On the 12th, it will be 20 years since the bomb attack by a terrorist organization that killed 202 people, including Japanese, in Bali, Indonesia.



The Indonesian police are still vigilant about the movement, saying that the activities by the terrorist organization are continuing.

On October 12, 2002, members of the Southeast Asian terrorist organization "Jemaah Islamia" detonated a bomb in a downtown area of ​​Bali, Indonesia, killing 202 foreign tourists, including two Japanese. .



Indonesian police arrested the three main culprits and executed them in 2008, as well as arresting a senior member of a long-wanted organization two years ago.



The organization that caused the incident is said to be affiliated with the international terrorist organization "Al-Qaeda", and since then it has repeatedly carried out terrorism targeting foreigners in various parts of Indonesia, and in 2005 it carried out a bombing terrorism in Bali again.



The police are strengthening countermeasures by creating special forces to weaken terrorist organizations, and have achieved certain results, such as arresting 370 people on suspicion of planning terrorism last year.



In an interview with NHK, Boi Rafri Amal, head of Indonesia's National Counter-Terrorism Agency, said, "The potential terrorist threat will never go away. Terrorists are not stagnant and are trying to spread their influence in new ways." , continued to be vigilant against the activities of terrorist organizations and indicated their intention to strengthen countermeasures.

Bereaved family "Our family's thoughts, other people will not understand"

Kosuke Suzuki (34 years old at that time) and his wife Yuka (33 years old at that time), a company employee in Yokohama City who was visiting for sightseeing, were involved in the terrorist attack in Bali and died.



Kosuke and Yuka fell in love with Bali during their honeymoon, and have been visiting the island almost every year since.



Before the 20th anniversary of the incident, Kosuke Suzuki's mother, Takako (79), responded to NHK's telephone interview.



In it, Takako went to the site immediately after the incident and confirmed the death of the two people, saying, "'I will live for the next 20 years no matter what. I can't do it,'" she recalled.



Since the incident, Takako, along with her husband Tomihisa and Yuka's parents, have attended the annual memorial service held in Bali to hold a memorial service for her.



However, due to the influence of the new coronavirus, she was unable to visit the site last year, and this year she gave up her visit because the direct flight connecting Japan and Bali has not resumed. That's it.



Takako said, ``If 20 years was long, it would be short if it were long and short. It's hard to think that someone will die and their family will follow the same path as us," he said, talking about the pain he has had for 20 years.

Former member of terrorist organization: 'I can only apologize'

Ali Imron, a former member of the Southeast Asian terrorist organization "Jemaah Islamia" who was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2003 for manufacturing the bomb used in the 2002 Bali terrorist attack, has an exclusive interview with NHK. I responded.



Imron is currently in a rehabilitation program while serving time in an Indonesian prison, and is working with the police to combat terrorism.



Regarding the motive for the crime, Imron said, "I committed the crime to attack foreigners in the United States and its allies." He said he thought he was attacking Muslims and was doing it to wage the holy war of Islam.



When asked about his current state of mind toward the victims and victims, he said, "I can only apologize, and there is nothing else I can do. To prevent incidents like Bali from happening again, the wrong idea of ​​jihad = holy war." We are working to rehabilitate people who have