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Editorial: Tremble, burn, die
At home and abroad, terror resides
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At home and abroad, terror resides. Malice without prejudice, indiscriminate to race, gender or rank.
We are no strangers to the grief wrought from terrorism.
Before 9/11, Indonesians were repeatedly victims. And after, we remained so but with the ignoble distinction of also being a haven for regional terrorist networks.
News that staff of the Indonesian Embassy in Kabul were casualties of Monday's suicide car bomb attack struck a horrifyingly familiar tone.
We join the global chorus of condemnation against perpetrators of the attack the UN Security Council has called a "reprehensible act of terrorism".
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is correct in saying "no political agenda or grievance can justify such reprehensible means".
The death toll from Monday's bomb which exploded in front of the Indian Embassy in Kabul stands at 41 dead and nearly 150 others injured.
Our profound condolences are extended to the families of all the victims, with gravest sorrow to the five local security personnel who were guarding the Indonesian Embassy. Our condolences should also be extended to the sacrifice of senior Indian diplomats who were killed in the attack.
Jakarta and New Delhi have long and often been comrades in diplomatic struggle, and in this hour of common distress we extend our full sympathy.
We are hopeful that in the wake of this attack the Indonesian government will not spare its resources in consoling the many affected by the loss of those who perished while in the line of duty at the embassy.
Just as terrorists know no boundaries, neither should we differentiate whether or not the personnel working for the embassy were Indonesian citizens.
Furthermore, these attacks should strengthen, not weaken, our resolve toward support for the legitimate government of President Hamid Karzai.
Echoing the words of the Indian government in the wake of the attack, these acts of terror must not deter us from fulfilling our commitment to the Afghan people.
Our support stems not from the fact that they are Muslims or fashionably tailing the massive international alliance in the country.
Indonesia pledges its commitment as we identify with the pains of colonial rule under the British, the subjugation of Soviet occupation and repression endured under a repressive Taliban government.
The simplest gesture of support in this immediate phase is to ensure the Red-and-White continues to fly proudly over an operational Indonesian Embassy.
Often regarded as the "forgotten war", developments in Afghanistan have too often taken second headlines to the American travesty in Iraq.
The world forgets that a noble and no less difficult struggle continues east of the Iranian border.
There is no such thing as collateral damage in a terrorist attack.
Hence we should be no less active in seeking a diplomatic answer to allegations by the Afghan government that the attack was coordinated with and helped by "regional intelligence circles".
While stopping short of saying rogue elements of the Pakistani intelligence, various comments have been made to infer as much.
As "friends", there should be open communication from both the Afghan and Pakistani administrations to these suggestive remarks.
For now let us place a final thought for those who lost their lives in Monday's brutal act of terrorism with the consoling words of Khalilullah Khalili, Afghanistan's foremost poet of the 20th century.
"The greatest wealth of this world is the company of friends. The agony of death: separation from them.
"Out of pain and sorrow destiny has molded me. What, alas, has been my joy from the cup of life? Like a candle burning in the blowing wind, I tremble, I burn, I die."
