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Security tight for anniversary of Bali bombings
Security is tight in this tourist centre on the island of Bali as ceremonies begin to mark the second anniversary of bomb blasts that killed 202 people, mostly foreigners. More than 100 police, many carrying rifles, were deployed around the site of a memorial where nightclubs were blown to bits late on a busy Saturday night on October 12, 2002. The ambassador of Australia and relatives of 88 Australians who died in the attack, blamed on Islamic militants, were among those expected to attend the day's ceremonies. "We have to prepare for the worst," Bali police chief I Made Mangku Pastika told reporters. "Terrorism is a borderless crime, a crime against humanity, so we consider the enemy as the enemy for all people." Terrorists could do the same thing again if given the chance, Pastika added. "They think in Bali there are many foreigners. In their mind all white men are Americans."But such threats should not keep tourists away, he said. "Not being terrorised is a way to fight terrorism." Pastika headed the investigation that brought the arrests of scores linked to the bombings, which authorities say were planned and carried out by Southeast Asia's al Qaeda-linked militant group, Jemaah Islamiah. The Bali attack was followed by a car bomb at the JW Marriott hotel in Jakarta the next August, which killed 12, and a blast outside the Australian embassy in that city last month which killed nine. Both were blamed on Jemaah Islamiah. Since Bali, there has been a sea change in Indonesian attitudes toward terrorism, U.S. ambassador Ralph Boyce said in Jakarta on Monday. He said "the country has now very much faced up to the challenges of this age we're all living in". Posted by: Mark Espinola 2004-10-12 |
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