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Fatal blasts in the Indonesian capital

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At least nine people were killed and many more were injured today when blasts went off in two luxury hotels in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta. Anchor Laura Lynch gets the latest from the BBC’s Karishma Vaswani in Jakarta. Listen

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LAURA LYNCH: I’m Laura Lynch.  This is The World.  Widespread condemnation today for the bombings that targeted two luxury hotels in Jakarta.  The blasts went off inside the Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott Hotels in the Indonesian capital.  At least 9 people were killed, and many more were injured.  President Obama called the attacks outrageous and said the US government stands ready to help its ally in the effort to combat extremism.  The BBC’s Karishma Vaswani is in Jakarta.  Karishma, what does it look like at the scene of the bombing?

KARISHMA VASWANI:  Well, many hours on, there are still people milling about the hotels – onlookers, people trying to find out what actually happened, and trying to find out what the attacks – who is behind them.  Now, certainly amongst the ordinary Indonesians that we spoke to outside the two hotels where the blasts took place, there’s a real sense of anger among some of them, a real sense of concern about what these events that took place today, what kind of impact these events will have internationally.

LYNCH:  Now, you mentioned the police news conference.  They say they’re suicide bombers.  Do they have any new leads that they’re working on?

VASWANI:  Well, at this stage they were not able to tell us much more in this news conference.  But certainly there will be a huge investigation that in fact is underway right now.  Now, the Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang Yodhoyono, who in just about 10 days ago, really, from the quick counts, it did look like he was going to be re-elected because of some of the main platforms that he had which is improving security, improving the economy.  Now, he said in a press conference that he will do all he can to find the people behind these attacks.  And there is that sentiment from people that we’ve been talking to today, certainly, that there needs to be a clear investigation as possible that needs to take place, and as quickly as possible we need to find out who it was that carried out these attacks.

LYNCH:  Is there any suspicion being cast toward particular groups that have been known to operate in Indonesia in the past?

VASWANI:  Well, there has been a sense that the Jamaah Islamiya group which has been responsible for a series of bombings in Indonesia in recent years, may be behind these attacks.  Certainly, they’ve carried out attacks of this nature before, but I have to add there has been no confirmation of that.  This is just analysis that we’re hearing, and at this stage, the investigation is continuing as to who is behind it.

LYNCH:  There have been some smaller-scale bombings outside Jakarta in recent years, but it’s been 3 years since a major attack.  Were people there starting to believe that the terrorist threat was gone?

VASWANI:  I think so.  I mean, a lot of people that I spoke to, certainly.  One man said to me, “I thought we had put this stuff behind us.”  And I think that’s the overwhelming feeling amongst people in Jakarta and across the country.  You have to remember that lots of people died in the attacks that took place in the early parts of the decade.  You know, it ruined their economy, or it didn’t make it a very attractive business destination.  People were reluctant to come here.  Foreign businessmen thought of Indonesia or Jakarta as a place that they could avoid on their business travels.  That changed quite radically over the last very years.  Very slowly, Jakarta has started to regain the confidence of the international community.  It’s being lauded and being seen by people in the region and overseas as a role model.  Certainly in terms of its transition to democracy.  It’s got the strongest growing economy in southeast Asia.  It’s managed to withstand, quite successfully, the impact of the global financial crisis.  So all of this coming at a time when Indonesia was being seen as a country that has turned itself around, from being a basket case, as it was called, back in the late 1990s, to a real role model.

LYNCH:  And in fact now, Manchester United soccer team was supposed to be in Jakarta tomorrow, and they were supposed to be staying at the Ritz Carlton.  That trip’s been cancelled.  You’re talking about how the economy has come back.  Is anybody worried about what effect these bombings are going to have again on the economy and on tourism?

VASWANI:  Yes.  Businesspeople that I’ve been speaking to, local businesspeople, are very concerned.  They’re very worried about the business climate.  Now, as I say, you know, the Indonesian economy has managed to withstand the impact of the global financial crisis, but nobody is immune to it.  And certainly a lot of the local businesspeople that I’ve spoken to say that this couldn’t have come at a worse time, because they were just starting to regain the confidence of the international community.  They were starting to get some headway and starting to feel quite proud of themselves and being able to say, “Come to Indonesia.  Come to Jakarta.  These are safe places now.  There’s lots of potential here.”  And not have to worry about these type of terror attacks and the consequent alerts that are being written in countries – in embassies across the world about Indonesia now.  So I think there is a real sense that this will do some damage to the business climate in the country.

LYNCH:  The BBC’s Karishma Vaswani is in Jakarta.  Thank you very much.

VASWANI:  Thank you.

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