Bali Bombings: Terror Alert For 10th Anniversary
A thousand security personnel are deployed in Bali following "credible information" of a threat to Friday's commemorations.
Wednesday 10 October 2012 10:22, UK
Indonesia has been put on top security alert ahead of a ceremony to mark the 10th anniversary of the Bali bombings.
About a thousand more security personnel will be deployed on the tourist island, including snipers and intelligence agents, following "credible information" of a threat to the commemoration taking place this Friday.
Bali deputy police chief I Ketut Untung Yoga Ana confirmed that "security at all entry points to Bali, such as airports and seaports, will be intensified".
"We are taking extraordinary security measures following this threat," he said.
Of the 202 people who died on the nightlife strip of Kuta in 2002, 164 were foreign nationals, including 88 Australians.
Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard will speak at the service on Friday. She recently described the event as "a moment of horror that had a profound effect on Australia as a nation".
A spokesman for Australia's Home Affairs Minister said: "We are aware of security risks and are working with Indonesia to ensure all necessary precautions are taken."
The bombings, which were undertaken by the al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah group, opened an Asia front in the war on terrorism one year after the 9/11 attacks on the United States.
It was followed by a suicide blast in 2005 that killed 20 people dining at a beach restaurant and bombings at two five-star hotels in 2009 in Jakarta which claimed nine lives.
The atrocities devastated the island's tourism industry, which has only began to recover.
Indonesia has since cracked down on Islamic militants, with all the leading Bali bombing perpetrators having been executed, killed or jailed.
More than 700 members of Jemaah Islamiyah have been killed or imprisoned in total.
But the terror threat ahead of the 10th anniversary has rekindled dark memories for locals.
"Bali used to be safe but you never know anymore," said hotel developer Boy Harlin, whose friend was badly burned in the 2002 bombings.
"I'm in the hospitality industry and all my buyers ran away after the attacks, so another attack is the last thing I want to happen."
There are also fears that Jemaah Islamiyah might not be as far from defeated as thought.
"The current threat in Indonesia is at a different scale from what it was a decade ago," said Jim Della-Giacoma from the International Crisis Group.
He added: "But recent police raids on suspected terrorists show that the threat continues and that there's still a lot of radical thought and ideology."