The Jakarta Post, 10/13/2002 7:34:12 PM
Hamzah Haz blames Bali blast on weak intelligence, security
JAKARTA (Agencies): Vice President Hamzah Haz partly blamed weak intelligence
and poor security measures on Sunday for the overnight blast that killed at least 182
people in the resort island of Bali.
"Our weakness so far has been in intelligence. Our intelligence should not be NATO --
No Action Talk Only," Hamzah was quoted by Antara news agency as saying.
"Those in charge of security affairs must follow up on any information and detect (any
threat) more accurately," he said.
Hamzah said Coordinating Minister for Politics and Security Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono ought to explain why the explosion had happened. "Our weakness lies in
the management of politics and security," he said.
The Vice President warned that the bomb attack would scare off investors desperately
needed by Indonesia as it was struggling to emerge from an economic crisis. "We
have to establish security in this country, otherwise no investor will come and our
country will collapse," he said.
The overnight explosion destroyed two bars in the tourist district of Kuta and triggered
an intense blaze that burned for hours.
Haz has warned that allegations by foreign countries that international Islamic
terrorists are active in Indonesia could provoke a violent backlash here.
Many in Indonesia also believe that the U.S. has overstated the threats.
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