Indonesia minister: 'al-Qaida is here'
Indonesia’s defence minister today blamed al-Qaida and its extremist allies for the massive bomb attack that killed more than 180 people at a nightclub on the resort island of Bali.
“We are sure al-Qaida is here,” Matori Abdul Djalil said after a Cabinet meeting in Jakarta. “The Bali bomb blast is linked to al-Qaida with the cooperation of local terrorists.”
It was the first time that a top government official has implicated al-Qaida in Saturday’s attack. Until now, police investigators have said they had few clues and no suspects.
Fearing that terrorists could strike again, thousands of tourists were fleeing Bali today amid suspicions that al-Qaida was behind the bombing.
The FBI and Australian detectives joined the hunt for the killers while forensic experts painstakingly tried to identify bodies – many badly burned and mutilated.
“Bali used to be known as paradise,” said Indonesian Health Minister Achmad Suyudi. “Now it is like hell in paradise.”
The US embassy in Jakarta, often the target of bomb threats, ordered all non-essential staff and their families to leave Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country.
Bali’s international airport was thronged by stunned, mostly young travellers desperately looking for flights home. Many camped overnight on beaches, shunning built-up areas in case of more attacks.
“We just want to go back to our families,” said Carima Sebba, 26, from the Netherlands. “I am scared, I won’t be back for a long time.”
Government officials said 181 people died, although hospital workers put the figure at 190. More than 300 people were injured.
Two people died today on board Australian air force cargo planes sent to evacuate the most severely injured to a hospital in the northern city of Darwin. Many were vacationers from Australia.
Others victims came from the Netherlands, France, Germany and Ecuador. Many Indonesians were among the dead.
Hundreds of burned, bandaged and bruised survivors arrived in Sydney today to tearful reunions with family and friends.
No one claimed responsibility for the bombing at the Kuta Beach nightlife district – the worst terrorist attack in Indonesia’s history.
But suspicion immediately turned to al-Qaida and an affiliated group, Jemaah Islamiyah, which is said to want a pan-Islamic state across Malaysia, Indonesia and the southern Philippines.
Jemaah Islamiyah has already been implicated in a plot at the beginning of this year to bomb foreign embassies in the region, and Australia says it is a prime suspect in the Bali attack.
“The attack bears the hallmarks of JI,” said an expert on al-Qaida, Rohan Gunaratna. “Only the JI has both the intention and capability to conduct a professional terrorist attack like the Bali operation.”
US Ambassador Ralph Boyce said that while the Bali bombings could not yet be pinned on al-Qaida, there is evidence that it is operating in Indonesia and reaching out to local extremists.
Abu Bakar Bashir, a Muslim cleric accused of leading Jemaah Islamiyah, strongly denied involvement.
“All the allegations against me are groundless. I challenge them to prove anything,” he said.
“I suspect that the bombing was engineered by the United States and its allies to justify allegations that Indonesia is a base for terrorists,” he said by telephone from Solo, a city in central Java where he runs an Islamic boarding school.
Indonesian police refused to say whether Bashir would be questioned despite repeated calls by neighbouring countries that he be arrested.
Security Minister Bambang Susilo Yudoyono said there were signs that terrorists were planning attacks against key industrial sites, including Exxon Mobil’s Arun liquified natural gas plant in Aceh and the Caltex refinery in Sumatra.
“We will increase the security alert in those areas,” Yudoyono said after a Cabinet meeting.
On Bali, there was no visible evidence of a higher security presence or stricter controls at the airport, though police officials insisted that an elite unit had been deployed.
“We have not caught anyone yet, but when we do, we will announce it,” Bali Police Chief Brigadier General Budi Setiawan said.
Balinese officials said that only 39 positive identifications had been made, listing 15 Australians, eight Britons, five Singaporeans, six Indonesians, one German, one French citizen, one Dutch citizen, one New Zealander and one Ecuadorean.
Switzerland believed two of its citizens were among the dead. Two Americans were killed and three injured, the US State Department said.
Seven UN staffers from nearby East Timor, on holiday in Bali, were injured and two were unaccounted for, UN officials said.
At the main hospital in Bali’s capital, Denpasar, hundreds of Indonesians and foreigners lined up to donate blood for the injured. Forensic officials were using fingerprint and dental records to identify some bodies.
The hospital-turned-morgue was overwhelmed with dead and injured. Charred corpses were lined up under sheets in hot rooms, decomposing rapidly in the tropical heat. Refrigerated containers were being used to help preserve them. Some bodies were cooled with large blocks of ice.
Bali’s normally bustling streets and crowded beaches were largely empty of tourists. The few who were out complained that there was no visible sign of extra security.
Governor Dewa Beratha promised to build a monument inscribed with the names of the victims on the blast site.
“We don’t want Bali’s image to be damaged by this. We want tourists to come back soon,” he said.
