl in a Balinese dancer costume.

"Look! It's my niece, her daughter. She's beautiful, isn't she? Look!" she says, showing the photo to a group of reporters. "She's in a coma, please pray for her."

Maria Eva Kumalawati, 27, was one of at least seven fatalities in the bombing outside the Australian Embassy on Jl. HR Rasuna Said, Kuningan, South Jakarta, on Thursday at 10:30 a.m. It was the third major explosion in the country within two years after last year's Marriott bombing, also in Kuningan, and the 2002 Bali bombing.

Eva had been taking her daughter Elisabeth Manuela Bambina Musu, 5, to the Australian Embassy to apply for a visa. She died at the scene, her body covered in burns, while Manuela is in a critical condition at the Metropolitan Medical Center (MMC) Hospital. Eva's body was taken to Emi's house in Curug, Tangerang.

Eva's brother, Ari Nugroho, said Eva's husband, Manuel Musu, was in Italy. They had contacted him and bought a ticket for the earliest flight to Jakarta.

Other victims were Suryadi, a 46-year-old gardener at the embassy; Mukopir, 45, a mechanic with PT Perusahaan Pembangunan state developer; Asep Saefuddin, 32, a surveyor with BII Financial Center; Anton Sujarwo, a security guard at the embassy; and Rini Dewi Puspita, 23, a student of Perbanas banking school.

One hundred and 61 others, including police officers deployed to guard the embassy, were injured and treated at different hospitals. Most of them suffered wounds from flying glass.

The fatalities all had something in common: they were innocent victims who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The situation at RSCM morgue, where the bodies were laid out before being claimed by family, was filled with the cries of grieving families and friends.

No government officials, politicians or top officials visited the morgue.

Suryadi had just arrived at the embassy for his 11 a.m. shift while Anton had been at his post at the embassy. They were both killed instantly.

"Suryadi's wife and his seven-year-old son, Febri, are waiting for his body to be taken home. They don't have the heart to come here," Junaidi, Suryadi's brother, said.

Mukopir had been taking a rest with other workers at a construction site near the embassy. His friends claimed he died of shock as no wounds were to be found on his body.

Asep had been riding his green Kawasaki motorcycle past the embassy on his way to meet a client at the Great River Plaza on the same street as the embassy.

Asep's father Masturi had been checking for news of his son at several hospitals since 2 p.m.

"Let my sons (Asep's brothers) identify him. I can't bear the pain," Masturi said. However, he later went along for the identification and his tears confirmed that he had lost a son.

As night fell, hearses transported the bodies of victims, except Anton's and Rini's, to their families' homes.

Who ever did this , they are cowards and think they can achieve whatever they want . The only thing they achieve is dead people and no new investors.
Indonesians should now go to the streets and demostrate to let the world know that they condemmed these kind of actions.

I cancelled my trip to go to Jakarta by the end of this months due to these terrorist actions.

I agree 1000%... I have cancelled my trips to Jakarta..and vacation trips to Bali and other destinations and people in my office and other branch offices have also cancelled their trips..we are minimizing our office in Jakarta and considering closing it completely.

Reactions to Embassy Bombing
September 10, 2004 11:12 AM,

Laksamana.Net - Indonesian and world leaders swiftly condemned Thursday’s (9/9/04) deadly bomb blast outside the Australian Embassy in Jakarta, saying it would only strengthen their resolve to overcome terrorism.

President Megawati Sukarnoputri called on the public to be firmly united in combating terrorism. She also conveyed her condolences to the relatives of those killed in the attack.

She visited the site of the bombing on Jalan Rasuna Said in Kuningan, South Jakarta, after cutting short a visit to Brunei, where she was to have attended the wedding of Crown Prince al-Muhtadee Billah Bolkiah (30) and Sarah Pengiran Salleh (17).

Megawati and her businessman husband Taufik Kiemas also visited the MMC Hospital on the same street as the embassy to see a number of blast victims being treated.

The president promised to hunt down and arrest the perpetrators of the bombing. She urged the public to remain calm, saying the motive of the bombing might have been to disrupt the September 20 run-off presidential election.

"I expect all the Indonesian people to stay calm and not panic," she was quoted as saying by detikcom online news portal.

Foreign Minister
Foreign Affairs Minister Hassan Wirajuda said the bomb blast would not damage bilateral ties between Indonesia and Australia, adding the two nations would continue to work together to combat terrorism.

"We contacted the Australian government, both through the embassy and direct contact to Canberra, as soon as we heard about the explosion," he was quoted as saying by state news agency Antara.

He praised the Australian government for its quick offer to help Indonesia after the blast. "We appreciate the Australian assistance.”

Wirajuda said Indonesia had received expressions of sympathy and condolences from at least 15 countries.

A press release issued by the Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the terrorist bombing and implied it was perpetrated by regional terrorism network Jemaah Islamiyah.

“The modality of this morning’s attack resembles the method used by the terrorists at the Bali bombing (12 October 2002) and the Marriott bombing (5 August 2003). Therefore, there is strong suspicion that the same group is behind the attack this morning,” it said.

“The government of Indonesia expresses its deepest condolences and sympathy to the bereaved families of the victims and is determined to bring all the perpetrators of this cruel and wicked crime to justice,” it added.

“While the Australian Embassy was the likely target, there can be no doubt that the bombing represented an attack to all civilized nations. In this connection, the Indonesian and Australian governments are determined to build on the existing long-standing cooperation in their common resolve to combat international terrorism,” said the statement.

“Indonesia and Australia have developed a strong basis and structure for mutually beneficial bilateral relations to the effect that the terrorist bombing at Rasuna Said Street, South Jakarta, will not affect their constructive and cooperative bilateral relations.”

Hamzah Haz
Vice President Hamzah Haz, who only two years ago had insisted there no terrorists in Indonesia, said Thursday’s bombers came from a domestic group seeking to disrupt the nation’s social, political and economic situation – and especially security in the run-up to the second round of the presidential election.

"Terrorism is obviously still taking place in Indonesia," he said, adding that police had stated the blast was likely perpetrated by Jemaah Islamiyah’s fugitive bomb maker Azahari Husin.

“This was from a local circle that is obviously unhappy with Indonesia’s safe situation,” he said.

Haz said the incident should not be seen as politically motivated, but instead as an effort to attack and damage Indonesia.

Meanwhile, various domestic Muslim groups said the Indonesian and Australian governments should not be too hasty in blaming Jemaah Islamiyah for the bombing.

Howard
Australian Prime Minister John Howard said his country would not be intimidated by the blast outside its embassy.

He declined to comment directly when asked whether the bombing was a response to Australia's involvement in Iraq.

"I don't want to get into that sort of thing except to say that this country will never have its position on issues like that dictated by terrorism, and the day any country surrenders decisions on those things to the dictates of barbarism and terrorism is the day a country loses control over its future," he told Channel Seven News.

Nor would Howard speculate whether the timing was related to Australia’s October 9 federal election. But he said Australia was "a robust democracy and the process of political debate and exchange will continue".

At a press conference in Melbourne, Howard said he might call a meeting of the national security committee his cabinet, as this was not ruled out by his government being in election caretaker mode.

Asked whether the blast may have any influence on his re-election campaign, Howard said: "Look, I haven't the faintest idea, that is not my concern. It might be yours, but it's not mine."

He expressed dismay over the bombing but said he was grateful that no Australians had been killed. “I can only, of course, express my utter dismay at this event. I am grateful that the indication to date indicates that no Australian personnel have been killed, none of our direct employees have been killed or seriously injured but that is small comfort to the number of Indonesians who have lost their life in this outrage and those who have been injured,” he said.


He further said about A$1.25 million spent on enhancing security at the embassy compound over the past year may have proved decisive in saving many lives. “It would appear, on the information I have to date, that the security reinforcements, the strengthening of the security perimeter of the building, could well have saved the lives of our staff. I’m told that every window in the front part of the building has been blown out.”

Howard said there would be “maximum cooperation” between the Australian Federal Police and Indonesian authorities to ensure that everything is done to track down those responsible.

He declined to speculate on the possible identity of the perpetrators. “I don’t know the people responsible, it’s too early to even speculate about that, but there has been a significant loss of life. I am, as I say, grateful that the information to date indicates that no Australians have been killed or seriously injured. But, I repeat again, that is of no comfort to the poor Indonesians who’ve been killed and their families who have lost.”

He also declined to criticize Indonesia when asked whether it was doing enough to stamp out terrorism. “I don’t want to jump to any unfair conclusions about the Indonesians, they have a difficult task. Obviously terrorism is a big challenge in that country and you have to see the context of terrorism in Indonesia separately from the potential terrorist threat to Australia. But equally we are reminded every time something like this happens, and when it happens nearer to home, the reminder is more emphatic that we cannot take anything for granted in this country. But I have at this moment, as I speak, no advice that would cause us to revise upward the security risk in Australia.”

Howard said Australia was sending seven bomb experts to Jakarta to assist with investigations, as well as a senior medical officer and a staff counselor.
Also bound for Jakarta were Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, opposition foreign spokesman Kevin Rudd, Australian Federal Police commissioner Mick Keelty, and Australian Security Intelligence Organization director general Dennis Richardson.

Downer
Downer said the blast was a terrorist attack directed at Australia. “It would appear to us that this was aimed at the Australian Embassy, there’s no question of that I suspect. It’s hard to believe that any of the other buildings around there could have been of any particular interest,” he told reporters in Adelaide.

Like Howard, he declined to speculate on the identity of the perpetrators but said it was reasonable to suspect Jemaah Islamiyah network was involved.

“Obviously at this stage, we don't know who was responsible for the explosion. It could take a bit of time to establish that as is often the case. Naturally enough, our suspicions turn to Jemaah Islamiyah. We had some advice a few days ago… of a possible terrorist attack in Jakarta focusing on western-style hotels and we changed our travel advisory to take that into account. But we didn't have any information of a specific attack on the Australian Embassy at this time, though there have been, over a long period of time, concerns that this could happen,” he said.

“It's the view of the Indonesian National Police that this bombing had all the hallmarks of a Jemaah Islamiyah operation," he added.

Prior to departing for Jakarta, Downer it was believed that 11 Indonesians were killed in the bombing: one guard at the embassy, four Indonesian police and the rest civilians.

Keelty said Australian Federal Police bomb experts and post-blast analysts being flown to Jakarta would help to examine evidence. "Obviously we know from the Bali Bombing and the Marriott bombing that early evidence, once it's secured, provides the best evidence,” he said.

"It is a car bomb; it's not confirmed at this stage whether it was a suicide bomb," he added.

Meanwhile the Australian Embassy said it would allow its staff and their families to return to Australia for security reasons. The embassy will be closed indefinitely and normal operations have been suspended.

Greek Embassy Damaged
The Greek Foreign Ministry condemned Thursday’s bombing as a "cowardly terrorist attack" and called for "exemplary punishment" of the perpetrators.

Greek’s own Jakarta embassy, on the 14th floor of a building close to the Australian Embassy, was “extensively damaged” by the blast and three of its staff were injured by flying glass but their lives "were in no danger". The injured were identified as a Greek female diplomatic employee and two Indonesian guards.

Greek Ambassador Alexios Christopoulos said the embassy would remain closed for a week.

New Zealand Appalled
New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said she was appalled at the bomb blast. "I have spoken with Australian Prime Minister John Howard to convey New Zealand's deep concern at the attack," she said in a statement.

The New Zealand Embassy, located about a kilometer from the scene of the blast, was rattled by the explosion but all of its staff were safe.

Clark said her government’s travel advice had for some time advised travelers of the high risk to Western interests in Jakarta. “Terrorist groups are active in Indonesia and bombings could occur at any time. Jakarta is specifically mentioned as having been the target of bombings in recent years. New Zealanders are urged to observe a high level of security awareness in public places in Indonesia,” she said.

“Our thoughts tonight are first and foremost with those who have been caught up in this tragedy, their families and friends, and with the people of Australia and Indonesia,” she added.

“The New Zealand government condemns all acts of terrorism and will continue to work with the international community to counter such deliberate and cold-blooded attacks.”

Thailand Condemns Attack
Thailand condemned the bombing and said it was taking precautions to prevent a similar attack inside its own land, where scores of people have been killed this year during violence between security forces and separatist insurgents.

"We condemn such acts of terrorism. We are always very vigilant during the present circumstances. The authorities are taking every precaution and will be very vigilant,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Sihasak Phuangketkeow was quoted as saying by Agence France-Presse.

Australia has reportedly asked for further security at its embassy in Bangkok, including more checkpoints to search cars near the compound.

Dutch Embassy Closed
The Dutch Embassy in Jakarta, located down the street from the Australian Embassy, was temporarily closed as a precautionary measure after Thursday’s blast.

Staff held a crisis meeting and the embassy called on all Dutch people in Indonesia to place the highest priority on their personal security and to follow the security advice in its latest bulletin, Expatica News reported.

It advised Dutch people to avoid "as much as possible" places like shopping centers, bars and cinemas that are frequented by "Western foreigners. "And in particular avoid hotels and other places which can easily be associated with US interests."

Offices of the Dutch Rabobank, located in the same building as the Greek Embassy, were damaged by the blast.

Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot expressed "dismay and outrage" over the attack and offered condolences to victims' relatives and the Indonesian and Australian governments and people.

Bot, whose country currently holds the European Union’s rotating presidency, said the EU “fully and unconditionally rejects all forms of terrorism".

He expressed confidence “that Indonesia would not spare any effort in finding and bringing to justice the perpetrators of this attack".

The minister also "underlined the EU’s willingness to further strengthen its cooperation with the Indonesian and Australian authorities in the fight against terrorism".

Philippines Condemns Blast
The Philippine government condemned the car bombing and expressed support for Indonesia’s efforts to combat terrorism.

"We condemn this act of violence and there is no justification to this attack against innocent civilians," Philippine press secretary/presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye was quoted as saying by Xinhuanet.

Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo also condemned the bombing, describing it as “a despicable act against humanity and freedom”.

“I condemn the perpetrators of this terrorist act. The Philippine government and people are one with the Indonesian government and people in mourning the victims of this recent bombing and in their effort to combat terrorism," he added.

Romulo said the incident "will only further strengthen the Philippines' commitment and determination to fight all forms of terrorism."

Police in the Philippines have been placed on full alert and ordered to be extra vigilant against possible terror acts on the third anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the US.

"With the development in Jakarta, we'll have to take extra precautionary measures to make sure that no similar incident takes place here on the anniversary of the 9/11," said Bunye.

China Shocked
China described the bombing as shocking and said at least four of its citizens were among the injured in the attack.

"The scale of this incident and the number of casualties involved are very shocking to us," Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan was quoted as saying by AFP.

"Four Chinese workers were taken to the hospital where they were treated. Our embassy staff have visited them in the hospital. We are following the incident very closely," he added.

Britain Says Bombers Ruthless
The British government condemned the bombing, saying it was “a further demonstration that terrorists were prepared to use indiscriminate violence and show a complete disrespect for human life”.

“Our condolences were with the governments of Australia and Indonesia, as well as with the families of those who had been killed,” Prime Minister Tony Blair’s spokesman said in a statement.

Separately, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said he had contacted both the Australian and Indonesian governments to pass on sympathy and condolences over the “ruthless” attack. "Such acts will only strengthen the determination of the international community to work together to fight the scourge of international terrorism," he added.

Europe
French Foreign Ministry spokesman Herve Ladsous said his country "strongly condemns the attack which struck Indonesia".

He said Foreign Minister Michel Barnier had extended a message of condolences to his Indonesian and Australian counterparts and recalled "our joint determination to combat terrorism and to that end, press on with cooperation efforts”.

German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer expressed "shock and indignation" over the attack, which he "strongly condemned" while expressing his sympathy to relatives of the victims.

Spanish Prime Minister Luis Rodriguez Zapatero denounced the bombing, as well as rising violence in the Middle East and recent abductions in Iraq.

European Union foreign policy head Javier Solana also condemned the attack and expressed solidarity with Indonesia and Australia. "There can be no justification for such an attack. Yet again, the innocent have suffered at the hands of terrorists," he said.

"I condemn those who were behind it, and hope they will be brought swiftly to justice... The European Union will continue to work with the rest of the international community to combat the scourge of terrorism," he added.

European Commission chief Romano Prodi also condemned the blast and sent his condolences to the victims.

I agree 1000%... I have cancelled my trips to Jakarta..and vacation trips to Bali and other destinations and people in my office and other branch offices have also cancelled their trips..we are minimizing our office in Jakarta and considering closing it completely.

This way you are down with the terrorist....cancelling trips, closing branch? did you know if those just might hurt the ordinary Indonesians that are now suffering from the bombing and needed economic progress? Okay, Let see, how if that happened to your country and suffering from this evil act, will the situation even getting worse or better? by pulling out means you fear that terrorist will kill you. Yet, if you are moving somewhere else, will that guarantee you to be safe? Maybe the risk is less imminent but I dont think so..

Even the Security intelligent official for businessman on the CNBC interview said they will advise their business partner to stay in Indonesia and doing business as normal, because this kind of thing are common in Indonesia and they already evaluated the risk before the bombing happened yesterday.

As for result, Jakarta stock exchange up 1,9% today and most buyers? foreign investors.

I am dissapointed if some people cancelling their trips and business as a result of yesterday bombing...but what can i say...

cheers

FUCK TERRORISTS

If they are Indonesians, in my eye, they are traitors.

I am dissapointed if some people cancelling their trips and business as a result of yesterday bombing...but what can i say...

cheers

By its nature, our business requires senior foreign employees to work in the locality...try convincing people (especially with young families) to stay and live in a city where they might be a target of intentional violent assault and possible death!! BE REAL!! WAKE UP AND LIVE IN THE REAL WORLD :mad2: nowhere is 100% safe, but we cannot ask our employees to live in constant fear---nor will they agree!!!

dont blame us!! get your own damn house in order first!!

What a bunch of cowards people are. I am real and live in a real world, and I've done what your employees are apparently scared to do; this even considering the fact that I myself am a coward.

On the other hand, Indonesia must accept the fact that if they are unable to deal with militant Islam within its borders there will be consequences. No American airlines were complaining about people cancelling their trips after 9/11, even after many were forced into bankruptcy. Don't rely on the individual people of this planet to fill your shortcomings. Either deal with it or go broke. That's the rule of the modern world.


In other news, I wonder if the Indonesian police will mock this warning as they did the last one. Oh wait, they already have.


Indonesia 'may face new attack'

Australia's Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty says a second cell of militants may be active in Indonesia and could be poised for another attack.
The warning comes a day after an attack on the Australian embassy in Jakarta that killed at least nine people.

Mr Keelty said the two cells were believed to have been recruited by militant leaders wanted in connection with the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings.

He was speaking in an Australian Broadcasting Corporation interview.

Mr Keelty, who was accompanying Australia's Foreign Minister Alexander Downer on a trip to Jakarta, made his comments shortly before boarding a plane to return to Australia.

"There is intelligence about a second group," he said. "It's uncorroborated, but you can't discount any intelligence that you get at this point in time."

Earlier, Mr Downer pledged to act against the perpetrators of Thursday's "cruel and callous" bomb attack, in which more than 180 people were injured.

"Our officials will do everything they can to help the Indonesians hunt down the people responsible for this brutality," he said.

Warning denied

Indonesian police say one or more militants may have died in what they believe was a suicide attack using a mini-van.

Police said the attack bore the hallmark of Jemaah Islamiah, the militant Islamist group accused of a series of attacks, including the bombing of two nightclubs on the Indonesian holiday island of Bali in October 2002.

Mr Downer told a news conference that police may have received a text message shortly before the embassy blast. The warning is said to have demanded the release from of Islamic cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir who is being held on suspicion of involvement in terrorism.

But Indonesian police denied they had received such a warning.

Ba'asyir, who is currently in police detention, is accused of being JI's spiritual leader.

The embassy attack has prompted fears that militants could be trying to influence the outcome of Australia's general election on 9 October.

Prime Minister John Howard reacted by saying the country would not be "intimidated by acts of terrorism".

Terrorism and the conflict in Iraq are key issues in what is expected to be a tight race between Mr Howard - who is seeking a fourth term - and the Labor Party leader Mark Latham.

If he wins, Mr Latham has pledged to withdraw Australian troops from Iraq.

The blast is also likely to overshadow Indonesia's presidential election on 20 September. Incumbent Megawati Sukarnoputri and challenger Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono have both visited the scene of the attack.

What a bunch of cowards people are. I am real and live in a real world, and I've done what your employees are apparently scared to do; this even considering the fact that I myself am a coward.


Cowards for not chosing to live in those circumstances, when there are offers of employment and business opportunities (much more yielding, by the way) around the world??!! I THINK NOT.... just smart.... I think people who throw around words like "coward" when they know nothing about the circumstances are IDIOTS!!

Mmmm... I think this thread is going to be a flame..

I shouldn't have used the word coward, and I'm sorry for that. However, I do know the circumstances probably better than you do. I worked in Saudi Arabia and they've had many more foreign businesspeople targetted and killed than in Indonesia. Man is appointed once unto death, but then judgment. Well, I guess you are right, I don't know the circumstances because I was never afraid to die. I haven't seen expatriate workers targetted in Indonesia anyway. Only a hotel, and embassy, and a tourist destination. Anyway, I don't really know enough about the entire history of terrorism in Indonesia to speak.

I shouldn't have used the word coward, and I'm sorry for that. However, I do know the circumstances probably better than you do. I worked in Saudi Arabia and they've had many more foreign businesspeople targetted and killed than in Indonesia. Man is appointed once unto death, but then judgment. Well, I guess you are right, I don't know the circumstances because I was never afraid to die. I haven't seen expatriate workers targetted in Indonesia anyway. Only a hotel, and embassy, and a tourist destination. Anyway, I don't really know enough about the entire history of terrorism in Indonesia to speak.

I have nothing further to say on this..the circumstances and results will speak for themselves...

News in Indonesian:

Australia Nyatakan Terima Kasih

Jakarta, CyberNews.
Pemerintah dan rakyat Australia menyampaikan terima kasih kepada Indonesia karena membantu dan melindungi warganya sehingga tidak ada yang menjadi korban tewas dalam ledakan bom Kamis (9/9) pagi di depan Kedubes Australia, Kuningan, Jakarta Selatan.
Pernyataan terima kasih itu disampaikan Menteri Luar Negeri Australia, Alexander Downer dan Menlu Bayangan, Kevin Ruud, dalam jumpa pers bersama Menlu Hassan Wirajuda di Gedung Pancasila-Deplu, Jumat siang.

Menlu Downer menganggap positif tanggapan yang diberikan Indonesia terhadap tawaran kerjasama untuk mengungkap kasus pemboman tersebut.

"Pemerintan Australia sangat menghargai kerjasama yang ditunjukkan pemerintah Indonesia, dan kesediaan Indonesia untuk bekerja sama dengan kepolisian dan intelijen Australia untuk meyakinkan para pelaku mendapat hukuman," kata Downer.

Sejalan dengan pernyataan serupa yang telah diberikan Downer, Kevin Ruud mengatakan Australia sangat menghargai pengorbanan nyawa dari penjaga keamanan kedubes mereka yang warga negara Indonesia, yang menjadi salah satu korban tewas dalam peristiwa ledakan itu.

Penghargaan tersebut, menurut dia, bahkan terlihat dari reaksi rakyat Australia setelah mengetahui bahwa berkat dedikasi petugas keamanan Indonesia, tidak ada warga negeri tersebut yang menjadi korban jiwa.

"Di Australia, puluhan ribu orang tahu bahwa warga Indonesia yang berdedikasi melindungi gedung kedutaan (Australia) kehilangan nyawa. Di Australia berkembang rasa terima kasih untuk itu," kata Ruud.

Ruud menyatakan kembali posisi Australia bahwa terorisme adalah musuh bersama bagi kedua negara, karena kendati terjadi di Indonesia, serangan tersebut ditargetkan bagi kepentingan Australia.

Sementara itu, Menlu Hassan Wirajuda pada kesempatan yang sama mengatakan Indonesia-Australia terus melakukan kontak dan hubungan komunikasi yang dibuka selama 24 jam sejak ledakan terjadi pada hari Kamis pukul 10:30 WIB itu.

Ia dan Downer langsung melakukan kontak satu sama lain beberapa menit setelah ledakan tersebut, sementara Presiden Megawati Soekarnoputri dan Perdana Menteri John Howard juga telah mengadakan pembicaraan per telepon pada Kamis sore.

Deplu sendiri, menurut juru bicaranya, Yuri Octavian Thamrin, telah membentuk satuan tugas yang beroperasi 24 jam untuk mengumpulkan dan memberikan layanan informasi kepada berbagai pihak tentang perkembangan berbagai hal menyangkut insiden ledakan di depan Kedubes Australia.

Sementara itu, Downer, yang tiba dari Australia pada Kamis malam, menurut Juru Bicara Kedubes Australia, Elizabeth O'Neill, dijadwalkan akan meninggalkan Jakarta dan kembali ke negerinya pada Jumat pukul 21:00 WIB.

Defiant expatriates 'will stay on'
By Catharine Munro in Jakarta, Michael Evans and James Chessell
September 11, 2004

Penny Robertson finds it hard to recall how many times she has closed her Australian International School in Jakarta because of security threats.

Since the riots of May 1998 surrounding the fall of the Indonesian dictator President Soeharto, there had been about six shutdowns, she guessed.

But compared with other scares, including a grenade thrown over the Jakarta campus fence, Thursday's bombing of the Australian embassy was one "close to home", she said. "It's pretty scary, and the fact that there could be another attack is not nice," Ms Robertson said. "I think it's a tremendous shame for Indonesia. I feel incredibly disappointed to see it [the violence] actually happening."

Her 450 students, spread across campuses in Jakarta and Bali, were staying away from school indefinitely. That decision would be reviewed on Monday, Ms Robertson said. However, she was unaware of any evacuations by expatriates.

An Australian aid worker, Ewa Wojkwska, said foreign residents who lived through the bombing of the Marriott Hotel, on August 5 last year, had thought "not again" when they felt the explosion shake inner Jakarta.


"I feel a strange sense of violation, even though it doesn't affect me directly," said Ms Wojkwska, who works for the United Nations and lives a five-minute walk away from the Australian embassy.

On Thursday night she stayed at a friend's place instead of facing the mayhem near the bomb site. "I didn't want to be alone, I didn't want to go past the carnage and I didn't want to face the chaos."

She is determined not to leave Indonesia because of the attack.

Australian companies are also expected to stay in Indonesia.
The president of the Australia Indonesia Business Council, Eric de Haas, said that "most of our members are very committed to doing business in Indonesia". About 400 Australian companies operate there and have invested about $2 billion.

Santos, Novus Petroleum and Newcrest Mining all have operations in Indonesia. Rio Tinto has 4 per cent of its total worldwide assets in Indonesian coal, copper and gold mines, while Coca-Cola Amatil is one of a number of Australian companies with operations in Indonesia.

"Indonesia has been a difficult operating environment for some time but we take appropriate measures to protect our staff," said an Amatil spokesman, Alec Wagstaff.

The council's chairman, Peter Fanning, was critical of the Australian embassy for holding its annual ball at the site one week earlier. The venue was changed from the Marriott Hotel after warnings that an attack on an international target was imminent.

"I couldn't believe it. We didn't know that the embassy was a target, but the drover's dog knows that Australians going to the embassy are going to become a double target," he said.

Isolation from our closest neighbour tracks decline
September 11, 2004

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We're not getting to know the neighbours.

More than half of Australians aged 13 or 14 could not find Indonesia on a map, and less than a quarter knew Indonesia was a majority Muslim nation, according to a recent national study.

Yet almost a third of Australians believe Indonesia is "very likely" to pose a security threat.

Thursday's bomb blast outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta will reinforce this. Fear and ignorance are a dangerous mix, especially in an often fraught relationship between neighbours.

In the 1960s, it was standing room only in Sydney University's lecture theatres for new Indonesian language courses.

In 1989, the Ingelson report into higher education envisaged 20 per cent of university students would study some aspect of Asia by 2000. Ten per cent would study an Asian language. Successive governments enthusiastically concurred.

Yet by 2002, the percentages were only five and three, respectively.

Leading the stampede from regional engagement is Australia's new-found lack of interest in, or open suspicion of, our nearest and most strategically important neighbour, Indonesia.


During decades of authoritarian rule under President Soeharto, with its human rights horrors, Indonesian studies held their own and Australia developed a cohort of globally pre-eminent Indonesian experts.

It took the stagnation of the Indonesian economy in the late 1990s, the carnage in East Timor and the Bali bombings of 2002 and subsequent terrorist attacks for Australians to turn their backs.

But engaging with Indonesia is so clearly in Australia's national interest, in good times and bad.

It takes a decade, at least, to build the kind of specialist language skills needed to study radical Islam and terrorist networks, as well as to work effectively in diplomacy, security co-operation and commerce.

A broader understanding of Indonesia, at the community level of school courses, could go a long way to defusing the suspicions that terrorism, understandably, has stoked.

Australians need to know the overwhelming majority of Indonesian Muslims are committed moderates who fear and abhor violence done in the name of Islam.

Australians also need to understand that hundreds of Indonesians have died in terrorist attacks. The anti-terrorism struggle is not Australia's alone, it is a common cause.

Australians may be reminded, too, that in successful national elections this year, Indonesians overwhelmingly voted against Islamic political parties in favour of parties committed to religious tolerance.

Indonesia's transition to democracy will reach another historic milestone later this month with the naming of the nation's first directly elected president.

Undoubtedly, Indonesia will continue to face myriad problems, none more urgent than security. But recent political developments augur well for Indonesia's relationship with Australia.

The most immediate cause of the sharp decline in Indonesian studies is fear, particularly among parents.

Japanese and Chinese language studies are faring better, helped by positive views of North-East Asia's economic success.

Yet this is only part of the picture. Something fundamental has changed in schools and universities.

In 2002, the Federal Government discontinued special funding for Asian languages in schools.

The collapse in high school Indonesian-language enrolments is flowing on to universities, where numbers are down by as much as 75 per cent.

But education, and the crucial skills base it produces, is far too important to be left to the short-sighted whims of market demand.
This means a political decision must be made to identify and subsidise core national interest studies.

Many of Australia's leading Indonesian specialists began their careers four decades ago and are now facing retirement.

Without intervention, Australia will lose its advanced linguistic skills base altogether within five to 10 years.

Geography dictates that Indonesia will always sit only 500 kilometres to Australia's north.

More specific funding recommendations from the exhaustive Senate inquiry into Australia's relationship with Indonesia have been on the table in Canberra since May.

Now seems a very good time to dust them off.

Louise Williams is a Herald editorial writer and a former correspondent based in Jakarta, Bangkok and Manila.

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"Terrorism is the enemy of the nation"

Bad news for Indonesia :(

This is such a sad news for Indonesia.

But I think the Indonesians will recover quickly as they are so used to this already.

I just hope more arrests and convictions will follow.

Friends Indonesia doesn’t need —Farish A Noor

All in all, the attack on the Australian embassy was a sordid, despicable incident which will be misrepresented to suit the interests of the powers that be. If Azahari Husin and JI leaders were indeed involved, they are short-sighted pawns who have been used to further other people’s interests

The bombing of the Australian embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, has dealt yet another blow to a country already struggling to recover from the economic and financial crises of 1997-98 and the aftermath of the Bali bombings a couple of years ago. Just when Indonesia seemed to be on the verge of making the transition to a working democracy, it has received the unsolicited attention of the friends it doesn’t need.

Thus far all fingers seem to be pointing to the mysterious Jama’ah Islamiyah network, which is said to span the entire Southeast Asia with most of its members coming from Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. While it is still too early to arrive at any conclusions, some observations can be made:

If the bombing was indeed the work of the JI, some questions need to be raised about the mindset of its members. What do they intend to accomplish and what do they expect the final outcome to be. Thus far, from what little we know, it would appear that the JI believes that Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the other countries of ASEAN should come together as a greater Islamic state that governs by Islamic law and promotes and defends Muslim interests. They are, it is alleged, willing to do anything to further this objective and think nothing of the risks — including worsening economic, political and diplomatic relations with other states.

Also, if this should be the case, one needs to answer a host of other questions. What about the will and desires of the rest of the Indonesian population? Even as most Indonesians strongly oppose Australian government’s cavalier approach to regional politics and acceptance of a role as America’s ‘sheriff’ in Asia, they’d rather express their opposition to Australian foreign policy in a very different way. And millions of Southeast Asians certainly do not want to live in a pan-ASEAN caliphate ruled by leaders picked by the JI.

Azahari Husin and Noordin Mohammad Top have been named as suspected masterminds behind the Australian embassy bombing as well as a similar attack on Marriott Hotel. What can Azhari, an academic (allegedly turned bomb-maker) having a working knowledge of global politics, expect from such actions. These actions obviously do little to improve Indonesia’s international standing and image. If anything, it has made the political and economic situation worse. With friends like these, who need enemies?

To compound an already rotten situation, the attacks on the Marriott Hotel and now the Australian embassy have merely strengthened the hand of the US and Australia vis a vis Jakarta and the Indonesian state. The Bali bomb attacks had helped Australian government milk the sympathy for the deaths of Australian tourists. While it cannot be denied that the Australians who died there were innocent civilians, one must note that Indonesians themselves were the primary victims. Besides human losses, local economy has suffered enormously. The Bali bombings also pushed Jakarta closer and deeper into the clutches of the American and Australian governments, who used the incident to pile even more pressure for tighter security regulations in the country. The net result has been more repressive and anti-democratic laws in the name of anti-terrorism and public safety. If JI members thought that their attack was a blow against the ‘evil West’, they should think again. It was an own-goal by any standards.

The latest attack against the Australian embassy in Jakarta has given the Australian government yet another stick to beat the Indonesians with. In the weeks to come, as Indonesia moves towards its presidential elections and the temperature is set to rise yet again, the Australians will undoubtedly apply more pressure on Indonesia to work against what they see as extremist groups.

Besides diminishing and belittling Indonesia’s image abroad, the terrorism has allowed the Australians to ride the moral high horse and once again play the ‘sheriff’ in Asia. Worse, it has allowed the Australian government to preach from a lofty height while conveniently forgetting the role it played as America’s ally in the region during the Cold War and as a tacit supporter of the Suharto regime.

The Australian government has become yet another unwanted friend of Indonesia, advising Indonesians on how to deal with their ‘terrorist problem’. But can we forget the role played by Edward Gough Whitlam, the former Australian prime minister, and Richard Woolcot, the former Australian ambassador to Indonesia, during the invasion of East Timor in 1974. It was they, along with former US president, Gerald Ford, and former US secretary of state, Henry Kissinger, who stood by and did nothing when President Suharto — along with military leaders like General Wiranto and General Benny Moerdani — planned and led the invasion of East Timor that led to the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives. Where were the USA and Australia when Suharto and his generals unleashed a regime of state-sanctioned terror on the people of East Timor? Or do actrocities count for ‘terror’ only when Europeans are the victims?

All in all, the attack on the Australian embassy was a sordid, despicable incident which will be twisted and misrepresented to suit the interests of the powers that be. If Azahari Husin and JI leaders were indeed involved, they are short sighted pawns who have been used to further other people’s interests. The killing of any innocent civilian is haram (forbidden) in Islam. When such killings end up being exploited to further weaken the country one hopes to serve, all that can be said is that they are not just shameful, but also counter-productive and downright stupid. Indonesia simply does not need friends like these.

Maria Eva Kumalawati, 27, was one of at least seven fatalities in the bombing outside the Australian Embassy on Jl. HR Rasuna Said, Kuningan, South Jakarta, on Thursday at 10:30 a.m. It was the third major explosion in the country within two years after last year's Marriott bombing, also in Kuningan, and the 2002 Bali bombing.

Other victims were Suryadi, a 46-year-old gardener at the embassy; Mukopir, 45, a mechanic with PT Perusahaan Pembangunan state developer; Asep Saefuddin, 32, a surveyor with BII Financial Center; Anton Sujarwo, a security guard at the embassy; and Rini Dewi Puspita, 23, a student of Perbanas banking school.

One hundred and 61 others, including police officers deployed to guard the embassy, were injured and treated at different hospitals. Most of them suffered wounds from flying glass.

The fatalities all had something in common: they were innocent victims who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
When I heard the early news about this, the first deaths they mentioned were three policemen and a security guard. But when I see the list here, it seems more like one security guard and the rest are everyday Indonesians who happen to be too close?

Not that the life of a cop is worth any less, but it is highly disturbing to see completely innocent civilians bearing the brunt of this assault!

A great pity that there is only so much that neighbouring Singapore could do....and that included providing medical aid, of which three victims have flown here for it. Just 3 victims...out of countless others.

To all those who want out of Indonesia because of this latest incident, while I respect your decisions and I know that the fear for life and property is very much real and staring coldly in your face, I could only say.....

......that terrorism has probably scored another winner because of you.....

SINGAPORE PM'S LETTER OF CONDOLENCE

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong sent a letter of condolence to Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri on Thursday following the bomb blast in Jakarta: 'I was outraged to learn of the bomb blast near the Australian embassy in Jakarta today. On behalf of the Government and people of Singapore, I extend our heartfelt condolences and sympathies to all the victims and their families.

'We strongly condemn these acts of violence. Singapore will fully support Indonesia in your efforts to apprehend and bring to justice the perpetrators of these heinous acts.

'History shows that the Government and people of Indonesia will overcome these difficult times and prevail.'

These coward attacks on Indonesian soil , could these terrorist actions happened under Suharto reign ?? What do you think guys ?

My god... This is so scary. I hope all terrorist countries fall...

Oh well, no more trips to JKT for a year.... I hope everything is ok for the indonesian people.

These coward attacks on Indonesian soil , could these terrorist actions happened under Suharto reign ?? What do you think guys ?
interesting question, but the answer is probably not - likely perpetrators would have been 'pre-emptively' detained/captured/'made disappear' by the military/special forces before they get any chance to commit these terrorist acts.

These coward attacks on Indonesian soil , could these terrorist actions happened under Suharto reign ?? What do you think guys ?

I doubt it. Then again, more people have died directly due to Suharto's regime action then all the JI's activities combine. Look how many people died in East Timor, Tanjung Priok, G30S/PKI, etc. Neither should be an option for our country.

Speed, I have nothing to say for you except i agree with what Yamauchi and Huaiwei says...I hope you will consider your decision...if not then the terrorists might just laughed when they read your posts...

You asked Indonesia to fix their own problem 1st..yes they are doing it now..but you must consider that Indonesia is a vast and huge country, with almost the area are inhabitant. Yet, The indonesian government must dealing with the most majority of muslim citizens, so it wont backlash them.

Its not easy being a government official in a country such as Indonesia. remember that Speed...


cheers

Speed, I truly understand your concern. However, please note that there are a lot of international companies at this moment still operating in Indonesia and none is considering pulling out because of this terrorist bombing incident - not even the 400+ Australian companies. I know the American company I am working for is there to stay. We know now that terrorism is the fact of life no matter where in the world you live.

I guess you can draw the similarity to how people still believe in NY after 9/11 and I certainly don't know of any company exiting Spain after the Madrid bombing. This is what we need - a show of courage and support among us, sane people. This is what is required to beat terrorism. For this, I have to agree with David and all that some actions are unfortunately what the insane and inhumane terrorists are expecting to see.

But, decision is yours to make and yours only and I trust that you make it for the good of your company and your team, which I think is truly fair. All we ask of you, however, is to believe and support Indonesia in her quest to rid of all the terrorist activities from her land. And, please do come back and invest in this lovely country once we can prove to the world that we can be one of the safest countries in the world for you and your team. :)

Kita mau ngak perusahaan yang akan pergi tiap kali ada masalah? Itulah perusahaanya dia. Better of with out it.

well as a business practise in share markets and investments i still think indonesia is the best place to jump in, because it has such a volatile ground breaking for profit taking..... i don't know what "speed" business is, but if you keep jumping in and then out after such a news well that's your decision... but i can assure you that you miss the whole opportunity.
do you know also why people still jump in to iraq eventhough they have the worst case than indonesia??? because those people think on long trem situation and everything is just damn cheap......

i can give you one proposition for you "speed", why don't you hire indonesian people, they have the same quality.... they know the field.... i believe you will get more profit if you hire indonesian.... think about it mate??

cheap labor, cheap investment, in the future you will see what i'm talking today.... unless if you don't know how the economic works???

the only fear that they spread is on tourist destination, because people going abroad to relax, and they want to enjoy quality time.

george soros, warren beaty, and all the biggest company names always the first one going into a torn war, or unstable countries.... they don't think a short future profit like you do (to speed) but they think on long term investation......

if you see the case like of PT. freeport Indonesia, you can analyze how they get in, how they make 200 times profit in just 20 years... more than of what they've planned on

and none of us are idiots,


cheers

These coward attacks on Indonesian soil , could these terrorist actions happened under Suharto reign ?? What do you think guys ?

this is the reality we have to face after we live in fairy tales..... we are still working on how to shape the country..... this is the cost we have to pay of freedom....

cheers

Perhaps it's off the topics but for me idiots are those students brawl. These days? When we still feel deep pain caused by the bombing and they still commit to such an unbelievable acts?

Perhaps it's off the topics but for me idiots are those students brawl. These days? When we still feel deep pain caused by the bombing and they still commit to such an unbelievable acts?

Can't agree with you more. Those idiots need to be disciplined as well. Benar benar memalukan. :bash:

Angry national assembly chief wants terrorists to be barred from appeal

JAKARTA (AFP): The head of Indonesia's national assembly, former presidential candidate Amien Rais, said on Sunday that bombers found guilty by courts should be executed and not given the chance to appeal.

"I find it revolting that when they (the terrorists) are proven guilty, they are still given the chance to appeal. For me, once they are proven guilty of terrorism, they should be executed," Rais was quoted by the state Antara news agency as saying during a sermon at a mosque in South Jakarta.

Rais, whose statement reflected the growing anger of Muslims against the latest bombing that killed nine people and injured about 180 at the Australian embassy in Jakarta on Thursday, said terrorism was a barbaric act that was also immoral and inhuman.

Several Indonesian Islamic organizations and leaders have condemned the bombings of the past few years as barbaric and said they could not be justified or condoned by any religion.

Indonesia is the world's largest Muslim-populated nation with more than 80 percent of its 214 million people following the faith.

Courts have sentenced to death three key bombers in the October 2002 attacks in Bali that left 202 people killed and imposed long jail sentences, including life in prison, to 30 other suspects.

Several people have also been jailed for up to 10 years for the Jakarta Marriott hotel bombing in August 2003. (**)

French Open winner Myskina arrives in Bali unfazed by terror risk

NUSA DUA, Bali (AFP): Russian Anastasia Myskina was unfazed by Indonesia's latest deadly bombing on Sunday as she arrived in Bali for the 11th Wismilak International WTA event.

The French Open winner, named as top seed for the US$250,000 tournament on the Indonesian resort island, said Thursday's attack which left nine dead outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta paled beside other world events.

"Worse things happened in other parts of the world, also in Russia," Myskina said, apparently referring to the Beslan hostage crisis in which 339 hostages and 31 hostage-takers were killed.
She said her compatriots would dominate the tournament, which starts Monday on the tennis courts of the Grand Hyatt in Bali's Nusa Dua area, with the top five seeds including newly crowned US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova at second seed and NadiaPetrova.

Myskina will play in the second round against the winner of the match between Slovakian left-hander Tina Pisnik and Italian Maria Elena Camerin.

Second seed Kuznetsova, who took the honors at the 2002 Wismilak International, will meet the winner of the match between Venezuelan Milagros Sequera and a qualifying player.

Third seed Ai Sugiyama from Japan will open against one of the 16 entries from countries ranging from Australia, Argentina, Poland and Russia.

Meanwhile, Indonesia's tennis hope Angelique Widjaya will have to do her best to outshine Serbia's Jelena Jankovic if she wants to make the second round. (**)

If anyone is wondering, the anti-terror law wasnt cancelled, Indonesia have the newest anti terror law, which can detain suspect up to 6-8 months without trial. This is the one that used for Abu Bakar Baasir case. The previous law only can detain suspect for up to a week. The previous law was declared unconstituional by the Constituional supreme court only for Idris (10 years convicted), but not for the Bali bombers.

And The anti-terror police chief has said that the reason why they brought ALI imron to starbucks is to nail the pickup bomber driver that exploded in Kuningan. But then the plan is uncovered because the media already spreading the news.

cheers

And The anti-terror police chief has said that the reason why they brought ALI imron to starbucks is to nail the pickup bomber driver that exploded in Kuningan. But then the plan is uncovered because the media already spreading the news.

cheers

wahh, really??

Yup, there are two anti-terror unit team, the 1st unit is the special unit that haunt Azahari and the other malaysian, this is the one that lead by Gorres, who brought ali imron to Starbucks. Ali imron is the most cooperative suspect in Bali bombing, hes the one who ask forgiveness from the victims and the only one who didnt shout like Amrozi cs.

Metro tv also broadcast the news last night.

Anyway, have you guys watch the video from cctv plaza 89? when the box pickup car was exploded.


cheers

but what I dont get is that why did it have to be in Starbucks???

Wow, this tragedy is turning into a soap opera for some.

Two fathers claim survivor, 5
12/09/2004 15:04 - (SA)

Jakarta - A five-year-old victim of the bomb blast outside the Australian embassy that left nine dead and some 180 wounded has been claimed by two fathers - one Italian national and one Australian policeman, a news report said on Sunday.

Young Manuela, whose mother Maria Eva Komalawati was killed in the blast, is in critical condition at Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore.

Italian Emanuel Musu, who says he's the husband of Maria and father of Manuela, arrived in Jakarta for the funeral of Maria on Saturday.

"Manuela no longer has her mother now," Musu told reporters for the Jakarta Post daily, adding that he visited Manuela in the hospital in Singapore before coming to Jakarta. "I will take her with me to Italy. I will take care of her."

Musu dismissed a statement by the Australian embassy saying that the young girl, who was reportedly injured while going to pick up a new visa at the Australian embassy, was the daughter of David Norman, a policeman in suburban Sydney, Australia, and was granted citizenship on September 1.

"Manuela is my daughter," he said. "She was born in Indonesia, but she is Italian. I married Eva in 1998 and we have lived in Italy ever since."

Norman released a statement last Friday saying that he was travelling to Singapore to be with his daughter "Manny". - Sapa-dpa

yeah,
read the news at detik.com and theage.com.au
really a soap opera

David, can you post the video from the CCTV camera? I have seen it, but only a glimpse of it on TV.

Siaga Satu Mulai Hari Ini
Senin, 13 September 2004 | 13:08 WIB

TEMPO Interaktif, Jakarta:Kepolisian RI menetapkan Indonesia dalam status siaga satu, mulai Senin (13/9). Polisi menurunkan kekuatan 2/3 dari keseluruhan personil, yakni sekitar 200.000 petugas polisi.

Menurut Kepala Badan Reserse dan Kriminal Mabes Polri, Komjen Pol Suyitno Landung, pihaknya mengkonsentrasikan pengamanan di gedung-gedung, tempat keramaian dan tempat ibadah. "Mulai hari ini siaga satu seluruh Indonesia. Sudah kita informasikan, tidak hanya Polda Metro Jaya, tetapi juga kepada Polda lain," ujar Suyitno kepada wartawan usai acara doa bersama di depan Kedubes Australia, Senin (13/9) siang.

Suyitno berharap masyarakat lebih waspada atas orang-orang yang dicurigai oleh polisi. Menurutnya, agar lebih diwaspadai, orang-orang yang mengontrak hanya dua atau tiga bulan saja.

Saat ditanyakan wartawan adanya ancaman bom lewat telepon di salah satu hotel di kawasan Rasuna Said, Suyitno katakan, informasi itu banyak dari masyarakat maupun kedutaan besar. Suyitno membantah adanya informasi dua hari sebelum peledakan, Ali Imron, terpidana bom Bali memberitahu salah satu anggota kepolisian. "Saya tidak ada laporan seperti itu," kata dia.

Martha Warta - Tempo News Room

GreyX, I saw it on the tv too but theage.com.au or news.com.au might has it. I am not sure :)

cheers

I saw that video. Quite chilling seeing what looks like a security guard doubling over as the blast hits him....

So, is it confirmed that all the deaths were civilians, and one security, and no cops were killed?

2 Indonesian cops are killed 1 security guard, the rest are civilians.


cheers

2 Indonesian cops are killed 1 security guard, the rest are civilians.


cheers
Is it? How come in the list of names I saw earlier, it listed 1 security and 6 civilians....I presumed the other 2 are the suicide bombers or something? So they are actually the cops?

Anybody else think Howard should really be quiet? We have his infamous Afghan refugee throwing baby aboard. Then there is the WMD in Iraq. Now it seems his claim that an SMS warned the police about the bombing is also turning out to be false. Maybe Howard should keep quiet and let the cops investigate it without trying to score political points with his constituents.

Keelty stops a 2004 'children overboard' scam

By Margo Kingston
September 13, 2004 11:27 PM

A bomb explodes outside the Indonesian embassy in Canberra. Indonesian staff escape injury, but nine Australians are killed. Indonesian leader Megawati calls a press conference. She says the attack emphasised "how very important it is that the close co-operative relationship between Australia and Indonesia established in the wake of the attack in Bali be not only reinforced but continue".

She continues: "I was advised this morning (that) apparently at 9.30 yesterdy morning, the AFP received a message which suggested to the effect that if Martin Bryant were not released South East Asian embassies would be threatened with bombs. The explosion occured at 10.15 or thereabouts. I'm informed that news of that message was conveyed to the AFP at about 5.49 in the afternoon."

"In fairness to the AFP, they get a lot of messages, and I don't even know that it was in any way a bona fide message. The source of it has been and I'm sure is in the course of being checked."

Imagine the reaction of Australian police and the Australian government to that, when, in fact, the so-called information was gossip from an Indonesian business man reporting third hand hearsay which had not been checked and would prove to be false.

Outrage, perhaps? Megawati would have cast a slur on our police and fingered supporters of Marin Bryant without any even semi-reliable evidence. The desire for co-operation between the AFP and Polri (the Indonesian police) would have been poisoned just as the joint investigation began. Australians would have condemned Megawati for irresponsibility and a craven attempt to discredit our police force.

Yet this is precisely what Howard did in his press conference on September 10, the day of the bombing of our embassy in Indonesia. Why on earth would Howard do this? Remember, Keelty briefed the opposition on the rumour as well as Downer and Howard, and it kept quiet. Labor's foreign affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd said yesterday of the briefing: "There was genuine uncertainty on the part of our Indonesian counterparts as to what precisely this SMS was supposed to be and what precisely it was supposed to contain".

What possible purpose could be served by stating this gossip as fact to the Australian people, creating page one headlines across Australia which were bound to inflame anti-Indonesian feeling among Australians?

On September 11, the SMH's Peter Hartcher analysed Howard's performance at that press conference in Making political gain out of national crisis. He wrote:

"The final element in Howard's press conference was in establishing attitudes toward Indonesia. He offered condolences and assistance to Jakarta. And he deftly apportioned blame.

"Howard disclosed that the Indonesian police had received a bomb threat at 9.30am on Thursday. The threat warned of attacks on Western embassies unless the suspected doctrinal leader of the terrorist group Jemaah Islamiah, Bashir, was freed from jail immediately. The bomb went off around 10.15am. The Indonesian police relayed the warning to the Australian authorities at 5.49pm, Howard said.

"In sum, Howard established Indonesia as the source of the problem, warned of continuing danger, and set himself up as the source of reassurance. And he did all of this while remaining statesmanlike."

Except the reality was that he was a ruthless politician pretending to be statesman. To Hartcher's remark that Howard jumped at blaming Indonesia may be added another political advantage for Howard - that his purveying of rumour as fact took the heat off the possibility that the bombing was about our invasion of Iraq. We know how sensitive Howard is to the fact that invading Iraq made us a bigger terrorist target and so does Keelty, because he got brutalised for stating the obvious earlier this year.

Howard's statement helped him politically, sure, but the consequences of what he did were all bad for Australia - for our national interest.

Maybe that's why Mick Keelty, with a note of exasperation in his voice, has disowned Howard's remarks in no uncertain terms, suggesting it was highly likely no warning had been sent. Asked if there was no hard evidence an SMS warning was made, he said: "That is exactly right."

The bloke is trying to work with his Indonesian colleagues to solve a crime. He's trying, as Howard put it in his press conference, to ensure that "the close co-operative relationship between Australia and Indonesia established in the wake of the attack in Bali be not only reinforced but continue".

John Howard is a dangerous man to lead Australia. He has no limits when it comes to domestic political advantage, even the national interest.

In 2001, he and Ruddock took a rushed verbal report that asylum seekers had thrown their children overboard and ran the story into the ground along with vicious judgements on the people who did such a terrible thing. Written confirmation never came, and the defence force tried unsuccessfully to weeks to correct the record.

This time, with the national interest potentially sacrificed for Howard's re-election, Keelty put his foot down. Thank you, Mick Keelty.

Howard's excuse? "If the information had not been made available and subsequently came out, I would be accused of sitting on it and accused of trying to hide something."

Bollocks. If you can bear to read Downer's excuses for also spreading the rumour as fact, look up his Lateline transcript.

Trust Howard with our national security? You've got to be joking. This man can't make the distinction between his personal interest and the nations and he cannot be trusted to ensure that what he's saying is true is true before he says it. That is a recipe for disaster in these dangerous times.

Monorail and Jakarta Tower going ahead despite bombing; investors demand better security. sorry, news in Indonesian.


Investor Monorel Mendesak Terciptanya Keamanan di Jakarta


Jakarta, Kompas - Meskipun dampak ledakan bom di depan Kedutaan Besar Australia tidak terlampau menggoyang nilai tukar rupiah terhadap dollar Amerika Serikat, investor kereta rel tunggal dan Menara Jakarta mendesak pemerintah untuk menciptakan keamanan, terutama di Ibu Kota. Faktor keamanan merupakan modal dasar bagi investor yang sungguh-sungguh menaruh kepercayaan dalam menanamkan modal.

Apalagi, investasi pembangunan monorel diperkirakan mencapai biaya 600 juta dollar AS (sekitar Rp 5 triliun), sedangkan Menara Jakarta sebesar 560 juta dollar AS (sekitar Rp 4,5 triliun).

Hingga Senin (13/9), pembangunan kedua megaproyek itu terus berjalan, baik secara fisik di lapangan maupun studi desainnya. Meski demikian, investor sekaligus pengembang kedua megaproyek itu tetap mengharapkan agar pergolakan rupiah tidak berlarut-larut.

Presiden Direktur PT Jakarta Monorel (JM) Ruslan Diwirjo mengatakan, sewaktu terjadi ledakan bom, sejumlah investor asing, seperti investor Malaysia dan Singapura, sempat khawatir. Namun, kekhawatiran itu segera teratasi setelah nilai tukar rupiah terhadap dollar AS tidak begitu terpukul.

"Terus terang, begitu ledakan berkekuatan high explosive terjadi, saya berusaha menenangkan para investor, terutama investor luar negeri. Kurs rupiah tidak mengalami gejolak yang sangat berarti. Mudah-mudahan saja, gejolak kurs rupiah hanya bersifat temporer," kata Ruslan.

Seperti diberitakan, ketika terjadi ledakan bom, rupiah di pasar uang sempat terperosok ke level Rp 9.405 per dollar AS, tetapi kemudian membaik dan pada petang hari turun ke level Rp 9.292,5 per dollar AS (Kompas, 10/9).

Ruslan mengharapkan, suasana aman harus sungguh- sungguh diciptakan baik oleh pemerintah maupun masyarakat. Hal ini sangat penting demi mempertahankan minat investor dalam menginvestasikan modal di negeri ini. Selain itu, situasi aman mampu membuat tingkat suku bunga tidak terlampau memengaruhi modal usaha.

Untuk membangun monorel dengan teknologi Hitachi Jepang itu dibutuhkan dana investor dari dalam dan luar negeri. Guna menarik investor, pembangunan monorel dilakukan dengan sistem built, operate, transfer selama 30 tahun.

Kunci kebangkitan usaha

Pentingnya keamanan juga diungkapkan Rusdiman, Project Director PT Prasada Japa Pamudja selaku pengembang Menara Jakarta. Keamanan merupakan kunci kebangkitan usaha jasa properti di Jakarta.

Menurut Rusdiman, ledakan bom baik yang terjadi di Hotel JW Marriott maupun Kedutaan Besar Australia memang memiliki dampak bagi perekonomian. Namun, jangan salah, jika dibandingkan dengan ledakan-ledakan bom, pembangunan properti justru dapat sangat terganggu oleh gejolak sosial dan politik yang terjadi di dalam negeri.

"Ledakan bom memang sempat membuat panik. Untung saja anjloknya nilai tukar rupiah tidak terlalu signifikan," kata Rusdiman.

Anjloknya nilai tukar rupiah dinilai belum terlampau mengganggu pembangunan menara tertinggi di dunia yang direncanakan memiliki ketinggian 558 meter itu.

Meski demikian, dia berharap stabilitas keamanan demi perekonomian dalam negeri harus sungguh dipelihara, mengingat pembangunan menara itu masih membutuhkan waktu sekitar lima tahun.

Hingga kini, Menara Jakarta yang terletak di kawasan Kemayoran, Jakarta Pusat, itu tetap dilanjutkan pembangunannya. Menara itu merupakan investasi yang berskala nasional.

Jika pembangunannya dapat selesai tahun 2009, menara itu akan menjadi menara tertinggi di dunia, mengalahkan ketinggian CN Tower (553 meter) di Toronto, Kanada; Menara Ostankino (540 meter) di Moskwa; dan Oriental Pearl Tower Shanghai (468 meter).

Sementara itu, Presiden Direktur PT Adhi Karya, Saiful Imam, salah satu kontraktor yang kerap menangani pembangunan underpass (terowongan) dan flyover (jalan layang) mengatakan, "Faktor keamanan menjadi kunci utama pembangunan infrastruktur, terutama di Jakarta."

Alasannya, jelas Saiful, harga bahan baku bisa ikut naik jika nilai dollar AS bergejolak. Tentu saja, asumsi-asumsi harga dalam membangun infrastruktur sudah diperhitungkan di dalam kontrak kerja.(OSA)

phew... that's good news... I thought they're gonna run away again.. (the investors) heeheh

Huaiwei, the victims are now 11 killed, but there is no word on wheres the bomber bodies are, the two victims that were suspected as the bomber are found to be civilians that drove the motorcyles, so its a bit of confusion here. I hope they can find the bodies of the bombers although its very small chance to get the bodies..you know the level of the explosion was massive and imagine when you inside that box car :runaway:

cheers

Authorities post reward for arrest of Malaysian terror suspects


Indonesian police announced a US$210,000 (euro 171,400) reward Tuesday for information leading to the arrest of two Malaysian militants who are the leading suspects in last week's attack on the Australian Embassy.

Investigators said the death toll from Thursday's bombing could reach 11 because 117 fragments of human remains recovered from the scene have yet to be identified.

Authorities earlier put the death toll at nine. As many as three of the dead may have been suicide bombers, Australian and Indonesian investigators have said.

The top two suspects are Azahari bin Husin and Noordin Top, two Malaysians who authorities say are key members of Jemaah Islamiyah, an al-Qaida-linked group. Police have launched a massive manhunt for the pair.

Detective chief Lt. Gen. Suyitno Landung said police had allotted 1 billion rupiah (US$105,000; euro 85,700) for information leading to the arrest of either man.

Information leading to the capture of lesser players in the conspiracy was worth 500 million rupiah (US$52,000; euro 42,500), he said.

Detectives have already identified the chassis number of the white delivery truck used in the blast. Similar evidence led to the arrest of key suspects in the 2002 Bali bombings in which more than 200 people perished.

Jemaah Islamiyah was blamed for the Bali blasts and a suicide attack last year on the Marriott Hotel in Jakarta that killed 12 people.

Police say Husin and Noordin Top are believed to have recruited more suicide bombers for more attacks.

The government said Tuesday that the suicide bombing is unlikely to significantly effect the country's US$4 billion (euro 3.3 billion) tourist industry.

"We are not knocked out, but have suffered a jab ... we are still standing up," Tourism Minister I Gde Ardika told reporters.

The industry was hit hard by the Bali and Marriott bombings. It was also hurt by the fallout from the invasion of Iraq and Asia's SARS outbreak in 2003.

Still, statistics now show that arrivals are now up to pre-2002 levels, and Ardika said he was confident that the latest attack would not affect projected tourist numbers of more than 5 million next year.

DR. Azahari: coward terorist

WANTED!!!


http://img80.exs.cx/img80/280/14azahari.jpg

Huaiwei, the victims are now 11 killed, but there is no word on wheres the bomber bodies are, the two victims that were suspected as the bomber are found to be civilians that drove the motorcyles, so its a bit of confusion here. I hope they can find the bodies of the bombers although its very small chance to get the bodies..you know the level of the explosion was massive and imagine when you inside that box car :runaway:

cheers
Alright thanks for the clarification. The following text appeared in the Straits Times in reports about the blast:

The ANTV television station, which has a studio near the site, aired shots of the scene after the blast. It showed a blood-covered police officer, who looked less than 25 years old, scrambling out of a ditch and rolling over onto his back, too hurt and exhausted to move further.
Somehow, I kept wondering what his fate was, which was why I kept asking if any cops died in the blast....

If I am not wrong.. that Police officer is now in Singapore for treatment (which is good). And the Australian Government pays (which is embarassing).

If I am not wrong.. that Police officer is now in Singapore for treatment (which is good). And the Australian Government pays (which is embarassing).
In Singapore? Didnt know that, and yeah, thats good news. Where you saw the info?

And did anyone actually saw that footage on tv? I think our tv here didnt dare to show the footages in the immediate aftermath of the blast.

Why is the Australian govt paying, btw? The cop was protecting their embassy?

I think as a compensation because they were guarding th Embassy.

here is the news

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaillatestnews.asp?fileid=20040915195848&irec=0

cheers

Ic......but we wont know for sure if its the same cop? If they revealed the age of that person, maybe I will feel better. :D

Which one are you referring to? the one on the tv that covered with the blood and was lying on the ground?

cheers

Which one are you referring to? the one on the tv that covered with the blood and was lying on the ground?

cheers
Er....I dont know....I cant even make out if the people lying on the floor are cops or not!

Pemerintah Akan Amandemen UU Terorisme
Jum'at, 17 September 2004 | 23:19 WIB

TEMPO Interaktif, Jakarta:Menteri Kehakiman dan HAM Yusril Ihza Mahendra mengakui bahwa UU No.16 Tahun 2003 tentang Pemberantasan Tindak Pidana Terorisme memiliki banyak kekurangan, sebab itu UU tersebut akan diamandemen. “Sudah ada drafnya,” katanya dalam konferensi pers bom Kuningan di Jakarta, Jumat (17/9).

Pasal-pasal yang akan diamandemen antara lain mereka yang menjadi anggota kelompok teroris dapat ditangkap meskipun tidak terlibat, orang yang menjual bahan peledak dapat dipidana penjara, pasal 13 tentang orang yang mengetahui kegiatan terorisme tetapi tidak melaporkan, dan pasal 26 yaitu laporan intelijen yang bisa dijadikan bukti pendahuluan untuk dilakukan penangkapan.

Yusril menambahkan, mereka yang menjadi anggota teroris tidak bisa ditangkap berdasarkan UU Terorisme yang lama, kecuali kalau dia terlibat. Ia mencontohkan, organisasi A organisasi teroris dan orang yang menjadi anggota organisasi itu bisa dipidana berdasarkan draf amandemen. “Dengan perpu dan UU sekarang itu tidak bisa,” kata dia.

Draf amandemen juga mengatur prosedur persidangan telekonferensi yang tidak diatur sebelumnya dalam perpu terorisme lama. “Perpu terorisme itu belum mengatur persidangan telekonferensi,” ujar dia.

Ia menambahkan, sementara pasal 13 tentang orang yang mengetahui akan adanya kegiatan terorisme tetapi tidak melaporkannya dipidana 12 tahun dan jika terorisme betul-betul terjadi, maka orang itu akan dipenjara paling lama 15 tahun. “Dalam perpu itu tidak ada,” ujar dia.

Selain itu, draf amandemen juga mengatur hukuman pidana bagi orang yang menjual bahan peledak. “Tetapi di sini (draft amandemen) disebutkan dipidana penjara paling lama 12 tahun,” ujar dia.

Ia menambahkan, mereka yang menjual bahan-bahan peledak patut mengetahui bahwa bahan peledak itu dapat digunakan sebagai bahan peledak untuk kegiatan terorisme. “Nanti menteri perindustrian yang akan mengatur tentang prosedur penjualan bahan-bahan peledak itu,” ujar dia.

Yusril mengungkapkan setahun yang lalu, diketahui dari laporan intelijen, ada perusahaan yang mengimpor bahan kimia yang sebenarnya jika dia belajar fisika, bahan-bahan itu bisa dijadikan bom yang dahsyat. “Kalau orang itu patut mengira atau patut mengetahui sebagai bahan peledak dan digunakan sebagai aksi terorisme maka orang itu bisa dipidana,” ujar dia.

Pasal yang akan diamandemen kemudian adalah pasal 26 yang sangat kontroversial dan paling ditolak, yaitu laporan intelijen bisa dijadikan bukti pendahuluan untuk dilakukan penangkapan. “Tapi prosedurnya itu harus disampaikan ke pengadilan, ke ketua pengadilan,” katanya.

Ia menambahkan bahwa laporan itu bukan menjadi alat bukti di persidangan, tapi merupakan alat bukti pendahuluan. "Jadi dengan itu orang bisa ditahan, tapi hanya tujuh hari."

Yusril menambahkan, satuan tugas khusus pencegahan terorisme beranggotakan jajaran TNI, kepolisian, dan intelijen tidak akan diberi kewenangan untuk menangkap teroris. “Saya tidak ingin menjadikan negara ini seperti hutan belantara,” katanya.

Badriah - Tempo

For those who didnt manage to see the video...

SEPT 12, 2004

Carnage captured on camera

INDONESIAN police yesterday released the security videos of the embassy attack which showed in harrowing detail the moment of the blast and the immediate aftermath as people ran for cover under a hail of flying glass and debris. The recordings were from a building beside the Australian Embassy and an office tower across the road. This is what they captured:

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/mnt/media/image/launched/2004-09-12/14d.jpg
A small, box-shaped Daihatsu van drives past in Jakarta's heavy morning traffic. People walk to nearby offices, swarms of motorcycles and cars whizz past and a rubbish collector in green overalls works outside the embassy.

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/mnt/media/image/launched/2004-09-12/14e.jpg
Moments later, the van does a U-turn, pulling slowly in front of a police truck parked outside the heavily fortified embassy.

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/mnt/media/image/launched/2004-09-12/14f.jpg
It explodes in a flash of smoke; trees and buildings are rocked by the shockwave from the blast. Then the screen turns white and debris rains down in chunks, obscuring the lens.

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/mnt/media/image/launched/2004-09-12/14g.jpg
In one scene, a man who appears to be a security guard on the opposite side of the street, some 100m from the centre of the blast, doubles over as its full force hits him just before he is covered in a cloud of smoke and dust.

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/mnt/media/image/launched/2004-09-12/14h.jpg
When the dust settles, a man runs into the street. Some pedestrians duck and run when the blast hits.

wow.. good stuff huaiwei... from the camera u can see how powerful the explosion is..
man.. this is really saddening for Indonesia..

oh shit.

wow...how devastating. thanks for that, huey.

:cry:

11th Embassy Bombing Victim Dies

October 25, 2004 03:17 PM,

Laksamana.Net - Senior high school student Mutia Rahmani Amalia (16) passed away Sunday (24/10/04) at a Singapore hospital from injuries she sustained in the September 9 suicide car bombing outside the Australian Embassy in Jakarta.

The attack, blamed on regional terrorism network Jemaah Islamiyah, has now claimed 11 lives, including the suicide bomber, Heri Kurniawan. About 200 other people were injured in the blast in the Kuningan business district.

Reports said Amalia died at midday Sunday at Mount Elizabeth Hospital after doctors were unable to revive her from a coma. She is due to be flown on a chartered flight to Halim Perdanakusumah Airport in East Jakarta at 11.30pm Monday and will be buried the following morning at Tanah Kusir Cemetery in South Jakarta.

At the time of the blast, Amalia had been traveling past in the embassy in a Kopaja minibus, on her way to her grandmother's house in Menteng suburb. She suffered multiple shrapnel wounds, including head injuries from shards of flying glass.

She was originally treated at two Jakarta hospitals, Aini Eye Hospital and Medistra Hospital. She was later allowed to return home, but was transferred to the Singapore hospital on October 18.

The Australian Embassy, which paid for blast victims' hospital treatment, decided to move her to Singapore after she developed internal bleeding.

Amalia had studied at Senior Public High School Bulungan 70 in South Jakarta was the eldest of three children of schoolteachers Rudi Gunardi and Sulisita Pertiwi.

She had lived with her grandmother in Menteng in order to be closer to her school, as her parents lived at Pamulang in Tangerang, west of Jakarta.

Bulungan 70 principal Rusli Abdul Fatah told detikcom online news portal that Australian Ambassador David Ritchie had said the Australian government would fund Amalia to study in Australia, if she had recovered.

The principal said Amalia was a diligent student and a high achiever, who was particularly pious. "I felt devastated upon hearing of her death. May her good religious deeds be accepted and her family be able to carry on," he said.

One of the victim's classmates, Dian, said her Amalia was a popular girl who most enjoyed studying accounting and history.

Several of Amalia's classmates on Monday went to Tanah Kusir Cemetery to deliver flowers and pass their condolences on to Amalia's mother. Flowers were also sent by Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso.

Mother Questions Jakarta Hospital's Diagnosis

Sulisita Pertiwi said she suspected Medistra Hospital had failed to correctly diagnose the extent of her daughter's injuries, as doctors had allowed her to return home without identifying her internal bleeding.

Pertiwi said she no had no plan to sue the hospital, but expressed hope that Medistra and other Indonesian hospitals would learn from the incident and in future be more careful.

"I don't know if there should be a lawsuit. In my own opinion, I think not, even though it might better teach them a lesson. But as for my husband, I don't know yet because I have not yet met with him. But he is more emotional then me," she was quoted as saying by detikcom.

Amalia's father Gunardi is still in Singapore while his daughter undergoes an autopsy.

Pertiwi said several doctors at Medistra had treated Amalia but there was no coordination between them and they came up with different diagnoses. She also said her daughter's temperature reached 41 degrees Celsius for two weeks, but the doctors failed to diagnose the extent of her injuries, despite conducting an operation and many blood tests.

She said Amalia was a strong child who did not want to cause any difficulties for her parents. "She never wanted to be sick and claimed to be well. But I was convinced she was unwell."

Pertiwi said Amalia left the hospital after insisting upon being treated at home so she should could be with her family and friends. "Actually, her father and I disagreed, but because of her wish to be treated at home and with the people in the house, we eventually brought her home."

She said they later took their daughter to another hospital for blood tests, where doctors found she had a low hemoglobin level and infection - something the Medistra doctors had allegedly failed to identify.

Pertiwi said that during her final days in the Singapore hospital, Amalia was worried she would die and concerned she had not been able to fast during Ramadhan.

"If I die, give my things to the poor who are needy. Don't give them to well-off people. I also owe many debts of fasting, please pay them off," she quoted her daughter as saying.

"Upon hearing that, I was very sad and my heart welled to know it was an appropriate message from one who was about to die," said Pertiwi.

Perpetrators

Police have arrested over 30 people in connection with the bombing but only eight have been declared suspects.

All eight are accused of harboring the alleged masterminds of the blast, Malaysian citizens Azahari Husin and Noordin Muhammad Top, who remain at large. Another key suspect, Rois alias Iwan Darmawan, is also still on the run. He is suspected of involvement in construction of the bomb and transportation of explosives.

Police have warned that Azahari and Noordin could be planning more attacks. The two are also suspected of playing major roles in the October 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people and the August 2003 bomb blast at Jakarta's JW Marriott Hotel that killed 12 people.

US Aid for Bomb Victims

The US announced October 19 it has provided $150,000 for emergency medical assistance and for ongoing trauma counseling to the victims of the embassy bombing.

The assistance was provided through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), in partnership with several local and international organizations, as part of an integrated effort of assistance to victims led by Australia's AusAID.

"USAID is pleased to be working with AusAID, the International Catholic Migration Commission, Yayasan PULIH and others to reach out to the victims and families of this tragic event. USAID will continue to work with the government of Indonesia and other organizations in strengthening a moderate, stable and productive Indonesia," stated William Frej, mission director of USAID/Indonesia.

The emergency assistance package includes support for a media campaign providing victims and the general public with information on natural coping strategies as well as support in the trauma-recovery process through the establishment of a hotline and e-counseling services for bomb survivors. Guidelines for media coverage of human tragedies and traumatic events are being developed to encourage media to report according to standards, respecting affected families. Immediate support was provided to the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) to mobilize its volunteers and ambulances for emergency medical response and transport, and to provide essential medicines and critical blood supplies to victims and hospitals.

indonesa also got people bomig is it??

indonesa also got people bomig is it??
Where have you been?

Where have you been?

sorry... news here dont show about it... but in south thailand news got yesterday! video show alot of dead people on the ground :(