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Monday, 3, October, 2005 (29, Sha`ban, 1426) Editorial: Bali Again 3 October 2005 TRAGEDY has revisited Bali. The Saturday explosions which killed at least 26 people and wounded more than 120 produced the all-too- familiar scenes of bloody chaos just days before the third anniversary of the nightclub bombings there which killed 202 people. Despite the authorities knowing who was probably behind this last attack and why it was launched even knowing that it was coming they could not stop it. Terrorism, it seems, has become almost frighteningly inevitable. No one has yet claimed responsibility but as with the blasts of three years ago, the attacks on Saturday bore all the hallmarks of Jemaah Islamiyah, the Al-Qaeda-linked southeast Asian organization that carried out October 2002 Bali attacks. The modus operandi was the same. Meant to inflict maximum damage on lives and property, the bombers struck as they did three years ago, just as thousands of diners had flocked to restaurants in tourist areas. Even the personnel seem to be the same; the latest attacks also involved suicide bombers, masterminded by the same two Malaysian fugitives accused of orchestrating the 2002 bombings. Again, the reasons for the attacks are the same as before. The Jemaah Islamiyah wants to carve out an Islamic state stretching across Southeast Asia; its aim is to destabilize the region and bring Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and the southern Philippines under a fundamentalist Islamic umbrella. And by choosing indiscriminate killing as the method of achieving their goal, they have, once again, brought shame to the cause they claim to champion. The attacks were no surprise. They came only a month after Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono warned of possible terrorist strikes. Western and Indonesian intelligence agencies have warned repeatedly that jemaah Islamiyah was plotting more attacks in Indonesia. Several other governments, including the United States, had warned about a high terrorist threat to foreigners in Indonesia before Ramadan. On Friday, the US Embassy in Jakarta reiterated its warning of last May that the threat of terrorism was high and that Americans in the country should be vigilant. Perhaps there is scant comfort in knowing who did it or why or even that it was predicted. The sole raw sentiment felt by those directly involved, as well as by outsiders, is that once again Bali has become a target for indiscriminate violence that has yet to be eradicated. The attacks prove that the terrorists will stop at nothing to make their mission known and their demands heard. Despite hundreds of arrests, including those of some key leaders which have weakened the terrorists, they remain one of the single greatest threats to society. It is anywhere and it is everywhere, though apparently nowhere. The hopes of all sane people are that the terrorists in Bali and elsewhere will not get their way. True, they have claimed lives and have maimed and they have frightened the public, both locals and foreigners. The only response can be all-out war. Copyright: Arab News © 2003 All rights reserved. Site designed by: arabix and powered by Eima IT ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Get fast access to your favorite Yahoo! Groups. Make Yahoo! your home page http://us.click.yahoo.com/dpRU5A/wUILAA/yQLSAA/uTGrlB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Post message: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] List owner : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
