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“We
(are willing to help) with what we have. We will make closer
contact," Reeker
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Additional
Reporting By Kazi Mahmood, IOL Correspondent
KUALA
LUMPUR, August 6 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - As a press
report said on Wednesday, August 6, that Jemaah Islamiah (JI) claimed
responsibility for the car bomb attack on a luxury hotel a day earlier,
the United States and France offered to help Indonesia fight against the
terrorist-labeled network.
Singapore's
Straits Times newspaper reported that the Jemaah Islamiah
(JI) militant group had claimed responsibility for the blast, which
damaged the JW Marriott Hotel, part of a U.S. chain.
It
is a "bloody warning" to Indonesian President Megawati
Sukarnoputri not to crack down on militants, the paper quoted a “JI
operative” as saying.
"This
is a message for her and all our enemies that, if they execute any of
our Muslim brothers, we will continue this campaign of terror in
Indonesia and the region," it quoted the JI operative as saying.
The
paper made no mention how it had received the message of the militant.
The
blast came just two days before the expected verdict in
the trial of a key suspect in last October's devastating
Bali bombing,
which killed 202 people, mostly Western vacationers.
Furthermore,
Indonesian police said Wednesday the car bomb that ripped through a
Jakarta hotel contained the same cocktail of explosives as the Bali
bombs.
Indonesia's
top detective Erwin Mappaseng said a body had been found inside the
Toyota "Kijang" van which triggered the blast which tore
through the lobby and ground floor restaurant of the 33-storey
American-run hotel.
He
declined to say whether a suicide attacker was involved, as in Bali, but
he said the explosives used in the two attacks were the same and the
modus operandi of the bombers was similar.
"From
the modus, the materials and others, there are similarities,"
Mappaseng was quoted by Agence France-Presse (AFP) as saying.
He
said traces of black powder, potassium chloride and TNT, all ingredients
used in Bali, were found at the Marriott site.
Offering
Help
In
the meanwhile, the United States and France stepped in to assist
Indonesia in its fight against a terror network that has not said its
last words and is growing too powerful for the local authorities to
handle.
The
U.S. government has expressed concern over the Tuesday bombing, saying
it is willing to help the Indonesian government fight terrorism and
crush the terrorist network, Antara reported.
Following
suit, the French government too has offered to help Indonesia
investigate the bombing and to assist in defeating the alleged terrorist
network.
"France
and Australia have offered some help," Indonesian Minister of
Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayudha said after attending the induction of
five new ambassadors by President Megawati Soekarnoputri at the State
Palace on Wednesday.
On
the other hand, the U.S. State Department firmly denounced the attack
adding that the U.S. was ready to help in all ways that “we could
take, and will maintain our cooperation with Indonesia and other
countries to end terrorism," deputy spokesman of the U.S. State
Department, Philip Reeker, told a press conference in Washington on
Tuesday.
The
U.S. will also be prepared to boost its intelligence presence in
Indonesia and would also send FBI agents to beef up the local
intelligentsia in a bid to crush who ever they believe is linked to the
bombing spree in the largest Muslim nation on earth.
Reeker
said though there were no plans to send the FBI experts yet, this was
possible at the request of the Indonesian government.
"For
sure, the Indonesian government will do some investigation. We (are
willing to help) with what we have. We will make closer contact,"
he said.
Indonesian police have said at least
13 were
killed,
including a Dutch, and another 149 were injured in the blast.
Indonesia’s Foreign Affairs Minister added that the Philippines,
Singapore and other nations had also expressed their willingness to help
Indonesia investigate the bombing.
Indonesians
‘Shocked’
No
organizations have so far officially claimed responsibility for the
terrible act that has shaken the entire city of Jakarta since most of
those killed are locals, as people are still shocked by the blast.
“Why
did they do such an act, they killed our people and they destroyed the
image of our country with this latest bombing,” said an advertising
representative living in Jakarta but on a business trip to Malaysia.
He
told IslamOnline.net it was a pity that the war against terrorism was
going the wrong way and that “this will not end with the arrest of
Muslim leaders, it’s the entire war against terror that is going
wrong,” he said with a sad tone.
Another
Indonesian national visiting Malaysia said “it seems my fears may have
come true, I am devastated with this bombing and I believe the
authorities must do more to stop this nonsense.”
Hamid
believes that Indonesia cannot join the U.S. in attacking Muslims in the
war against terrorism.
“The
Indonesian authorities must listen to the Muslims rather than bow to the
U.S. alone in this matter,” he said.
