Jakarta – Indonesian newspapers have welcomed the death sentence handed to Bali bomber Amrozi even as they took President Megawati Sukarnoputri's government to task for being too laid back in tackling terrorism.

The sentence handed out to the terrorist – the first of 34 suspects to be tried for the Bali bombings – is "an event of major significance", wrote The Jakarta Post in an editorial yesterday. "Indeed, both the judgment and the circumstances that led to it can be regarded as setting a new milestone in the country's history of jurisprudence," the paper said.

Commenting on pictures showing a smiling Amrozi welcoming his death sentence with a raised fist, the Republika daily called his behaviour "rather odd ... as if a hero had just won a war".

Koran Tempo said it was a reminder that terrorism cannot be defeated by relying only on heavier penalties and repressive actions. "Why? Amrozi's thumbs-up drives us to reply that we will never run out of militants ready to become martyrs," it wrote in an editorial. It said rising "social frustration" and exploding unemployment contribute to militancy while Ms Megawati's government has failed to promote democratic reform necessary for combating terrorism.

Koran Tempo warned that the battle against terrorism will be a marathon that must be conducted with the guarantee of civil rights and free speech. "Without all that, we will watch again with shattered hearts a smile and happy flash in the eyes like the one shown by Amrozi yesterday."

The dailies also blamed the police for ignoring warnings that preceded Tuesday's hotel bombing and failing to seriously address the threat of terrorism. "The bomb struck the nation where it really hurts: at the reputation of Indonesia and particularly of the government in its ability to deal with the threat of terrorism," said The Jakarta Post in its editorial on Wednesday.

It said the blast took the government by surprise despite much recent evidence indicating terrorists were planning further attacks. "The writing was on the wall that the terrorists, whoever they are, would strike again sooner or later," it said, blaming the government "for its laid-back attitude towards the threat of terrorism".