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CNN Live At Daybreak
Australian Prime Minister Pledges to Continue Global Fight Against Terrorism
Aired October 14, 2002 - 05:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Australian Prime Minister John Howard today pledged to continue the global fight against terrorism following that bombing of a nightclub in Bali. At least 14 of the 187 people killed were Australian and another 220 Australians remain unaccounted for. Family and friends saying that a former University of Nebraska All American center is among the missing. Jake Young was in Bali to play a tournament with his rugby team there.
For more on the recovery and investigation, let's go to CNN's Mike Chinoy. He's joining us on the telephone from Bali -- Mike, what's the latest from there?
MIKE CHINOY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Catherine.
Well, I'm standing just a few yards from where the bomb went off. It's still a scene of utter devastation. All the surrounding buildings, their windows blown out, debris littering the streets. There are still, as you said, 220 Australians among the missing and it's been very difficult to identify many of the bodies because they were charred beyond recognition. The explosion set off a huge fire, igniting gas tanks used for cooking in the bar and so that's made the recovery task much, much more difficult.
Throughout the day, Australian Air Force C-130 transports have been bringing some of the wounded out of Bali, flying them to Darwin, Australia, about a four hour flight away. Many of the tourists who flocked to this island are also desperate to leave. There have been chaotic scenes at the airports for the past day and a half, as travelers trying to get seats on any plane out.
Still, so far, no claim of responsibility. There's a lot of suspicion, of course, that it may be Islamic terrorists linked to al Qaeda. But there hasn't been any claim. As the search effort to look for further victims continues, somber crowds have gathered at police cordons. The contrast between the devastation and the tourist atmosphere that you normally see here very striking. A Wendy's and a Dunkin' Donuts with shattered signs and a large number of wreaths have been put in front of a big Haagen Das ice cream truck just a few yards from where the bomb went off -- Catherine.
CALLAWAY: And, Mike, what about Indonesia's position on terrorism? Did that play any role in all of this?
CHINOY: Well, one of the biggest and most important questions now is what is going to happen, what position will the government of Indonesia's President Megawati Sukarnoputri adopt? The United States and many other nations in Southeast Asia have been very frustrated by the unwillingness of the Indonesian government to get tough on home grown terrorists, many of those Islamic radicals suspected of having links with al Qaeda.
But in this predominantly Muslim country, the government has been very, very uncomfortable about cracking down on Islamic radicals. Now, of course, there is going to be intense pressure. The Indonesian politicians who've said up to now that there wasn't any strong evidence that Islamic radicals were, in fact, operating here, using Indonesia as a base, of course, that evidence we now have in very, very grim form.
But so far we don't have any clear sense yet of what, if anything, the government in Jakarta will do. That will be a very, very important question.
One other point to note. The United States embassy says that it's ordering the evacuation of non-essential staff and it's during all Americans throughout Indonesia who don't have essential business here to leave, as well -- Catherine.
CALLAWAY: That is a development.
OK, thanks, Mike.
That's Mike Chinoy joining us from Bali.
Thanks, Mike.
U.S. officials had been, of course, concerned about recent attacks in the region leading up to this Bali bombing.
And with more on the security concerns, we're going to turn to CNN Jakarta bureau chief Maria Ressa -- Maria, what can you tell us?
Good morning.
MARIA RESSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Catherine.
Well, we certainly know that the U.S. government has been telling Indonesia about these security threats. September 9, information came from Omar al-Faruq, who is an al Qaeda operative arrested in Indonesia on June 5, is now in U.S. custody. That information helped the U.S. government to raise its terror alert to orange, close down the U.S. embassy here for six days, as well as other embassies in the region.
We do know there is a homegrown network that has truck bomb plots against U.S. embassies and other Western embassies in the region. In addition to that, Indonesia just now, after several hours of meetings between President Megawati Sukarnoputri and her security ministers, the chief security administer of Indonesia said that Indonesia has learned of more terrorist plots targeting vital oil and gas installations in the country. Indonesia says it will take the precautionary measures necessary. It says also that it is going ahead with measures to try to put in place counter-terrorism tactics that the government will put in place aside from more formal legal measures that it has been pursuing.
However, beyond that, there are no concrete details about what exactly that will mean in the future -- Catherine.
CALLAWAY: Yes, how has life changed, if at all, in Jakarta? Is there concern on the street of possible terrorism attacks?
RESSA: Well, certainly this has, that's been the main point of the Bali blast for Indonesians. As Mike said, you know, for many, many months the majority of Indonesians, most moderate Muslims, have, in a sense, like many of the government officials, been in denial about the existence of terrorists in the country and al Qaeda operatives in particular.
Now, in one fell swoop that has changed drastically, the government itself saying now this is the worst terrorist act in Indonesia's history. The police chief, Dai Bachtiar, saying that the government must take some form of measure.
Part of the problem for Indonesia really is it hits at the crux of the war against terror. Osama bin Laden targets fledgling democracies like Indonesia, trying to topple them, in a sense, to bring in Islamic sharia law. There is a man here who is wanted for arrested by Singapore, Malaysia, the U.S. is considering putting him on a counter-terrorist list. Abu Bakar Bashir is really the focus of this kind of tug of war between regional officials, the U.S. officials and Indonesia. Indonesia has not been able to arrest this man, it says, because of fears of a potential domestic backlash. We're going to need to see now, in the coming days ahead, whether Indonesia will take firmer action with Abu Bakar Bashir.
He is, has been named by Singapore and Malaysia as al Qaeda's, the chief of al Qaeda's network in Southeast Asia.
CALLAWAY: It will be interesting how this will be addressed, as you said, Maria.
Thank you so much for being with us this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Against Terrorism>
Aired October 14, 2002 - 05:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Australian Prime Minister John Howard today pledged to continue the global fight against terrorism following that bombing of a nightclub in Bali. At least 14 of the 187 people killed were Australian and another 220 Australians remain unaccounted for. Family and friends saying that a former University of Nebraska All American center is among the missing. Jake Young was in Bali to play a tournament with his rugby team there.
For more on the recovery and investigation, let's go to CNN's Mike Chinoy. He's joining us on the telephone from Bali -- Mike, what's the latest from there?
MIKE CHINOY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Catherine.
Well, I'm standing just a few yards from where the bomb went off. It's still a scene of utter devastation. All the surrounding buildings, their windows blown out, debris littering the streets. There are still, as you said, 220 Australians among the missing and it's been very difficult to identify many of the bodies because they were charred beyond recognition. The explosion set off a huge fire, igniting gas tanks used for cooking in the bar and so that's made the recovery task much, much more difficult.
Throughout the day, Australian Air Force C-130 transports have been bringing some of the wounded out of Bali, flying them to Darwin, Australia, about a four hour flight away. Many of the tourists who flocked to this island are also desperate to leave. There have been chaotic scenes at the airports for the past day and a half, as travelers trying to get seats on any plane out.
Still, so far, no claim of responsibility. There's a lot of suspicion, of course, that it may be Islamic terrorists linked to al Qaeda. But there hasn't been any claim. As the search effort to look for further victims continues, somber crowds have gathered at police cordons. The contrast between the devastation and the tourist atmosphere that you normally see here very striking. A Wendy's and a Dunkin' Donuts with shattered signs and a large number of wreaths have been put in front of a big Haagen Das ice cream truck just a few yards from where the bomb went off -- Catherine.
CALLAWAY: And, Mike, what about Indonesia's position on terrorism? Did that play any role in all of this?
CHINOY: Well, one of the biggest and most important questions now is what is going to happen, what position will the government of Indonesia's President Megawati Sukarnoputri adopt? The United States and many other nations in Southeast Asia have been very frustrated by the unwillingness of the Indonesian government to get tough on home grown terrorists, many of those Islamic radicals suspected of having links with al Qaeda.
But in this predominantly Muslim country, the government has been very, very uncomfortable about cracking down on Islamic radicals. Now, of course, there is going to be intense pressure. The Indonesian politicians who've said up to now that there wasn't any strong evidence that Islamic radicals were, in fact, operating here, using Indonesia as a base, of course, that evidence we now have in very, very grim form.
But so far we don't have any clear sense yet of what, if anything, the government in Jakarta will do. That will be a very, very important question.
One other point to note. The United States embassy says that it's ordering the evacuation of non-essential staff and it's during all Americans throughout Indonesia who don't have essential business here to leave, as well -- Catherine.
CALLAWAY: That is a development.
OK, thanks, Mike.
That's Mike Chinoy joining us from Bali.
Thanks, Mike.
U.S. officials had been, of course, concerned about recent attacks in the region leading up to this Bali bombing.
And with more on the security concerns, we're going to turn to CNN Jakarta bureau chief Maria Ressa -- Maria, what can you tell us?
Good morning.
MARIA RESSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Catherine.
Well, we certainly know that the U.S. government has been telling Indonesia about these security threats. September 9, information came from Omar al-Faruq, who is an al Qaeda operative arrested in Indonesia on June 5, is now in U.S. custody. That information helped the U.S. government to raise its terror alert to orange, close down the U.S. embassy here for six days, as well as other embassies in the region.
We do know there is a homegrown network that has truck bomb plots against U.S. embassies and other Western embassies in the region. In addition to that, Indonesia just now, after several hours of meetings between President Megawati Sukarnoputri and her security ministers, the chief security administer of Indonesia said that Indonesia has learned of more terrorist plots targeting vital oil and gas installations in the country. Indonesia says it will take the precautionary measures necessary. It says also that it is going ahead with measures to try to put in place counter-terrorism tactics that the government will put in place aside from more formal legal measures that it has been pursuing.
However, beyond that, there are no concrete details about what exactly that will mean in the future -- Catherine.
CALLAWAY: Yes, how has life changed, if at all, in Jakarta? Is there concern on the street of possible terrorism attacks?
RESSA: Well, certainly this has, that's been the main point of the Bali blast for Indonesians. As Mike said, you know, for many, many months the majority of Indonesians, most moderate Muslims, have, in a sense, like many of the government officials, been in denial about the existence of terrorists in the country and al Qaeda operatives in particular.
Now, in one fell swoop that has changed drastically, the government itself saying now this is the worst terrorist act in Indonesia's history. The police chief, Dai Bachtiar, saying that the government must take some form of measure.
Part of the problem for Indonesia really is it hits at the crux of the war against terror. Osama bin Laden targets fledgling democracies like Indonesia, trying to topple them, in a sense, to bring in Islamic sharia law. There is a man here who is wanted for arrested by Singapore, Malaysia, the U.S. is considering putting him on a counter-terrorist list. Abu Bakar Bashir is really the focus of this kind of tug of war between regional officials, the U.S. officials and Indonesia. Indonesia has not been able to arrest this man, it says, because of fears of a potential domestic backlash. We're going to need to see now, in the coming days ahead, whether Indonesia will take firmer action with Abu Bakar Bashir.
He is, has been named by Singapore and Malaysia as al Qaeda's, the chief of al Qaeda's network in Southeast Asia.
CALLAWAY: It will be interesting how this will be addressed, as you said, Maria.
Thank you so much for being with us this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Against Terrorism>
