INDONESIA - Who Planted the Bali Bomb?
REPORTER: David OShea
With the dust barely settled at the bomb site, President Megawati Sukarnoputri flew to Bali to tour the devastated area. She was accompanied by her most senior cabinet and security chiefs. These are the men who must now find out who was responsible and then coordinate the Government's wider response to terrorism. Just how hard that will be was revealed this week. On Monday, the Defence Minister suggested al-Qa'ida were responsible for the blast - the first public admission by the Government that the terror network was active in Indonesia.
MATORI ABDUL DJALIL, INDONESIAN DEFENCE MINISTER (Translation): This is done by an organisation that is quite professional. So I believe that the al-Qa'ida network is actually present in Indonesia.
Yesterday, he was contradicted by his own police force, now in charge of finding the culprits.
INSPECTOR GENERAL SALEH SAAF, NATIONAL POLICE SPOKESMAN (Translation): Up until now, the police do not yet have hard facts that the Bali bombing case is connected to al-Qa'ida.
While there's apparently no evidence yet, the Americans and the Australians are pointing fingers at the Jemaah Islamiah, said to be a South-East Asian offshoot of al-Qa'ida. JI leader Abu Bakar Bashir denies any suggestion of the group's involvement.
ABU BAKA BASHIR, JEMAAH ISLAMIAH LEADER (Translation): This is a strategy engineered by America so that they can claim that Indonesia has terrorists.
In today's Indonesia, there's no shortage of potential terror culprits. Although an attack of this magnitude is thought to be beyond the capability of most local extremist groups. But the forces of radical Islam are increasingly at the centre of Indonesian politics and they have a history of violence. The Laskar Jihad is but one example. With the military's support, they have shipped thousands of fighters to the Maluku Islands to wage war on Christians. Amidst the intense pressure of the last few days, they now appear to have closed down. But, for Megawati, taking on the Islamic extremists is easier said than done. From the very beginning of her presidency, she's had to tread very carefully in dealing with these groups. She needs their support to stay in power.
FRANZ MAGNIS SUSENO, EXPERT ON ISLAM IN INDONESIA: There are three big political groups in Indonesia. The one are, let us say, the nationalists, they are also, for the greatest part, Muslims. Then, there are the traditional Muslims that have been led by Abdurrahman Wahid and then you have the modernist one. Now, Megawati has to get the support of at least two of these groups.
If staying in power means currying favour with the most radical of these groups, then so be it. Her husband, Taufik Kiemas, has worked very hard to shore up this power base. Only days before Megawati became president, he went to great lengths trying to win the support of just one of many Islamic extremists, Habib Hussein. He spent 12 years in prison for bombing the ancient Buddhist temple at Borobudur in Central Java.
TAUFIK KIEMAS (Translation): There's no-one more extreme than you, Habib. And I mean that in the nicest possible way.
And Indonesia's Vice-President, Hamzah Haz, himself the leader of Indonesia's largest Islamic-based party, has always supported the hardliners. He made this abundantly clear from day one of Megawati's government. The first visitor he received as vice-president was the leader of the Laskar Jihad, Jaffar Umar Talib. And, despite last Saturday's blast, he still refuses to condemn the hardliners, a position that exposes his government to yet more criticism.
FRANZ MAGNIS SUSENO: I'm also appalled. I've already spoken against this kind of talking.
Father Franz Magnis Suseno is a respected Jesuit theologian who has lived in Indonesia and closely followed the Islamic movement for over 40 years.
FRANZ MAGNIS SUSENO: On the other hand, you can say with Hamzah Haz that a connection to the three groups he shields, the Laskar Jihad, the Islamic Defence Force and the Mujaheddin in Sula of Abu Bakar Bashir has indeed not yet proved in any way. So he only says, as long as it is not proved, they may have radical views but there is no reason to put anybody in prison.
As the search for the perpetrators begins, there is little confidence here that the police are capable of conducting an effective investigation into the blast. They are widely accused of incompetence and complacency in the face of a growing terrorist threat, a charge the national police spokesman vehemently denies.
INSPECTOR GENERAL SALEH SAAF (Translation): Since 1998, there have been 185 terrorism-related cases and we have solved 64% of them. We have worked hard even before September 11. It's not true that the police have been sleeping. We've been working hard against terrorists and terror.
Along with his American counterpart, Australian Ambassador Ric Smith has warned Indonesia of the terrorist threat and has been pushing for more concrete action.
RIC SMITH, AUSTRALIAN AMBASSADOR: I'm not going to tell them who they should arrest but I do believe that they have to take action and I think they will.
With Indonesia under intense international pressure, the powerful speaker of the upper house admitted yesterday that his government wasn't doing enough to address a growing problem.
AMIEN RAIS, SPEAKER, UPPER HOUSE: We have to be honest to ourselves, you know? According to international opinion or international standards, we are still not really doing our utmost, you know, so we have to improve our performance.
But many observers believe that Amien Rais has also used radical Islam to shore up his own power base.
AMIEN RAIS: Yeah, maybe you measure with your own, you know. I think I don't want to take advantage, I don't want to utilise this human suffering for my political gain, you know. But, if you see me that I'm doing like this, it's up to you but let me tell you that maybe you send your own message. OK? Thank you.
And, now, to further complicate an already sensitive investigation, an admission by Indonesia's intelligence chief that the Bali bomb contained a powerful plastic explosive often used by the military. Speculation is already beginning here on whether rogue elements of Indonesia's military may have played some role in the blast.
FRANZ MAGNIS SUSENO: I would not say that this is impossible.
REPORTER: But more unlikely than the al-Qa'ida hypothesis?
FRANZ MAGNIS SUSENO: I wouldn't choose. I would look in both directions, yes.
REPORTER: David OShea
With the dust barely settled at the bomb site, President Megawati Sukarnoputri flew to Bali to tour the devastated area. She was accompanied by her most senior cabinet and security chiefs. These are the men who must now find out who was responsible and then coordinate the Government's wider response to terrorism. Just how hard that will be was revealed this week. On Monday, the Defence Minister suggested al-Qa'ida were responsible for the blast - the first public admission by the Government that the terror network was active in Indonesia.
MATORI ABDUL DJALIL, INDONESIAN DEFENCE MINISTER (Translation): This is done by an organisation that is quite professional. So I believe that the al-Qa'ida network is actually present in Indonesia.
Yesterday, he was contradicted by his own police force, now in charge of finding the culprits.
INSPECTOR GENERAL SALEH SAAF, NATIONAL POLICE SPOKESMAN (Translation): Up until now, the police do not yet have hard facts that the Bali bombing case is connected to al-Qa'ida.
While there's apparently no evidence yet, the Americans and the Australians are pointing fingers at the Jemaah Islamiah, said to be a South-East Asian offshoot of al-Qa'ida. JI leader Abu Bakar Bashir denies any suggestion of the group's involvement.
ABU BAKA BASHIR, JEMAAH ISLAMIAH LEADER (Translation): This is a strategy engineered by America so that they can claim that Indonesia has terrorists.
In today's Indonesia, there's no shortage of potential terror culprits. Although an attack of this magnitude is thought to be beyond the capability of most local extremist groups. But the forces of radical Islam are increasingly at the centre of Indonesian politics and they have a history of violence. The Laskar Jihad is but one example. With the military's support, they have shipped thousands of fighters to the Maluku Islands to wage war on Christians. Amidst the intense pressure of the last few days, they now appear to have closed down. But, for Megawati, taking on the Islamic extremists is easier said than done. From the very beginning of her presidency, she's had to tread very carefully in dealing with these groups. She needs their support to stay in power.
FRANZ MAGNIS SUSENO, EXPERT ON ISLAM IN INDONESIA: There are three big political groups in Indonesia. The one are, let us say, the nationalists, they are also, for the greatest part, Muslims. Then, there are the traditional Muslims that have been led by Abdurrahman Wahid and then you have the modernist one. Now, Megawati has to get the support of at least two of these groups.
If staying in power means currying favour with the most radical of these groups, then so be it. Her husband, Taufik Kiemas, has worked very hard to shore up this power base. Only days before Megawati became president, he went to great lengths trying to win the support of just one of many Islamic extremists, Habib Hussein. He spent 12 years in prison for bombing the ancient Buddhist temple at Borobudur in Central Java.
TAUFIK KIEMAS (Translation): There's no-one more extreme than you, Habib. And I mean that in the nicest possible way.
And Indonesia's Vice-President, Hamzah Haz, himself the leader of Indonesia's largest Islamic-based party, has always supported the hardliners. He made this abundantly clear from day one of Megawati's government. The first visitor he received as vice-president was the leader of the Laskar Jihad, Jaffar Umar Talib. And, despite last Saturday's blast, he still refuses to condemn the hardliners, a position that exposes his government to yet more criticism.
FRANZ MAGNIS SUSENO: I'm also appalled. I've already spoken against this kind of talking.
Father Franz Magnis Suseno is a respected Jesuit theologian who has lived in Indonesia and closely followed the Islamic movement for over 40 years.
FRANZ MAGNIS SUSENO: On the other hand, you can say with Hamzah Haz that a connection to the three groups he shields, the Laskar Jihad, the Islamic Defence Force and the Mujaheddin in Sula of Abu Bakar Bashir has indeed not yet proved in any way. So he only says, as long as it is not proved, they may have radical views but there is no reason to put anybody in prison.
As the search for the perpetrators begins, there is little confidence here that the police are capable of conducting an effective investigation into the blast. They are widely accused of incompetence and complacency in the face of a growing terrorist threat, a charge the national police spokesman vehemently denies.
INSPECTOR GENERAL SALEH SAAF (Translation): Since 1998, there have been 185 terrorism-related cases and we have solved 64% of them. We have worked hard even before September 11. It's not true that the police have been sleeping. We've been working hard against terrorists and terror.
Along with his American counterpart, Australian Ambassador Ric Smith has warned Indonesia of the terrorist threat and has been pushing for more concrete action.
RIC SMITH, AUSTRALIAN AMBASSADOR: I'm not going to tell them who they should arrest but I do believe that they have to take action and I think they will.
With Indonesia under intense international pressure, the powerful speaker of the upper house admitted yesterday that his government wasn't doing enough to address a growing problem.
AMIEN RAIS, SPEAKER, UPPER HOUSE: We have to be honest to ourselves, you know? According to international opinion or international standards, we are still not really doing our utmost, you know, so we have to improve our performance.
But many observers believe that Amien Rais has also used radical Islam to shore up his own power base.
AMIEN RAIS: Yeah, maybe you measure with your own, you know. I think I don't want to take advantage, I don't want to utilise this human suffering for my political gain, you know. But, if you see me that I'm doing like this, it's up to you but let me tell you that maybe you send your own message. OK? Thank you.
And, now, to further complicate an already sensitive investigation, an admission by Indonesia's intelligence chief that the Bali bomb contained a powerful plastic explosive often used by the military. Speculation is already beginning here on whether rogue elements of Indonesia's military may have played some role in the blast.
FRANZ MAGNIS SUSENO: I would not say that this is impossible.
REPORTER: But more unlikely than the al-Qa'ida hypothesis?
FRANZ MAGNIS SUSENO: I wouldn't choose. I would look in both directions, yes.