(OT) Bali terrorist bomb attacks aimed at Christians says analyst

[Guest guest]

Hi,

There have been devastating bomb attacks in Bali, an Indonesian island

resort frequented

by Australian tourists. The bomb attacks took place

at and near popular Bali night clubs. Many Australian tourists have been

injured and some have died

(see the following articles). A strategy expert interviewed on TV this

morning said he considered

the attacks to be anti-Christian not anti-Australian because of the evidence

they have.

Previous warning signs of intercepted explosives have been ignored in Bali

and apparantly

a Filipino Government building was also targeted. Targets in Australia may

be next says the

strategist and the USA has had a military vessel off the coast of Indonesia

recently

(air craft carrier) with troops having recreation leave in Bali. The

strategist also

mentioned an Indonesian airport having a special welcoming desk at the

airport for

EL Quaida arrivals. Let us hope this is not the start of a new wave of

terrorism and

please pray for the dead and those who have lost their loved ones in the

Bali bomb attacks.

Indonesia has a population of about 200 million and about 90 per cent are

Muslim.

Indonesia is located just above Australia. Australia's population is about

20 million

with most of the population located in its capital cities. Some prominent

Australian

sports team members were holidaying in Bali at the end of the sports season

here

for some sports. Some of these people were amonst the injured and missing.

Kind regards,

Marguerite (see below)

*********************************

Bali blast: 220 Aussies missing

http://news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,5281648%255E2,00.html

By Don Greenlees

October 14, 2002

 

AUSTRALIAN police, bomb specialists and special investigators were being

rushed to Bali last night after at least 187 people, many of them

Australians, were killed in a terrorist bombing that ripped through a

bustling shopping and nightclub district of the resort island.

 

Thirteen Australians were confirmed dead, 220 were unaccounted for and there

were 60 critical cases among the 113 known Australian injured.

 

Four RAAF Hercules flew to the Indonesian island province to evacuate

injured Australians, At home, major teaching hospitals around the country

were on alert to cater for injured survivors.

 

The first Hercules to return with seriously injured Australians landed in

Darwin around midnight. John Howard ordered a nat ional security review and

warned the " barbaric " nightclub bombing was a " terrible reminder that

terrorism can touch anybody, anytime and in any country " .

 

" This wicked and cowardly attack - clearly on the evidence available to us

an act of terrorism - can have no justification and would be widely

condemned not only by Australians but by people all around the world, " the

Prime Minister said.

 

Following the worst terror episode since the September 11, 2001, attacks on

New York and Washington, Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri declared

that " terrorism is a real danger and potential threat to national

security " - an admission the US and neighbouring countries had previously

sought in vain from Jakarta.

 

Police and rescue workers yesterday picked their way through the burnt and

twisted rubble of what was once one of Bali's most popular nightclub areas,

particular among young holidaying Australians.

 

Just before midnight on Saturday, the Sari Club in the Kuta neighbourhood

was packed with partying foreigners - the throngs of Australians included

players attending an international rugby tournament and other footballers on

end-of-season celebrations - when what is believed to have been a car-bomb

exploded outside, starting a blaze that quickly engulfed surrounding

buildings.

 

Many players from the Kingsley Australian rules club in Perth were inside at

the time of the blast. Coach Simon Quayle said they were all having a good

time and then " bang " .

 

" Within a minute the whole place was burning. The flames were just

unbearable, " he said. " I'm just lucky to have survived. "

 

The force of the explosion stripped away the facades of neighbouring

buildings and shattered windows at least 100m away.

 

Across the street from the Sari Club, the usually crowded two-storey Paddys

Bar was a blackened shell by morning. There was an unconfirmed report from

police sources the widespread damage was the result of two bombs going off

in close succession.

 

Witnesses arriving on the scene on Jalan Legian minutes after the blast

described a gruesome tapestry of body parts and dazed survivors burned by

fires or covered in blood and cut by flying debris.

 

Although the identity of the perpetrators was the subject of intense

speculation, the Indonesian and Australian governments said they were

undoubtedly dealing with an act of terrorism.

 

Fox television news reported that a group calling itself Jemmalah Salawah

had claimed responsibility.

 

Indonesia has been under pressure from the US and southeast Asian neighbours

to round up alleged members of a suspected terror organisation. known as

Jemaah Islamiah, but had until now claimed there was insufficient evidence

for arrests.

 

JI's activities increasingly have been linked with those of September 11

mastermind Osama bin Laden and his al-Qa'ida network.

 

Washington's Jakarta ambassador, Ralph Boyce, also yesterday pointed to

likely al-Qa'ida linkages to the " despicable act of terrorism " in Bali.

" There have been problems in Indonesia of late involving signs that

al-Qa'ida may have been involved in activities here, " he said, adding that

recent bombings in Indonesia over the past few weeks " indicate their

presence here, that we have always suspected ... we can more or less

confirm. "

 

The US embassy in Jakarta was preparing last night to direct spouses and

children of its staff to evacuate the country, along with non-essential

staff.

 

The Australian

***************************************

 

Analyst warns of local attacks

October 14, 2002

 

MORE attacks like the Bali bomb blasts are likely and could even take place

in Australia, a strategic affairs analyst has warned.

 

Kerry Collison said the perception of Bali as a safe destination was flawed,

and the Department of Foreign Affairs had let Australians down by not

warning of potential threats.

 

He said several incidents in Bali recently had highlighted the dangers in

the area.

 

" In the last 12 months, there have been a number of incidents there which

have not been reported widely in Australia, " he told Channel 9's Today show.

 

" One of these was the interception of substantial explosives at the Bali

airport ... sent by a group of Filipinos on the way to Balinese hotels.