No subject

chassis number that the owner was Amrozi, even though attempts had been made to 
alter the number. 

A red motorbike found outside a mosque in Denpasar, Bali's local capital, soon 
after the blasts, also left incriminating clues -- residue from the explosives 
used in the attacks. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Australian
Jakarta launches raids
By Martin Chulov and Roger Martin
November 13, 2002

TWO trucks full of female police officers last night descended on the tiny 
Islamic school that has become the focus of the Bali bombing investigation, in 
the belief that its resident women are hiding crucial information.

Dormitories and classrooms were searched in the Al Islam school in the East 
Java village of Tenggulun. 

Residents were patted-down and boxfuls of documents removed in the raid, which 
came less than 24 hours after police found a cache of automatic weapons and 
ammunition in a forest near the village, 3km from the home of detained chief 
bombing suspect Amrozi. 

The raid is a clear sign the Indonesian Government is increasingly sure the Al 
Islam school and its connections played a significant role in the October 12 
blasts that killed almost 200 people, and evidence it is no longer staying its 
hand in targeting extremist Islamic groups for fear of a Muslim backlash. 

Acting on a tip-off from a local man late on Monday, who had seen Amrozi's 
brother Ali Imron in the area on November 7, a convoy of police moved into a 
creek bed, about 500m off the main access road into Tenggulun. 

They found five semi-automatic weapons, including two M-16 assault rifles, two 
9mm pistols and 5800 rounds of 5.56mm ammunition. 

Ali Imron, the younger brother of Amrozi, has firmed as a significant suspect 
in the investigation, along with their elder brother Gufron. 

Investigating team chief General Made Mangku Pastika confirmed forensic staff 
had found TNT residue in a flat used by Ali Imron in Denpasar. 

Like Amrozi, both brothers also prayed and worked at the Al Islam school. But 
neither has been seen by authorities since Amrozi was arrested by anti-
terrorist police on Tuesday last week. Ali Imron is depicted as the skinny 
short-haired man in the three identikit pictures released late last month and 
is alleged to have helped his elder brother with logistical planning for the 
October 12 blast. 

Police were last night firming on a suspicion that the man in the fourth 
identikit sketch - the Paddy's bar bomber - is allegedly the younger brother of 
a man named Muksan, who was briefly detained then released on Sunday. 

The younger brother is named Zawawi, and has not been seen by his family since 
he left for Saudi Arabia six months ago. His photo bears a striking resemblance 
to the skinny, curly-haired man in the fourth sketch and he too is a former Al 
Islam student. A bomb-making manual that police initially thought belonged to 
Muksan allegedly belongs to him. 

A steady stream of youths hitch-hiking on motorbikes was yesterday seen leaving 
the school and Tenggulun, four days after they were abandoned by almost all of 
their teachers. 

However, their spiritual leader, Mohammed Zakaria, was last night travelling 
back to the school after being released from a Denpasar police station cell 
where he had been detained as a suspect for four days. 

During weekend raids on his home that adjoins the school, police found rifles, 
DVDs about holy wars in Afghanistan and Malaysia and a military training 
manual. 

His wife was one of the people interrogated by police last night. 

It is not yet clear whether Mr Zakaria's status as a suspect has changed as a 
result of his release. 

Another man, Quomaruddin, a friend and hunting partner of Amrozi, remains under 
arrest. He was with police when they retrieved the weapons, buried in six 
plastic pipes under the only green tree standing in the barren, dusty forest. 

Police are now confident that they know the motivators, planners and executors 
of the bombing and are planning to reveal full details of their investigation 
next Wednesday. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Age (Melbourne)
Bali trail hits maze of aliases
November 13 2002
By Matthew Moore, Jakarta

Indonesian newspaper Kompas has reported the head of the joint investigative 
team into the Bali bombing, General I Made Pastika, as saying police now 
believe several suspects are really one man with different aliases.

General Pastika told the paper a man called Mukhlas, believed to be Amrozi's 
younger brother, is actually the same person as Ali Gufron, who was thought to 
be another of Amrozi's brothers.

He said these two identities were the same person as Huda bin Abdul Haq, a 
senior leader in Malaysia of recently outlawed terrorist organisation Jemaah 
Islamiah.

But a Kompas intelligence source in Bali has further confused Mukhlas' real 
identity by claiming he is the older blood brother of one of Asia's most wanted 
men - Riduan Isamuddin, known as Hambali, who is believed responsible for a 
string of terrorist attacks.

The paper says the police investigative team believes Mukhlas is still in Bali.

The same intelligence source said Mukhlas had given Amrozi money to be 
distributed to seven associates involved in the bombing, each receiving 1.8 
million rupiah ($350) to escape after the explosion.

The source said Mukhlas had originally got the money from someone living in 
central Java. This person had got it directly from Hambali, who got it directly 
from Osama bin Laden.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Laksamana.net
One Month Later, Many Questions Unanswered
November 12, 2002 08:54 PM
 
Laksamana.Net -  After several false starts, the multinational investigation 
into the Bali bombings made a major breakthrough last week with the arrest of a 
man who confessed to involvement in the October 12 attack that killed more than 
180 people. 

But questions have been raised over why this allegedly professional terrorist, 
Amrozi, spilled the beans just two days after his arrest and willingly revealed 
the names of his co-conspirators. 

Even more puzzling is his claim that the sole aim of the bombings was to kill 
as many Americans as possible, given the culprits targeted a nightclub that was 
always packed with Australians. Even the Three Stooges could have done better 
reconnaissance work than that. 

If police are to be believed, it happened like this: Mild-mannered East Java 
motor mechanic Amrozi was converted to radical Islam during stints in 
Afghanistan, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, and therefore really hated 
Americans. So much that he and about 10 like-minded Indonesians, assisted by 
various relatives and friends, carefully plotted and carried out the Bali 
bombings – killing three Americans, about 90 Australians, dozens of Indonesians 
and people from 12 other countries. 

Police say Amrozi had learned the art of bomb-making in Afghanistan while 
helping the Taliban fight the Soviets. He allegedly confessed to having met 
with the two leaders of Southeast Asian terrorist network Jemaah Islamiyah: Abu 
Bakar Baasyir and Riduan ‘Hambali’ Isamuddin. 

He also said he knew Fathur Roman Al-Ghozi, an Indonesian now serving a lengthy 
jail sentence in the Philippines for possession of explosives and his role in a 
series of deadly bombings carried out by Jemaah Islamiyah. 

None of the statements attributed to Amrozi by police have been independently 
verified. Given the history of the Indonesian military and police in lying, 
destroying evidence and producing scapegoats in murder cases, it’s 
understandable that many people are reluctant to believe everything they hear 
about Amrozi’s alleged confessions. 

There are plenty of conspiracy theories in Indonesia about the Bali bombings. 
At one end of the spectrum, left-wing liberals speculate that rogue elements of 
the Indonesian military, possibly a few retired generals, played a hand in the 
bombings in an effort to destabilize the administration of President Megawati 
Sukarnoputri and to punish Australia for its role in East Timor’s 1999 
secession from Indonesia. 

At the other end, several nationalist legislators and academics claim the whole 
thing was part of an evil plot by the CIA to discredit Islam and allow Western 
powers to destroy the Indonesian economy for their financial advantage. 

And somewhere in the middle is the view that the bombings were inspired or even 
funded by al Qaeda and carried out by Jemaah Islamiyah. 

A report this week in The Australian newspaper quotes an investigator as saying 
Amrozi admitted to seeking the permission of Jemaah Islamiyah’s spiritual 
leader Baasyir before conducting the bombings. That said, police still claim 
there is no proof that Baasyir or Jemaah Islamiyah played a direct role in the 
bombings. 

According to police, Amrozi said he detested Americans because their country 
had oppressed Islam and nations with predominantly Muslim populations. “This is 
what has made me hate the US," he was quoted as saying by Major General Made 
Mangku Pastika, head of the multinational team investigating the bombings. 

Pastika on Monday said Amrozi feels no remorse for his actions. “He has even 
confessed that he is not satisfied with the results of his work, as only a few 
Americans had fallen victim." 

Amrozi (40), who was arrested on November 5 in his small hometown of Tenggulun 
in East Java’s Lamongan district, confessed to owning a Mitsubishi L-300 
minivan that was packed with explosives and blew up outside the Sari Club on 
October 12. 

Upon learning that most of the victims were Australians, the bomber said he was 
discontented but did not have any regrets, said Pastika. 

National Police chief General Dai Bachtiar on Monday said psychiatrists were 
checking Amrozi’s mental health to ascertain whether he was of sound mind. 

Bachtiar categorically refuted allegations that police had conspired with 
America’s Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to find scapegoats for the Bali 
bombings. 

Brothers Where Art Thou? 
Following the arrest of Amrozi, police detained several other people from 
Tenggulun for questioning and are now searching for three of his brothers, all 
of whom were declared suspects on Tuesday. 

Pastika said two of the brothers, Ali Imron and Ali Fauzi, are suspected of 
hiding a cache of munitions in a forest near the town on the night of November 
9. 

Police on late Monday found 5,080 rounds of ammunition, two M-16s, one AR-15, 
two Lee Enfield rifles and 29 pistols hidden in PVC pipes buried in Dadapan 
Forest. Also reportedly found in the stash was a military-style uniform and a 
passport. 

Indonesian investigators said Amrozi had given the munitions to his brothers to 
hide. Australian investigation chief Graham Ashton said police were still 
investigating how the cache was related to the Bali bombings. 

Pastika expressed optimism the two suspects were still somewhere near Dadapan 
Forest and would soon be arrested. 

He said a third brother of Amrozi, Gufron, had attended two or three planning 
meetings held in the Central Java city of Solo in late August and early 
September. Another brother, identified as Mukhlas, was said to be in Malaysia, 
although it was unclear if he was linked to the bombings. Some officials have 
said Gufron and Mukhlas could be the same person. 

Police say they don’t know whether the meetings in Solo were attended by 
Baasyir, who is now in police custody in Jakarta over his alleged role in a 
series of church bombings that killed 18 people on Christmas Eve 2000 and an 
alleged plot to assassinate Megawati Sukarnoputri before she became president. 

Baasyir has an Islamic boarding school close to Solo and was often visited 
there by Amrozi. Likewise, the radical cleric also made several visits to 
Tenggulun. 

Defense Minister Matori Abdul Djalil has said Amrozi was a Jemaah Islamiyah 
member and Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network was behind the Bali attack. 

But Pastika denies that Jemaah Islamiyah exists in Indonesia, although he says 
it does have an ideological equivalent, the Indonesian Mujahidin Council, which 
is led by Baasyir. 

"Amrozi did not name the founder of the Indonesian Mujahidin Council as a 
participant at the Solo meetings to prepare the Bali bombings," he said 
Tuesday. 

Meanwhile, Reuters reported that police in the Bali capital of Denpasar are 
looking for the location of a fourth place safe-house that was used by the 
bombers before they carried out the attack. 

Amrozi has already led them to three locations: Harum hotel and two boarding 
houses. Residue from the explosives, TNT and PETN which filled the bomb’s 
detonator, was found in two of the locations. 

Arsenal Excuse 
Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) commander General Endriartono Sutarto on 
Tuesday admitted the more than 5,000 bullets found in the forest near Amrozi’s 
hometown could have been made by state-owned arms manufacturer PT Pindad, 

Rather than admit that corrupt officers sell guns to civilians if the price is 
right, Sutarto said some of the military’s arsenals are in such a poor state 
that they can be easily “penetrated” by “irresponsible people”. 

"I don’t believe Pindad was involved in this case. If it did happen, they [the 
munitions] could have been taken from TNI’s arsenals, which are in a poor 
condition," he was quoted as saying by state news agency Antara. 

He cited as an example the “theft” of thousands of bullets from a warehouse at 
the Army’s Batujajar training center in West Java several years ago. 

Pastika on Tuesday said investigators were trying to ascertain the origin of 
the bullets and guns. 

"We have launhed an investigation to know why and how Amrozi and his friends 
got the arms," he said. 

Muhammadiyah 
The youth wing of the nation’s second largest Islamic organization Muhammadiyah 
on Tuesday vowed not to blindly support any of their members should they be 
proven to be involved in terrorism, but urged police not to find scapegoats for 
the Bali bombings. 


"If any Islamic believer or Muhammadiyah member is proven to be involved in 
terrorism, police should not hesitate to take them to court," said a statement 
signed by Muhammadiyah Youth chairman Abdul Muti and secretary general Izzul 
Muslimin. 

The organization advised police to be professional and avoid serving the 
political interests of “certain parties”. 

"As such, police should refrain from making investigations to fulfill certain 
targets, because then police might have to sacrifice some suspects as 
scapegoats," the statement said. 

Police on Sunday detained Muhammadiyah member Muksan, a teacher at the Al-Islam 
boarding school in Tenggulun, for questioning in relation to the Bali bombings. 

‘I Am Not Knowledgeable’ 
Religious Affairs Minister Said Agil Munawar on Monday echoed Pastika’s claim 
that Jemaah Islamiyah does not have a presence in Indonesia, but admitted he 
didn’t know what he’s talking about. 

He said the organization once existed in Malaysia, adding it was not his 
ministry’s business to know whether any members of the group are now in 
Indonesia. 

"I am not knowledgeable enough about it and I am not well-informed about it," 
he said. 

The minister, who was widely ridiculed earlier this year for ordering the 
excavation of a sacred site in West Java in the hope of finding a fabled buried 
treasure, stressed that Islam should never be linked to terrorism. 

He said that not a single religion in the world, especially not Islam, 
advocates violence or terror. 

On the contrary, he said, Islam teaches peace, love and kindness to all people 
irrespective of their religious persuasion. 

Munawar admitted he had played a role in last week’s transfer of Islamic 
Defenders Front (FPI) leader Habib Riziek Shihab from police detention to house 
arrest. 

Shihab, whose group has regularly raided bars, cafes and pool halls that sell 
alcohol, is charged with inciting attacks on nightspots. Following his release 
from custody, FPI announced it would no longer use violence in its campaign to 
promote respect for Islamic law. 

The minister said he had spoken directly with Shihab and urged him to dissolve 
all FPI chapters across the country lest the group’s members be recruited 
by “unscrupulous third parties” for involvement in criminal activities. 

Analysts say that FPI, like just about every other radical Islamic group in the 
country, has received backing from certain military figures who sought to 
exploit religion to serve their political and financial interests. 

Blame the CIA 
Although the House of Representatives’ Commission I on security and foreign 
affairs has praised police for capturing the key suspect in the Bali bombings, 
some legislators still claim the carnage might have been perpetrated by the 
CIA. 

Following is the unexpurgated text of an article by Antara on the matter. Only 
the worst of the typing errors have been edited for the sake of clarity. 

CIA MAY HAVE SMUGGLED AGENTS IN BOMBING CASES, SAY LEGISLATORS 
Selasa, 12 Nopember, 2002 1:15:14 AM 

Jakarta, Nov 11 (ANTARA) - Some members of the House’s Commission I said based 
on the chronology of the Bali bombings and experience in similar incidents in 
other countries, the US might have smuggled its intelligence (CIA) agents in 
many actions of bomb blasts to serve that country’s interests. 

"Intellectual actors behind the Bali bombings certainly play a decisive role. 
If there is such an accusation of a possible US role in engineering the 
bombings in Bali, we certainly could justify that kind of accusation," a member 
of the House’s Commission I, Permadi SH, said during a working meeting with 
National Police Chief Gen. Dai Bachtiar here on Monday. 

The working meeting, led by Ibrahim Ambong as chairman of the House commission 
I, was actually held to discuss the budget and new findings on abuses within 
the police institution, but the eye-catching issues were predominantly raised 
to Gen. Dai Bachtiar. In fact, the issue of the Bali bombings eventually became 
the highlight during the working meeting. 

In addition to Permadi of the Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P 
faction), Aisyah Aminy of the United Development Party faction and AM Luthfi of 
the Reform faction also asked about a possible infiltration of CIA agents in 
the Bali bombings. 

Permadi said the strategy applied by the alleged perpetrators of the Bali 
bombings and other similar incidents in the world - during which involvement of 
CIA agents was very strongly felt - is actually the same with the bloody and 
unforgettable incident which ever occurred in 1965 in Indonesia. 

In connection with the Bali bombings, CIA has possibly smuggled its 
intelligence agents into hard-line Islamic groups by exploiting Indonesians of 
Arab descent. 

"In fact, we also presume that Osama bin Laden was also a US trainee in the 
past. Therefore the US was never serious in killing Osama. What had been bombed 
were actually Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan. But Osama himself was never 
captured," he said, adding if the US wanted to kill Osama it should not have 
sent bombs but intelligence operatives to Afghanistan. 

Foreign pressure 
In the meantime, Aisyah Aminy greatly welcomed the police’s success in 
uncovering the bombing case in Bali. But more important was how to net the 
intellectual actors behind the tragedy, she said. 

"We’d better give priority to who engineered the bombings, so that moslem 
groups will not continuously serve as the scapegoat," she said. 

AM Luthfi meanwhile stressed that based on experience of the police in 
investigating the Bali bombings. The police was felt to have been pressured by 
foreign side. 

"Foreign pressure was ever conveyed by Daniel S Lev in Australia that the US 
and Australia wanted a campaign on anti-terrorism to be supported by 
Indonesia.” 

Luthfi urged the police to maintain sincerity and transparency in this 
matter. "Egypt and Syria in 1973 ever had bad experience in which their 
prospective pilots were reportedly eliminated by a hard-line Moslem group, 
Ikhwanul Muslimin. In fact, who had infiltrated into Ikhwanul Muslimin were 
Israeli Mossad agents." 

He reminded all elements that Mossad and Ikhwanul Muslimin were at odds and it 
was impossible for them to forge a cooperation. But there were some Mossad 
agents who had infiltrated into that organization to annihilate Egyptian and 
Syrian pilots. 

Luthfi also said that several months before the September 11 tragedy in New 
York in 2001, a number of CIA senior officials had a meeting with Osama bin 
Laden who was at that time being treated in a hospital in Dubai because of 
kidney failure. 

"There were also many Osama colleagues who ever cooperated with the US in the 
effort to drive out the Soviet Union from Afghanistan," he said. 

Based on those facts, he also called on the police to remain sincere and 
transparent in investigating the Bali bombing case. If there is such a 
conspiracy like this, the fact should be unveiled to the public, he added 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bloomberg News 
A bruised Bali awaits better times  
Claire Leow 
Tuesday, November 12, 2002 

BALI, Indonesia At beachfront restaurants here, waiters stand by dozens of 
empty candlelit tables. By the pool of the Four Seasons Hotel in the hills near 
Ubud, attendants bring chilled mineral water and freshly cut tropical fruit to 
a lone guest every 15 minutes.

A month after a bomb blast in Bali killed at least 190 people, many of the 
island's 2,500 hotels have fired workers to cope with a slump that may last two 
years. Australia, the United States and Britain are among the governments that 
have warned tourists away from Indonesia and other Asian countries.

"It will take six months before any travel ban gets lifted," said Desmond 
James, 38, a former hotelier who now supplies hotels with Balinese artifacts 
and other products. "And then there'll be a long period of promotions and re-
marketing Bali again before people come back."

Before the blast, Bali was the center of Indonesian tourism, accounting for 35 
percent of direct arrivals to the country and the bulk of some $5.4 billion in 
annual revenue.

Since the Oct. 12 explosion and the travel warnings that followed, the 
government lowered its 2002 economic growth forecast to 3.5 percent from 4 
percent and cut its forecast for next year by a percentage point, to 4 percent.

As 2 million Indonesians enter the work force every year, the Indonesian 
economy must grow 6 percent a year to provide enough work to prevent social 
instability, economists say.

These days, 10 of southern Bali's largest hotels, which have a total of 4,000 
rooms, estimate that only a quarter of their rooms will be filled next month 
and 30 percent in January, said Budi Susanta, a marketing analyst at Bali 
Hilton International. Break-even for most hotels is 40 percent.

"I have chefs helping out in the garden, receptionists helping in the 
restaurants," said Chris Norton, regional vice president at Four Seasons 
Resorts, which has 207 rooms and villas in two Bali locations. "What is 
important is they keep busy."

Above the limestone cliffs of Jimbaran Bay - about 10 miles (16 kilometers) 
from the blast site - hundreds of laborers cart stone blocks to the site of 
Southeast Asia's largest spa. The Ritz-Carlton project will open in December.

"Nothing changes," said Paul Czuba, sales and marketing director at the Ritz-
Carlton Bali Resort. "We plan long-term."

For now, the larger resorts are resisting price cuts, saying that won't make 
much difference to travelers dissuaded by travel warnings. The same alerts 
hamper insurance arrangements for group and package tours.

"Until the bans are lifted, no discounting will draw them back," said Arifin 
Darmawan, marketing director for Grand Hyatt in Nusa Dua, the largest on the 
island with 750 rooms. He has lost bookings for more than 11,000 nights through 
the last quarter of 2003.

Bigger hotels are offering free room upgrades, while smaller ones offer package-
tour discounts of up to 50 percent to domestic travelers. The government has 
ordered some 600 state companies to hold annual meetings and other events in 
Bali.

Some resorts are trying to keep trained staff. Sheraton Laguna Nusa Dua, which 
employs more than 500 people, has put many on extended leave, a spokeswoman, 
Maria Maringka, said. The 270-room hotel is also offering discount packages to 
domestic tourists.

But there are optimists, including I Made Wiranatha, whose Paddy's Irish Pub 
was among the targets of the Oct. 12 attack. The owner of a string of 
restaurants, nightclubs and hotels now thinks his Air Paradise, whose inaugural 
flight was delayed by the blast, will take to the skies early next year.

"Bali will recover faster than people think," he said. "I want to be ready to 
rebuild. I will continue." 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Jakarta Post.com
Opinion
November 13, 2002
Behind the picture of expatriates' exodus 
James Kallman, PT Grant Thornton Indonesia, Management Consultancy, Jakarta

The Bali bombings may have caused fear and panic among foreign tourists 
intending to visit Indonesia, but they are not the reason that the exodus of 
expatriates continues unabated.

By their very nature, professional expatriates are not given to sudden 
irrational changes of heart, for in general they will have carefully weighed 
the pros and cons before accepting the position in the first place. 

Nor, as some would believe, are they a mercenary breed scouring the world for 
opportunities to enrich themselves to the detriment of the host nation, and 
ready to run off at the first signs of trouble. Many expatriates in Indonesia 
have lived and worked in far more hazardous countries and conditions. 

For by and large, expatriates are men and women of commitment, a commitment not 
just to themselves, their families and employers, but also to the people and 
country in which they serve. In most cases they have little to give but this 
commitment and their skills, skills that they willingly pass on in order to 
contribute and upgrade the abilities of the people of their host nation. 

Yet commitment must be reciprocated, and this is the major reason that so many 
expatriates have become disenchanted with Indonesia. They have no fears that 
the ordinary people of Indonesia have suddenly changed from their open, warm 
and friendly selves into some fanatical terrorists with hatred and destruction 
on their minds. 

As has been pointed out on many occasions, Indonesia does not hold a monopoly 
on terrorist groups; they can be found all around the world, those small groups 
of bigots and fanatics who hate everybody that doesn't agree with their point 
of view. 

What the expatriates do worry about though is the seeming lack of commitment 
among the political elite to unite and embrace a common purposeful policy to 
come to grips with Indonesia's many crises, of which terrorism is but the 
latest. 

The prelude to Bali demonstrated this point clearly. For while there were those 
who took the warnings from foreign intelligence sources seriously, they were 
severely hampered by others who in the interests of scoring "political points" 
declared the warnings to be part of a foreign plot to discredit Indonesia. Yet 
in the aftermath, members of the second group were among the most vocal critics 
of the authorities for not heeding the warnings. 

In truth, the Bali bombings could have no more been prevented than the attacks 
on the World Trade Center in New York. Yet what puzzles many expatriates is 
that they have yet to see Indonesia unite in national outrage as did the 
American people. For although the majority of those killed were foreign 
tourists, this was an attack directed against Indonesia and its economy. 

Already the people of Bali are suffering and this is likely to spread across 
the archipelago now that Indonesia has been classified as a "war risk" country 
for insurance purposes. This further diminishes Indonesia's competitive edge, 
making it not just harder to attract investment but also to maintain 
profitability in many business sectors. 

The secret to tackling any crisis is to create confidence amongst the 
population that the leadership has identified the problem and has formulated a 
plan to overcome it. In the U.S., the likes of New York mayor Giuliani and 
President George Bush were not only highly visible but also exuded a confidence 
of overcoming the crisis. They were action men, not just in words, but in 
deeds. Whether or not you agree with their policies, you must admit that they 
set the agenda and led from it. 

The people in Indonesia, expatriates included, are waiting for similar leaders 
to emerge and take charge of the situation in a forceful yet compassionate 
manner. They have been patient since the fall of Soeharto and the onset of 
reformasi, realizing that such things take time, especially against the 
backdrop of an economic crisis. To date, they have seen few confidence building 
measures however. 

Unlike the Indonesian people though, as guests, expatriates can always decide 
that the time has come for them to say goodbye to their hosts. Sadly, many 
already have over the past few years, though with more than a tinge of sadness. 
For there are a sizable number of expatriates who have been here, one, two or 
more decades, long enough for them to call Indonesia "home". 

Tearing up roots is never easy at the best of times, but even harder for those 
who have married Indonesians and have families that know no other country as 
home. It is not a decision made on the spur of the moment, but the result of 
many sleepless nights and painful days of a growing realization that their 
dreams can no longer be fulfilled in Indonesia. 

It was not the sudden bomb blasts in Bali that brought about this realization, 
disturbing though they were. No, it has been a prolonged ebbing of confidence 
that Indonesia has the will and determination to tackle its many problems head-
on. 

But while many expatriates have already left, just to set the record straight, 
not all have given up hope. They remain out of a deep love for Indonesia and 
its people, as well as in the hope that their confidence will be restored in 
Indonesia's ability to solve its problems and realize its great destiny. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Asia Times Online
November 12, 2002
Bali tragedy clips Garuda's wings 
By Tony Sitathan 

October 12 was a grim day for state-owned airline Garuda Indonesia. On that day 
the country's popular tourist destination, Bali, was hit by a series of 
bombings that ripped through popular nightspots, killing 184 people and 
injuring nearly 432. 

The terrorist attack not only impacted the airline business in Indonesia but 
created tension among several carriers based in Asia. Since the terrorist 
attacks in the United States on September 11 last year, insurance premiums have 
increased, creating an overall increase in passenger airfares, and most 
national-airline profits have been badly mauled. Singapore Airlines, seen as a 
benchmark among Asian airlines, reported a drop in overall revenues for 2002 of 
as much as 12 percent, while its overall profits have dipped by almost 30 
percent compared with overall profits for 2000 and early 2001. 

Jonathan Speelman, a risk insurance specialist with Hong Kong-based Axiom 
Consulting, says the Bali tragedy has left a questionable future for airline 
industries in Asia. "There is a negative mood created among frequent fliers 
whether for business or for holiday purposes, and airlines as well as the 
general hospitality industry for the last quarter of 2002 will see an immediate 
impact on their bottom line. The year-end holiday season won't boost the 
profits in complementary industries like hotels and other service industries," 
he said. 

Before the tragedy, Bali attracted well over a million visitors and generated 
up to US$400 million in tourist dollars per year. "Now even achieving half of 
[those] tourist arrivals or generating up to $200 million for 2003 seems highly 
improbable," said Gusti Deariowan, an official with the Air Transportation 
Union based in Bali. 

Bali was the second most favorite destination for travelers to Indonesia after 
Jakarta, the capital. In August, more than 160,000 travelers arrived in Bali, 
the highest number recorded in the past five years, but monthly arrivals now 
appear to have dropped to slightly under 60,000. During an emergency meeting at 
Garuda's corporate headquarters, it was immediately decided that extra 
resources had to be pooled for Bali. 

"It was a state of panic at first because we were not sure if there were other 
targets on the terrorist hit list," said a Garuda Indonesia ground-crew member 
based in Bali. "We had to increase our security presence in the airports and in 
the cargo as well [as] hangars of the airlines. There was also a lot of 
coordination that was done between the various operations serving our guests in 
the hotels to reassure them that their flights were confirmed." 

Security has been a main priority for Garuda ever since terrorist bomb scares 
began hurting Indonesia's image as a stable republic. Other international 
airlines on the day of the Bali bombing were kept informed of the state of the 
airport and also many flights in-bound to Bali were canceled at the request of 
governments wanting to take a proactive stand against terrorism. Similarly the 
US, UK and Australian consulates were kept in a state of operational readiness, 
sending their respective governments information on the events as the occurred 
in Bali. 

"It was not an easy task, especially for Garuda Indonesia, to react quickly, as 
there were many other internal factors to look at besides continuing to run our 
operations smoothly," said Wijaya Hadinukerto, vice president of information 
systems for Garuda Indonesia. "In the short to mid-term, there will also be 
many changes to how we operate as well as react to similar conditions should 
they pop up." 

The Bali disaster added to the effects felt by the airline industry after the 
tragic September 11 incident in the United States last year. Swissair and 
Sabena Airlines were forced to bankruptcy while other national airlines had to 
trim their overall expenditure in order to maintain their 
competitiveness. "Only Singapore Airlines and Japan Airlines did not slash 
their overall expenditure for the rest of 2002 and in 2003, but most other 
airlines were forced to accept the inevitable and reduce their overall budget, 
including their IT expenditure," said Wijaya. And Garuda Indonesia is no 
exception. He predicts that Garuda's information-technology budget will be 
slashed by 20-30 percent for 2003 from the $16 million earmarked for last year. 

Several international routes will be severed since the passenger load factor 
has been adversely affected, while domestic and international prices of tickets 
will be reduced significantly in the hopes of giving people an additional 
incentive to travel. Although Wijaya did not give any percentages on the drop 
of passengers to Bali, a check with several travel agents and airline ticketing 
houses indicated that passenger traffic has dropped by as much as 60 percent or 
more, while discounts ranging from 15-25 percent are given on nearly all 
domestic routes throughout Indonesia. 

All this is bad news for an airline wanting to go public next year, and whose 
efforts to prove itself won Garuda Indonesia the Indonesian Best Brand Award 
2002 in airline service by Marketing Research Specialist (MARS) in cooperation 
with SWA Magazine, the second year in a row it had won the honor. It also 
received the Indonesian Customer Satisfaction Award for "best airline" in 
achieving total customer satisfaction and won the coveted Amsterdam Airport 
Schiphol Award in the category of "most punctual intercontinental airline", 
both for 2000 and 2001. 

Last November, Garuda Indonesia completed the arduous process of restructuring 
its massive external debts. Garuda's creditors were the European Credit Agency 
(ECA), which underwrote the financing of six Airbus A-330-300 aircraft; Bank 
Mandiri, owed a $103 million debt to that was used to fund the company's 
working capital; PT Angkasa Pura I and II, owed $38.2 million in current 
trading debts; and more than 100 local and foreign creditors with approximately 
$460 million in loans. "It was a massive debt-restructuring exercise that began 
as early as 1998. However, Garuda's intentions to honor its debt settlement and 
also pursue a logical policy of going public has received a fair amount of 
goodwill from its creditors," said Agus Indrayanto, one of the principal 
consultants involved in the debt-restructuring process. 

Bali might have negated all that hard work and spoiled Garuda's initial public 
offering (IPO) plans for next year. Still, it all depends on how the airline 
creates confidence and a positive image for its shareholders, employees and 
customers. 

"Sometimes a negative event can be used positively if the top management 
realizes what are its strengths and limitations when improving its overall 
image, and now is the best time ... for Garuda to work doubly hard to achieve 
its objectives," said Teguh Prasetyo, a public relations consultant working for 
a Fortune 500 company based in Jakarta. 
-- (©2002 Asia Times Online Co, Ltd.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Asia Pulse/Antara
November 12, 2002
Indonesia revokes 15 timber estate licenses 

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Forestry Ministry says it has revoked 15 timber estate 
licenses, including those belonging to tycoons Mohammad Bob Hasan and 
Probosutedjo. 

Bob Hasan was a timber tycoon, now serving a jail sentence in Nusakambangan, 
and Probosutedjo is former president Suharto's half-brother. "They had their 
licenses revoked because technically, their forest concessions are far from 
those specified by the government," forestry production development director 
general Suhariyanto said. 

Until November 5, the 15 timber estate owners could plant trees on 188,950 
hectares out of 989,079 hectares of timber estates specified by the government, 
he said. In fact, the 15 timber estate owners had received billions of rupiah 
through the disbursement of reforestation funds and capital participation from 
the government. The government had allocated Rp2.4 trillion (US$260.7 million) 
to a total of 92 timber estate owners. 

Based on last month's decree of the forestry minister, governors will be 
assigned to take care of the timber estates that have their licenses revoked 
and receive assets from the forestry companies concerned. By doing so, the 
management of timber estates would become better because provincial governments 
would directly be involved, he said. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
E Timorese Rally Demands Justice Over 1991 Shootings
DILI, East Timor, Nov. 12 (AP)

About 1,000 protesters Tuesday demanding that the Indonesian soldiers who shot 
to death 200 people at a rally 11 years ago be brought to justice.

The Nov. 12, 1991, massacre at the Santa Cruz cemetery, in the capital, Dili, 
was secretly caught on video and broadcast around the world. It galvanized 
opposition to Indonesia's brutal rule of East Timor.

A few low-ranked soldiers were prosecuted over the shootings. But no senior 
officers have ever faced justice.

The demonstrators, many of whom were survivors of the shootings or relatives of 
victims, gathered for an emotional church service and then marched through the 
city.

East Timor broke from Indonesia in 1999 after a U.N.-sponsored referendum. 
After two years of U.N. administration it gained its nationhood on May 20.

Some of the protesters held up photos of Indonesia's former dictator Suharto, 
who ordered the 1975 invasion of East Timor. Others had pictures of former 
Indonesian military chief Gen. Wiranto, who was in charge of the armed forces 
in 1999 and has been blamed for the deaths of about 1,000 people at the hands 
of Indonesia's army and its militia supporters at the time of the vote.

Several U.N. officials have called for an international war crimes tribunal, 
akin to those for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, to bring to justice those 
responsible for the bloodshed.