Bali police not concerned about terror warning

Police in Bali have not uncovered any evidence that a terror event is about to happen. Australia has new travel warning against Indonesia, stating a terror event is likely. Those of us who live here usually don’t pay much attention. Tourism is rebounding strongly so the economy is on a bit of a roll. Today I met up with Jay and Cheryl from Maui, who are here with a wedding group. They are loving the prices and the weather, sunny and cool.

Here’s more from the Jakarta Post.

No indication impending bombing attack in Bali: Police

DENPASAR, Bali (Antara): Police personnel in the field have so far not found any indication that another terrorist bombing attack is going to happen in Bali as intimated in a travel advisory issued by the Australian government, a police spokesman said.

“We have yet to detect signs that Bali will again experience a bombing attack in the near future,” Bali Police spokesman, Sr. Comr. AS Reniban, said Tuesday.

Australian government has issued a travel warning suggesting that bombs were likely to explode in Indonesia’s most popular resort island, just like ones in 2002 and 2005. The warning also said that bombs were possible to hit the capital city of Jakarta.

Reniban said the Australian government’s suspicion could be true but police had so far not found any clues about an impending bombing attack in Bali.

“Neither the intelligence agents we have spread in the field nor the many sources of information we have in the community have so far reported indications of an imminent terrorist action in Bali,” he said.

He called on the public to remain calm and not to be upset or worried while keeping alert towards any unusual occurrence in their immediate surroundings. He also urged them to report any suspicious activity to the police.

Since the Indonesian police crack down on JI (Jemaah Islamiyah) and the elimation of some top operatives, the organisation has splintered. To me that means they are less organized and less able to mount attacks. This in turn means there is less chance of an attack and if there was one, we’d be less likely to hear about it.

As mentioned, the tourist scene in Kuta / Seminyak is lively, with no indication that people are concerned about travel warnings.