The following articles were published in "The Guardian", newspaper of
the Communist Party of Australia in its issue of Wednesday, October
23rd, 2002.
Contact address: 65 Campbell Street, Surry Hills. Sydney. 2010 Australia.
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1. Who is behind Bali atrocity?
Faced with strong criticism of the response to the Bali bombing by Prime
Minister Howard and Foreign Minister Downer, the government has sent
forensic police and an unspecified number of ASIO agents to Indonesia,
to identify the victims and to find evidence as to who might have
committed this terrorist act. Many American and British agents have
joined them.
The total lack of evidence at this stage did not stop the Government and
the mass media pointing the finger at Islamic fundamentalists as the
culprits and calling for the arrest in Indonesia of Abu Bakar Bashir,
spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiyah.
The Bali atrocity has been used by the Australian, British and American
governments to put heavy pressure on the Indonesian government to arrest
Bashir and to join America's bogus "war on terrorism".
Having failed to pass on to Australians in Indonesia the warnings that
came from American sources of a possible bomb outrage, Government
leaders have now swung to the other extreme. The government is now
telling all Australians to leave Indonesia based this time on very vague
and non-specific warnings. Similar advice is being given to American and
British citizens by their governments.
However, this advice, if tourists and others working in Indonesia follow
it, will have the effect of putting substantial pressure on the
Indonesian economy that relies heavily on tourism. This is the intended
effect and has the added bonus of reinforcing the fear factor.
Undemocratic laws
The outside pressure and interference has already forced the Indonesian
Government to impose by decree so-called anti-terrorist laws that move
the country back towards the undemocratic state of affairs that existed
at the time of the Suharto military dictatorship.
The Indonesian government is now destroying the democratic rights that
were won by the democratic revolution that overthrew the Suharto
dictatorship.
These laws provide for the detention of citizens for up to six months
without charge and for the death penalty for anyone found guilty of
committing a terrorist act.
They can, and will be used against those in Indonesia who disagree with
the policies of the Indonesian rulers, against trade unions and civil
rights activists while allowing the foreign investors and local
exploiters to make huge profits from cheap Indonesian labour.
The Australian Government very slow to give help to the stricken people
in Bali, but, on the other hand, Prime Minister Howard was quick to
again declare that the fight against terrorism is global. His statement
is meant to assure his American patrons and is aimed at justifying
Australian involvement in a war against Iraq and any other country that
the warmongering Bush administration invades in the future.
It is time to recall some main events.
The destruction of the World Trade Centre (WTC) on September 11 last
year has been used to launch the "war against terrorism". It was used as
the excuse to invade and occupy Afghanistan although not even one of
those alleged to have flown the planes used in that attack came from
Afghanistan.
At the time of the civilian planes being hijacked the normal alert
mechanisms put in place to enable air force fighter planes to intercept
hijacked aircraft were not triggered. Why?
George Bush was on a public relations visit to an infants' school when
informed of the attacks on the two WTC towers. But instead of attending
to his duties as President of the US and Commander-in-Chief of the
armed forces he merely continued the PR program with the children. Why?
The Bush family and the bin Laden family are long time business
associates. With Afghanistan crawling with US troops, and FBI and CIA
agents, why has Osama bin Laden not been located and arrested and why
has the huge media campaign for his arrest or killing been dropped?
The WTC bombing also swept away the big anti-Bush movement in the US
that was gathering strength before September 11. This movement was
generated by the anger of many people over the ballot rigging which
allowed Bush to steal the election and put himself in the White House.
Another recent event was the attack on the French oil tanker off the
coast of Yemen. Why should Islamic terrorists attack a French oil tanker
when France was in the lead of those nations opposing the American
demand for war? Was the bombing of the oil tanker an attempt to force a
change in the policy of the French government?
The Bali bombing can also be seen as having objectives in addition to
that of putting pressure on Indonesia.
The US is concerned at the majority opposition in Australia to war
against Iraq. The US Embassy in Canberra even sent its representatives
to interview the candidates running in the Cunningham by-election last
week in NSW, so concerned are they that public opposition to war will
weaken the resolve of the Howard Government to support the intended US
aggression.
A longer-term objective is to force the Indonesian government to agree
to the stationing of US troops in Indonesia as has already happened to
the Philippines.
No organisation has claimed responsibility for the Bali bombing.
The "war against terrorism" requires a steady flow of scare warnings and
also alleged "terrorist acts". More such events can be expected with the
inevitable loss of many innocent lives. They will be used to implement
plans to occupy other countries, establish military bases and install
governments that will comply with the demands of those whose ultimate
aim is the domination of the world.
World events always follow a pattern and it is necessary to ask -- who
has the motive and who gains from such events?
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