BALI, Indonesia - Indonesia linked the al Qaeda
network to the Bali bomb explosions that killed 181 people,
conceding publicly for the first time on Monday the group was
operating in the Muslim country.
As the United States ordered the evacuation of embassy
staff from Indonesia and frightened tourists fled Bali,
Indonesian authorities strove to show they were serious about
tackling terrorism.
Police indicated the first breakthrough in an investigation
into the blasts by saying they had names of individuals
connected to the attacks.
Defense Minister Matori Abdul Djalil, seeking to head off
criticism from the United States and Asian neighbors that
Jakarta is soft on Islamic militants, drew a connection between
al Qaeda and Saturday night's attacks on nightclubs packed with
foreigners on Bali's Kuta Beach.
He said the explosions were the work of professionals. That
is why, he said, "I am not afraid to say, though many have
refused to say, that an al Qaeda network exists in Indonesia."
"I am convinced that there is a domestic link with al
Qaeda," he said.
President Bush said he assumed the bombings were the work
of al Qaeda and appeared to be part of a new pattern of
attacks.
He cited the Bali bombings, the attack on a French
supertanker off the coast of Yemen and attacks on U.S. Marines
in Kuwait as part of what appeared to be a concerted approach
by the organization blamed for the September 11 attacks.
"The attack in Bali appears to be an al Qaeda-type
terrorist -- definitely a terrorist attack, whether it's al
Qaeda-related or not, I would assume it is.
"And therefore, it does look like a pattern of attacks that
the enemy, albeit on the run, is trying to once again frighten
and kill freedom-loving people," Bush told reporters in
Washington.
A U.S. intelligence official told Reuters the Bali bombings
pointed to a "sophisticated" terrorist group because of the
large amount of high explosives used and the coordination of
the attacks.
MORGUE IDENTIFICATION
Frustrated that months of warnings fell on deaf ears,
neighbors have piled pressure on Jakarta to finally clamp down
on Islamic extremists. The United States ordered all
non-essential diplomats and all family members -- 300 people in
all -- to leave Indonesia.
On Monday, distraught relatives leafed through photographs
in a Bali morgue to identify loved ones.
Australian survivors began streaming home through Sydney
airport, some clutching surfboards and souvenirs as they fell
sobbing into the arms of family and friends.
"It was like a war broke out. It was just fear," Leigh
McGrath, 22, told reporters at Sydney airport, recalling the
car bomb outside the Sari nightclub. "I don't think there will
be many people going back to Bali."
Hundreds more frightened and injured tourists headed for
Bali's airport to catch flights home. A few were in
wheelchairs, others on crutches and swathed in bandages.
TERRORISM DANGER IS "REAL"
Bali police spokesman Yatim Suyatmo told Reuters that
investigators "have names that would lead in some directions to
solve this case."
"There are names which are linked (to the explosions) who
could give information," he said, without giving any details.
Indonesia's foreign minister underlined an apparent
hardening of resolve by telling reporters there was "no doubt"
the country faced a terrorist threat.
"This has to be realized by all of us, including our
political elites, that the danger is real and potential here,"
Hassan Wirajuda said after a meeting with foreign ambassadors.
The worst act of terror since September 11, 2001 fanned
fears that al Qaeda was regrouping after being dispersed from
Afghanistan by a U.S.-led military campaign.
Predominantly Muslim Malaysia said it would watch
nightspots popular with Westerners. The Philippines, battling a
Muslim insurgency, put its police force on a nationwide alert
over fears of further attacks in Southeast Asia.
Diplomats were watching for any moves against the Jemaah
Islamiah group. Southeast Asian nations have rounded up scores
of its members and warned others have gone to ground in
Indonesia.
Several countries' intelligence agencies tie Jemaah
Islamiah to regional terrorism and link it to al Qaeda. A key
leader of Jemaah Islamiah has been identified as militant
Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, who runs a religious school in
central Java.
Asked for his view of the Bali blast, he said: "It was a
brutal act. I condemn such actions." On Sunday, he had blamed
the United States for the attack.
STOCK MARKET HAMMERED
The Jakarta stock market dived more than 10 percent and the
rupiah currency slumped, partly on fears foreign investors will
flee the world's fourth most populous nation.
"We're finished," said Aburizal Bakrie, chairman of the
Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. "Our defense to
convince people that doing business in Indonesia is safe is
finished."
Kuta is a playground for Australians who flock to its
beaches for the sun and surf, and they took the brunt of the
casualties. A total of 13 Australians were confirmed dead and
225 were unaccounted for.
A large number of Indonesians were among the 181 dead, many
of whom have yet to be identified.
Other nationalities among the dead and more than 300
wounded were Singaporeans, Britons, Americans, Swedes, Swiss
and Dutch.
The revellers in the Sari nightclub included rugby teams
from around the region competing in an annual 10-a-side
tournament.
Three members of the Singapore Cricket Club's rugby team
were confirmed dead, of a squad of 17 mostly British
expatriates. Five were still missing and four team members were
in hospital in Singapore.
Simon Quayle, coach of Kingsley Senior Football Club, an
amateur Australian Rules football team from Western Australia
state, told reporters: "Realistically we expect most, or at
least half, of all the blokes, to be located somewhere in that
morgue."
Australia declared a day of mourning for what one
politician called the worst loss of Australian life since World
War II.
"What happened at the weekend claimed our own in great
numbers, and on our own doorstep, and touched us in a way that
we wouldn't have thought possible a week ago, or even three
days ago," Prime Minister John Howard told parliament.