April Aswadi, Farouk Arnaz & Ferry Irwanto – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Thursday said the July 17 bombings of the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels were setbacks that must not be repeated.
Speaking to governors, regional military commanders and police chiefs in a video teleconference, Yudhoyono said that everyone should cooperate to maintain security and fight terrorism.
"What happened on July 17 was a setback," the president said. "The direct impact of the incident was the cancellation of the famous soccer club Manchester United's exhibition match here. It is impossible that the attacks were said to be without effect."
The team had been scheduled to stay at the Ritz during their three-day visit on July 18-21. Yudhoyono urged all regional leaders to step up their vigilance against terrorism.
"Do not think that because such an incident happened in someone else's area that your province is safe. Don't be like that. Don't underestimate [terrorism], because terrorism is a threat everywhere," Yudhoyono warned.
He said the government had strategies to overcome what he referred to as the three main roots of terrorism – radical ideologies, misuse of religious teachings and difficult living conditions. The strategies were appropriate religious education, encouraging development to reduce poverty and illiteracy and maintaining an awareness of terrorism.
The president urged citizens to participate in safeguarding their own neighborhoods, saying that "policing by the community is also useful in our daily lives."
In recent days, National Police Chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri had expressed optimism that those responsible for the bombings would be soon be identified and captured, but a police spokesman said on Thursday that little progress had been made.
"A week after we released sketches through television broadcast and leaflets nationwide, there is still no significant information about who the suicide bombers might be," National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Nanan Sukarna told reporters.
He speculated that the families of the bombers might be living in remote areas, were uneducated and did not have any access to information, "or they just ignored it and did not report to us."
Nanan said that what the information the police had on the suicide bombers did not match any entries in the police's terrorist profile database.
The National Police had suspected that the July 17 suicide bombers were terror suspect Nur Hasbi and Ibrohim, a florist working at the Ritz-Carlton who was said to have gone missing after the attacks. But DNA tests showed that the two were not among the bodies found at the blast sites.
The whereabouts of both Nur Hasbi, also known as Nur Rusdi or Nur Said, and Ibrohim, alias Boim, remain unknown.
Separately, a top member of a National Police antiterrorist squad told the Jakarta Globe that Ibrohim was believed to have been involved in the attacks.
"We are looking for him and one of his relatives who is believed to have recruited him into the terrorist network," he said on condition of anonymity and without giving further details.