No subject

to all this.

At the height of the Cold War, the threat to the open society worldwide was not 
radical Islam but Communism. In Indonesia, in the early 1960s, the Communist 
Party (PKI) was large and well organised.

Our fear was that it would actually take over the country. Along with other 
Western countries, led by the United States, Australia actively sought ways to 
head off such a possibility. 

Indonesia was led by Megawati's father, President Soekarno. He balanced between 
the PKI, the military and the Muslims, but was somewhat left-leaning in his 
politics. 

Under circumstances which remain a matter of controversy, the army and also the 
Muslim political organisations set upon the PKI and destroyed it. Colonel 
Soeharto led the army crackdown and then deposed Soekarno and established a 
personalised military dictatorship, which lasted until 1998. In the process, 
about 500,000 people were slaughtered.

In thinking through our interests in Indonesia now, we should be mindful of 
this. We should not in any way encourage a repeat of what happened in the 1960s.

This is not a time to go soft on demands for reform in the military, because 
the bad elements in the military are at best a threat to Indonesia's new 
political freedom and at worst they include the actual perpetrators of last 
weekend's outrage. 

We should very consciously and very thoughtfully take this opportunity to seek 
to buttress, in any way we can, the thorough reform of the Indonesian military 
and the engagement of the mass of Muslim Indonesians in the democratic process.

Our interest in doing these things and in breaking the resolve of whoever 
wrought the devastation in Bali is not simply an interest in securing the lives 
of our tourists or coping with the so-called arc of instability in the island 
archipelago to our north. It is broader and deeper than those immediate 
concerns. It is in encouraging democracy, free markets and open societies 
around the globe. 

Our strategy in regard to Indonesia should reflect this broader agenda and not 
become trapped in merely reactive pursuit of short-term security anxieties.
-- Paul Monk is principal of Austhink, a Melbourne-based think tank, and is a 
former senior defence intelligence analyst.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
South China Morning Post (via Joyo Indonesia News)
October 16, 2002
Will Bali bombings take a toll on democracy? 
Vaudine England

Watching how the Indonesian government, and its neighbours within the 
Association of Southeast Asian Nations, seek to capitalise on the devastating 
bombings in Bali will be the diplomatic game of the next few months.

A range of foreign and local investigators, officials, government ministers and 
analysts are all agreed there is no knowing yet who was responsible for the 
blasts which killed almost 200 nightclubbers in Kuta, Bali.

An increasingly long list of voices are insisting that just because there is a 
US-led war on terror, observers should not throw all their knowledge, 
experience and common sense about how things work in Indonesia out of the 
window.

''We have always had terrorists in Indonesia. But in the past, their deeds have 
mostly related to domestic issues, and there is no evidence yet to link Bali to 
the outside world,'' said scholar and Asean expert Dewi Fortuna Anwar.

''One should not ignore the possibility of the involvement of the [Indonesian] 
security forces in the bombings, we cannot dismiss the possibility that we are 
dealing with the enemy within.

''This could be state terrorism or non-state terrorism,'' said Dr Anwar, a 
foreign policy adviser to former president Bacharuddin Habibie, and author of 
the book Indonesia in Asean - Foreign Policy and Regionalism.

Other analysts said that the bombings failed to fit the al-Qaeda pattern of 
attacking symbols of US power, and could be a revenge attack by embittered 
Indonesian generals against Australia, whose intervention in East Timor spelled 
the end of military control there.

But just as observers warn about the dangers of leaping to conclusions, it is 
clear that the Indonesian government, and others, will seek to use the Bali 
bombings to suit their own ends.

One such end among the less liberal Asean countries is to see the group become 
a powerful engine against ''terrorism'', in close contact with the US and its 
war aims. Typically, however, Asean is not united on this. Several Asean 
members want to keep their options open in the evolving global order by staying 
in tune with China and its needs, rather than focusing solely on the US war on 
terror.

In the short term, the US and Singapore governments are likely to feel 
vindicated for their increasingly shrill warnings about a credible threat of 
terror in Indonesia. For a year now, both have insisted that Indonesia 
should ''do more'' against terrorism.

Several diplomats agree doubt can no longer be cast on the existence of a 
terror network led by a group called Jemaah Islamiah, based in East Java but 
stretching across Malaysia and into the Muslim south of the Philippines.

Malaysian government officials have ably used the US terror claims to justify 
an increasingly liberal use of its draconian Internal Security Act (ISA), which 
allows for the detention of suspects without charges or trial.

Any complaint from democrats in their midst is met with the claim that since 
the US now frequently imprisons people without charges or trial, it is time for 
the bleeding hearts of the world to realise Malaysia was right all along.

The hawks in Indonesia's political context now have the same opportunity to 
shine. Fresh evidence of this was provided in a discussion with Indonesia's 
Minister for State Enterprises Laksamana Sukardi, when he and the president's 
husband Taufik Kiemas, appeared in a Kuta restaurant on Monday evening. 

''It was almost unanimous in cabinet [on Monday] that we have to have firm 
action against this ... there should be no tolerance,'' he told the South China 
Morning Post. ''This is like an emergency war scenario ... we need good 
tools.'' 

Such tools would include a reinvigorated armed forces, with new equipment and a 
rehabilitated image, he said, along with a commitment from parliament to 
support President Megawati Sukarnoputri in any new policy initiatives she may 
decide.

Mr Laksamana and others are clearly hoping this new front in the war on terror 
could be a catalyst to unite the nation around the president, who remains a 
weak figure due to political infighting and the growing role of Islam in 
national life.

A legislator from the Suharto-era Golkar party, Marzuki Achmad, said he agreed 
on the need for a more powerful executive.

''We need something like the ISA. The people want it, not just the 
government,'' he said. 

The picture emerging from such comments is of a concerted retreat from the 
democratic freedoms that Indonesians have fought for, and often died for, in 
the years before and after the fall of Suharto in 1998. 

But many Indonesians are not happy with the idea.

''We have had bitter past experience with the misuse of power in this country. 
And recently there has been this sudden U-turn in US policies,'' said Mr 
Laksamana.

''Before, it was all about human rights, freedom of the press and democracy. 
Now they want us to swing towards having a more powerful government again.'' 

For Dr Anwar, the Bali attack presents an opportunity for Asean to tackle the 
root causes of terror, not just to beef up military forces.

''Asean has a record of being able to rise to such a challenge. My hope is that 
the Bali tragedy could be used as an opportunity for Asean member countries - 
both individually and in concert - to get their act together,'' he said.

''I hope the Bali event will be a wake-up call for Asean to strengthen its 
commitment to regional co-operation, to go beyond the joint communique against 
terrorism to make it real.''
-- Vaudine England is the Post's regional correspondent. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Victims came from at least 20 countries
October 15 2002 (AFP)

The powerful car-bomb on the Indonesian island of Bali killed more than 180 
people and left hundreds more wounded.

The following countries have reported nationals to be either dead, wounded or 
missing. Many of those unaccounted for are not necessarily victims of the blast 
but have not been located yet by their families or governments:

AUSTRALIA: 14 Australians have been confirmed dead but Australian Foreign 
Minister Alexander Downer said today that the final toll would be "very much 
higher". More than 200 Australians were injured. The foreign ministry said some 
200 Australians remained unaccounted for, but it expected some of them to turn 
up as travellers contacted their families.

BRITAIN: 33 Britons are believed to have been killed in the attack, British 
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said today. Straw told reporters in London "we are 
as certain as we can be" that 18 Britons were among the dead and 15 Britons 
still missing were also believed to have been killed.

CANADA: A Canadian national is being treated for burns at Singapore General 
Hospital, a hospital spokeswoman said.

DENMARK: Three Danish women aged between 18 and 21 are missing following the 
blast, the Danish ambassador to Jakarta told the Ritzau news agency today. Two 
Danes were injured but were out of danger, Gert Aagard Andersen said.

ECUADOR: An Ecuadorian was among the dead, according to Ketut Semara Jaya, an 
Indonesian doctor in Bali tasked with identifying the victims.

FRANCE: French officials said today they were trying to confirm whether a 
French national was among the dead. Of the five French citizens wounded, three 
were evacuated to Singapore in serious condition, foreign ministry spokesman 
Francois Rivasseau said.

GERMANY: A German woman was among the dead, 10 Germans were wounded and 12 were 
missing, according to the German foreign ministry. Of the injured, four have 
been released from the hospital and the remaining six were in Australia or on 
their way there for treatment, a ministry spokesman said.

GREECE: The Greek foreign ministry said one Greek national was wounded and 
another was reported missing.

HONG KONG: Ten members of a Hong Kong rugby tour have been missing since the 
blast, the Hong Kong Football Club, said in a statement Monday. Seven Britons, 
one American and a German were unaccounted for, their club said. The 10th 
missing member of the tour party, Briton Charles Vanrenen, 26, was believed to 
be on his way to Australia for treatment.

INDONESIA: Nine Indonesians have been confirmed dead but the figure is expected 
to rise significantly with the identification of more of the victims. Nearly 
200 Indonesians were injured in the blast, Indonesian officials said.

ITALY: The Italian foreign ministry said six Italians were slightly injured in 
the blasts. They were treated in hospital and released.

JAPAN: Seven Japanese women were injured, according to the foreign ministry in 
Tokyo, including two sisters suffering from severe burns who were evacuated to 
Singapore on Monday.

NETHERLANDS: A Dutch man is missing following the blast, according to the Dutch 
news agency ANP. Ketut Semara Jaya, an Indonesian doctor in Bali tasked with 
identifying the victims, said a Dutch national was among the dead.

NEW ZEALAND: New Zealand foreign ministry spokesman Brad Tattersfield said 12 
New Zealanders had been reported injured in the blasts, with eight requiring 
hospital treatment. Two had been seriously burnt. The ministry said it is 
trying to account for 195 New Zealanders. The missing were not necessarily 
victims, said Tattersfield, but "people that family members have told us are in 
Bali at the moment".

SOUTH AFRICA: One South African national was seriously wounded and two others 
are missing, the South African foreign ministry said.

SOUTH KOREA: A pair of South Korean sisters, Moon Eun-young, 31, and Moon Eun-
Jong, 29, are believed to have visited the club where the blast occurred and 
are listed as missing, the foreign ministry in Seoul said.

SWEDEN: 10 Swedes are missing and three young Swedish women were wounded in the 
attack, the Swedish foreign ministry said today.

SWITZERLAND: A Swiss woman was killed and another five Swiss citizens were 
injured in the explosion, the Swiss foreign ministry said. Two of the injured 
were in critical condition.

TAIWAN: A Taiwanese woman, Kuo Hui-min, 23, accompaning a rugby team in Bali 
for a tournament, is missing along with four members of the team, according to 
Glory Travel Service Co. Ltd which arranged their trip.

UNITED STATES: Two Americans were killed and three wounded in the blasts, 
according to a State Department official.