http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/GJ04Ae03.html Oct 4, 2005
Bali bombs cure amnesia By Gary LaMoshi DENPASAR, Bali - In anticipation of my annual October 12 Bali bombing anniversary column, I talked to Gede Wijaya, head of the Bali Government Tourism Office a couple of weeks ago. July international arrivals to the island had set an all-time high and the August figures pushed the total for the year above a million, on pace for a new record. "We don't think about that bomb anymore," Wijaya said. "All of us have forgotten it." The proverb says those who forget history are destined to repeat it. When I heard the initial report on Saturday night, a phone call from a neighbor, I thought it had to be a mistake, an exaggeration. Everyone assumed that the 2002 tragedy in which 202 people died in terrorist bombings had immunized Bali from future attacks, and signs of collective amnesia abounded. But there was no mistake. The death toll from Saturday's night's three bombings in two popular tourist resorts was set on Sunday at 32, with more than 100 injured. More fatalities are expected. At least half of the island's 4 million rely on tourism for their living. Recovery from single-digit occupancy and double-digit unemployment noticeably kicked in at the Christmas-New Year holiday 2003, 14 months after the explosions at a pair of Kuta nightspots. By the start of this year's European holiday high season, Bali's previous prosperity tinged with arrogance had reemerged. A government minister from a neighboring country visiting the island for a regional conference got the "my way or the highway" treatment from a five-star hotel general manager, who assured the minister's aide that plenty of other people were ready to book the US$500 a night suite without looking for special favors. Buy signs flow International developers such as Novotel, Swiss-BelHotel and Royal joined the parade of Indonesians and expatriates building villas. One real estate shark had an e-mail out to his prospect list within 18 hours of the blasts, reminding them of the stock market adage that the time to buy is "when there's blood in the streets". Reminiscent of the woman in Woody Allen's Manhattan who whines, "I finally had an orgasm and my doctor said it was the wrong kind," some in Bali tourism complained about having the wrong guests amid soaring arrivals and hotel occupancy rates. Tourists from Asia and Australia, who dominated post-bomb arrivals, don't spend as much or stay as long as those from Europe and America who have been slower to return to Bali. Given initial expectations that it would take a decade or more for tourists to return, these gripes go beyond seeing the glass half empty rather than half full. They're more like a thirsty man in the desert getting a water hose and complaining that it's not spouting Evian. For all that changed in Bali since the 2002 bombing and the dark days that followed, not enough has changed in Indonesia to ensure Saturday's bombs will be the last ones. New Order, old tricks The New Order loyalists who gave rise to the wave of religious violence that began in 1999 during Abdurrahman Wahid's presidency still lurk in and around the corridors of power. (See Terrorism links in Indonesia point to military, October 8, 2004) The brazen murder of human rights activist Munir during a flight to Amsterdam a year ago billboarded their lingering clout. (See Arresting decay in Indonesia, July 7) But the almost comic insistence of prosecutors to ignore evidence and testimony of a conspiracy involving intelligence agency officials indicates that these darksiders have little to fear from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's regime. Like the first Bali bombings, the October 1 blasts illustrate how hard it is to put passions back in the bottle once they're unleashed. At the moment, there's a lot of passion in the air. The Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins this week, along with the Balinese celebrations of Galungan and Kuningan. In recent months, hardline Muslims have denounced tolerance and pluralism, threatening Christian congregations and even attacking Islamic sects they don't condone, daring authorities to stop them. Despite claims that the overwhelming majority of Indonesian Muslims are tolerant moderates, the government keeps kowtowing to extremists and showing a cowardly lack of interest in enforcing the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom. (Memo to Western governments: the Marriott Jakarta, Australian Embassy and now the Bali II bombings have all taken place with your public enemy number one, radical preacher Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, in jail. See Ba'asyir trial: wrong war, wrong time, November 3, 2004.) Fueling passions It's not just religious passions bubbling at the moment. Indonesia's government raised prices for fuel on October 1. Since 1998, fuel price hikes have triggered massive demonstrations (see Mega price hikes fuel Indonesia's discontent, January 15, 2003), and some media last week all but scolded the public's measured response this time. Although the government announced that the hikes - to lessen the budget burden of subsidies as oil prices rise - were coming two weeks ago, it wasn't until minutes before midnight on September 30 that it revealed the new prices. Premium gasoline rose 87.5% to about US$0.45 a liter, or about $1.70 a gallon. Kerosene, the main cooking fuel for the urban poor, rose 185.7%. The message here is one that's come through loud and clear and repeatedly in the seven-plus years since the fall of Suharto: politicians don't care about the people, especially the poor and the powerless. Public service in nominally democratic Indonesia doesn't carry an obligation to help society but an invitation to help yourself. As long as people continue to see evidence of that so graphically, through rampant, blatant corruption as well as arrogant public policy, they'll brush aside concepts of fair play and defy the law when it suits their ends, based on the example set by the powerful. These Bali bombs weren't as big or as devastating as the 2002 blasts. You can see that as progress, or you can see it as evidence that it doesn't take a massive operation or complex logistics to plan and execute an attack that can have a devastating impact on people and business. Until Indonesia changes, it's likely that it will remain a target for terrorists, something the Balinese and their fellow citizens should never forget. Gary LaMoshi has worked as a broadcast producer and print writer and editor in the US and Asia. Longtime editor of investor rights advocate eRaider.com, he's also a contributor to Slate and Salon.com. (Copyright 2005 Asia Times Online Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us for information on sales, syndication and republishing .) [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Get fast access to your favorite Yahoo! Groups. Make Yahoo! your home page http://us.click.yahoo.com/dpRU5A/wUILAA/yQLSAA/uTGrlB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Post message: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] List owner : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
