United Nations, July 18 (Inditop .com) The UN Security Council has condemned the two bomb blasts that occurred in Indonesia’s capital Jakarta Friday and called for the terrorists to be brought to justice.
The 15-member council unanimously passed a non-binding statement that said: “The Security Council underlines the need, and affirms its confidence in the government of Indonesia to bring perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism to justice.”
Islamist suicide-bombers are believed to behind the attacks that killed eight people and injured at least 50 in two hotels, the Ritz-Carlton and the Marriot, in central Jakarta.
A string of deadly terror attacks in Indonesia include the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people and the 2005 Bali bombings that claimed 20 lives.
The Southeast Asia terrorist network linked to Al Qaeda called Jemaah Islamiyah was blamed for both bombings as well as another strike on the same Marriot hotel in 2003 and on the Australian embassy in 2004. The group, which mainly targets western foreigners, is suspected of being behind the twin hotel explosions that came after a four year break in terrorist strikes.
The statement, read out by Ugandan envoy Ruhakana Rugunda, the council president for July, declared: “Terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace security.
“Any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable regardless of their motivation. Wherever, whenever and by whomever committed.” The council has urged all member-states to cooperate with the Indonesian authorities in their efforts capture the terrorists.
The attacks came a week after the re-election of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation that is reputed to be a successful democracy in the Islamic world.
In a separate statement, UN Chief Ban Ki-moon recognised “the steadfast efforts that the Indonesian government has made in bringing to justice perpetrators of past terrorist acts” and expressed confidence “that these new attacks will be investigated with equal resolve and that those responsible will be prosecuted”.
Last year, Indonesia executed three men convicted of carrying out the 2002 Bali bombings. At a press briefing, Indonesia’s UN Ambassador Marty Natalegawa said: “These people who perpetrated these heinous acts, they may try to run, but they cannot hide, and the law will reach them and they will be brought to justice.”
