ACTS of violence are often referred to as senseless, and for the most part that is what they are.
The recent bomb attacks on the largely Hindu island of Bali are senseless not just in general terms but specifically because their consequences can and will only help those that radical Islamic groups count as their enemies. Immediately, they will help John Howard consolidate his support to the Western alliance against terror. Australia strives to be multicultural. It has been struggling with its conscience over Howard’s unstinted support to US President George Bush.
Many Australians are ambivalent about the country’s position in the war against terror.
Indeed, there were in past months, several and determined protests against Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock’s action against the boat people – many of them Muslim – who sought sanctuary in Australia and were turned away.
The Bali event can only serve to dilute such protests.
Most Australians now seem to believe terror has visited their doorstep, and that they must now join the war against it without reservation.
In Indonesia, President Megawati Sukarnoputri had, in the months preceding the Bali attack, walked the tightrope between Western pressures and domestic compulsions, ignoring demands for a crackdown on Islamic fundamentalism. Now, and if she wants any outside help for her severely bruised economy, Megawati will have to act against fringe groups, and be seen to act.
One report from South-East Asia suggests that the traditionally placid Hindus of Bali are so incensed by the weekend’s events that they may engineer a backlash against Muslims on the island. This cannot be good news for a country that is already smarting at the loss of East Timor.
It is the lunatic fringe that is blamed for acts of violence such as those Bali witnessed. When you add up the consequences of this single act, the conclusion is inescapable – it would have required a truly insane Muslim to plan such an attack.
CHRISTOPHER MADEIRA
Everton Park, Qld
