20 years after Bali Bombing, Terrorist Threats Still Exist

Three explosions occurred on October 12, 2002,  twenty years ago. The first bomb, which was said to weigh 1 kg, exploded at Paddy’s Pub on Jalan Legian, Kuta.  Then a second bomb estimated to weigh 50 kg – 150 kg planted in a red car, exploded outside of the Sari Club in the same area. Not long after the second explosion , the third bomb estimated to weigh 6 kg was detonated with a long-range remote near the United States consulate general building in Denpasar, Bali. A total of 202 people died, and another 209 were injured in the explosion known as the Bali Bombings.

Jemaah Islamiyah, a terrorist network affiliated with the Al Qaeda group, has been identified as the group responsible for this humanitarian tragedy that rocked the world. The perpetrators were arrested and served their sentences. Three perpetrators, Amrozi, Imam Samudra and Mukhlas or Ali Ghufron were put to death in November 2008, while Ali Imron was sentenced to life imprisonment for his involvement.

Ali Fauzi Manzi, the brother of one of perpetrators of the Bali Bombings and a former Chief Instructor of the Bomb Assembly of the Jemaah Islamiyah group was arrested in the Philippines for joining the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) terrorist group in the Philippines. After his release, he partnered with the government in a deradicalization program with his Peace Circle Foundation.  This foundation encourages former terrorists to become agents of peace.

“I hope that after 20 years of this Bali bombing there are no more bombs in Indonesia, no bomb victims, there are no former terrorists. Most importantly, that we foster mutual respect and be part of the ambassadors of peace,” he told The Apex Chronicles..

Ali Fauzi, who is now completing his doctoral education, believes that deradicalization can only happen if all parties are involved and synergize together. Starting with religious leaders, community leaders, youth leaders, and other organizations.

“I believe that if everything can be synergized, terrorism in Indonesia, and extremist understandings in Indonesia can be eliminated,” he said.

Meanwhile, an interesting statement from Abu Bakar Baasyir, who has been in the international spotlight for being indirectly involved with the Bali Bombings, said he never approved of the action.

“I had never been told, if I had been told, I would have banned it. That’s why they didn’t say anything to me, they knew that they said I definitely didn’t agree. Islam does not teach violence,” said Baasyir when The Apex Chronicles met him at his residence in Ngruki, Sukoharjo.

According to him, proselytizing is a path of jihad that he teaches to his students, including the perpetrators of the Bali bombings. Not by violent means,  let alone killing. Furthermore, Baasyir mentioned that he was not sure if it was his students who assembled the bomb because he doubted if they were capable of making bombs with such explosive power. “I’m sure there were foreigners coming in, because I heard that the explosion was big and  caused many casualties.  I don’t believe they could make such a bomb,” he said.

Abu Bakar Baasyir has only recently begun to enjoy his freedom. He was released after  serving 15 years in prison on a seven-count indictment. His own release had been pushed back several times because he refused parole and chose to wait for his sentence to finish and was released on Friday, January 8, 2021.

After his release, Baasyir, who had been rumored to have ties with ISIS after photos of him circulated with the figures of Jamaah Ansharut Daulah in Kembang Kuning Prison, Nusakambangan, Cilacap, Central Java, began to talk about Pancasila, the foundational philosophical theory of Indonesian state. On the commemoration of the independence of the Republic of Indonesia on August 17, for the first time, Baasyir also participated in the ceremony and sang the song Indonesia Raya even though he did not stand up to honor the flag.

According to Baasyir, pancasila on which this country is based, is the approval of scholars who will not always  agree  but will use knowledge and beliefs to find common ground. “Scholars approve of Indonesia based on Pancasila, because that is the basis of tawhid, namely the One True Godhead,” he said.

“Consequently, the Government that takes care of this Indonesian state, the Indonesian state should be regulated by laws created by God Almighty, not man-made laws,” he said.

The Threat of Terrorism Will Continue to Exist

Solo based terrorism observer Sofwan Faizal Sifyan, sees that the threat of terrorism still  exists and caution must be exercised even though many terrorist figures have reversed course and shown good cooperation and support for the Government’s deradicalization program.

“We have to be aware of the act of terrorism, even though it seems to be non-existent on the surface, but we still have to do it today,” he said.

He added that conditions that occur in a country also have an influence on the emergence of the threat of terrorismin a country.

“All of us, the public and the government must remain vigilant against such threats. Because indeed we do not know the developments that exist abroad, about politics, especially national politics. That sometimes trigger acts of terrorism,” he said.

Faizal gave the example of Bahrun Naim, an important ISIS figure from Indonesia, who was arrested for gun possession in November 2010.   After his release, he actually moved to Syria with his family. According to Faizal, while inside the prison, Bahrun Naim was a model prisoner.  However, after his release he was suspected of being involved with a number of bomb attacks in Indonesia.

According to data from the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) to date, there have been 1200 prisoners who have been de-radicalized,  900 of them were former prisoners.  This figure continues to change as terrorism prisoners get releasedone after their sentences.

Director of deradicalization  for the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) Irfan Idris, also said that the threat of terrorism  always exists.

According to Irfan, the Bali Bombing is an important event that pushes us to continue to be vigilant.  In terms of the number of terrorist attacks, it can be said to be declining, but the attacks are now becoming more complex and increasingly lethal.

“Bali bombings have not involved women and children but the Surabaya bombings, the sibolga bombings of North Sumatra, the Makasar cathedral attack, ZA (Zakiah Aini) who entered the Police headquarters and carried out heroic acts were women and that tended to come to the fore and should not happen,” he said.