Jakarta – Maj. Gen. Herry Tjahyana, the Udayana IX Military chief, has said that the bombings in Kuta and Jimbaran on October 1, were due to the weaknesses of territorial commands in carrying out intelligence functions. "We are willing to acknowledge this," stated Tjahyana on Thursday (20/10).

According to him, the function of territorial commands is yet to be maximized as their role has recently been followed by allegations that they will affect the democratization process and the possibility of human rights' violations. "This is quite disturbing as security challenges keep increasing," stated Tjahyana.

The predominantly social-political function of territorial commands in the past, Tjahyana said, has been annulled and become part of past history that shall not be repeated. "The current management of territorial commands is really for the interest of the general public," stated Tjahyana.

He also insisted that the current function of territorial commands still existed from the level of village officers up to military commands. Therefore, it was not appropriate if there were accusations about how the TNI would like to revive the territorial commands.

Tjahyana said he assumed that Bali would continue to be a target for acts of terrorism because of its national and international strategic position. Therefore, what could be done was to carry out efforts to narrow terrorists' room to maneuver.

Regarding the idea to establish a Bali Security Board, Tjahyana requested that this be reviewed more seriously."Do not establish a new institution while the existing ones are not yet working optimally," he said.

(Rofiqi Hasan-Tempo News Room)