Daily Lessons from Life 05 January 2013 - Five suspected terrorists killed in Indonesia: police

"Five suspected terrorists killed in Indonesia: police - AFP 5 January 2013

JAKARTA: Five suspected terrorists were killed in raids on militant camps in eastern Indonesia in the latest in a series of anti-terror operations, police said on Saturday.

National police spokesman Boy Rafli Amar said the raids took place late Friday and Saturday morning on two separate militant training camps in West Nusa Tenggara province.

"Police were forced to open fire as they (the militants) have explosive material. They used the locations to assemble bombs," the spokesman said, adding that five pipe-bombs and materials to make explosive devices such as nitrate urea powder, scores of nails and batteries were seized during the operations.

The raids came after police on Friday killed two suspected militants carrying a handgun and grenades, and arrested four others, in Makassar, capital of South Sulawesi province.

Indonesia was rocked by a series of deadly terror attacks targeted at Westerners over last decade, with most -- including the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people -- blamed on the Al-Qaeda-linked group Jemaah Islamiyah.

But a crackdown on terrorism has weakened key militant groups and only low-impact attacks have been carried out in recent years by networks targeting law enforcement officers."

Terrorism is still very real in this region. Thankfully, touch wood, no terrorists' attempts to terrorize Singapore were successful thus far. We cannot be complacent and lax.

Lessons for me are:

1. there are, for some reasons, reasons for some people to engage in extreme acts of terror to assert themselves. What are those reasons? Who are they? What are they agitating for? Are they right to do so? Is there another way out for these people?;

2. only when we can pinpoint the root cause(s) can anyone begin to resolve the root cause(s). When it involved material things, the bargaining can be easier as one can see and feel what type of chips can be used to trade hostility for peace. When it involves emotional element, it becomes very complex as human emotion is, by nature, unpredictable;

3. having said that, I still believe that NO ONE wants terrorism and the pains it can bring to any sane person and his or her loved ones. Just as I said: 'There is NO difficult person but a Person with Difficulties', all we need to find out is what caused that 'emotional imbalance or frustration or anger and hatred'. Are they real and insurmountable or are they real but surmountable with great efforts or are they actually imaginary and a manufactured idea by some unsound minds? If it is the last one, using a rational mind to try to solve it will not work. Extreme situations called for extreme actions.

May Singapore be free from any terrorism forever no matter how close they may be 'trained'!