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Indonesia: Too little, too late against
terrorism
By Richel Langit
JAKARTA - The deadly bomb blasts
in Bali last weekend prove that terrorist groups - be they
international or home-grown - do exist in Indonesia, but
whether the attacks will invigorate the country's
resolve to fight against terrorism remains a big
question.
While the police have declared Muslim
cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir a suspect in a string of bomb
attacks against churches in Jakarta and some other
cities on Christmas Eve, 2000, speculation is running
high that the move was merely a smokescreen in reaction
to strong international pressure for President Megawati
Sukarnoputri to act against religious leaders or groups
suspected as terrorist agents or networks.
Ba'asyir, who is also chairman of the Indonesian
Mujahidin Council, has been identified as the founder
and leader of Jemaah Islamiah, which had been declared a
regional terrorist network by neighboring countries
Singapore, Malaysia, and Australia. The Philippines and
the United States have also put Ba'asyir on their
terrorist lists.
The government was also
scheduled to issue a regulation on anti-terrorism on
Friday that will provide law enforcers with legal
grounds to detain or question suspected terrorists. But
the draft of the regulation suggested that it will be
inadequate to combat a terrorist network that has proved
itself capable of wreaking havoc in the world's biggest
Muslim country.
The draft, for example, does not
make any concrete definition of terrorism and excludes
politically-motivated crimes, allowing terror
perpetrators to hide behind political issues to elude
prosecution.
The draft is also full of loopholes
for human-rights violations. Suspected terrorists, for
example, can be detained for three days without charge
and are not allowed to bring in lawyers during
interrogations.
Given the government's poor track record in
fighting terrorism and the high political cost Megawati has to
pay if she goes after Muslim clerics suspected
as terrorists, there is no reason to believe
that perpetrators of last weekend's attacks will ever see
justice or their networks be destroyed.
Evidence of
the presence of terrorists in the archipelago
was plentiful before last Saturday's terrorist attacks but
the government chose to ignore it. Neighboring
countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Australia
as well as the United States have constantly
reminded Indonesia of the presence of
Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda in the country, but their
warnings went unheeded.
Instead
of following up intelligence reports supplied
by these friendly countries, some government
officials, including Vice President Hamzah Haz, denied the presence of
any terrorist groups. They also consistently opposed
moves by Megawati to arrest Ba'asyir, who was already
suspected as a terrorist by Malaysia and Singapore. At
one point, Hamzah, who is also chairman of the
Muslim-based United Development Party (PPP), said "over
my dead body" when the Megawati administration wanted to
arrest militant Muslim leaders such as Ba'asyir,
chairman of Islamic Defense Front (FPI) Habib Rizieq,
and Laskar Jihad commander Jaffar Umar Thalib.
Indonesia
has had to pay very dearly for this denial and it
can only have itself to blame for the deadly attacks
in Bali, in which over 180 people were killed..
Foreign pressure is now mounting for Megawati
to take stern action against certain Muslim
clerics suspected of belonging to groups such as the
Jemaah Islamiah, with Ba'asyir as a special target.
Megawati, who assumed the presidential post in
July 2001, is now challenged to confront Muslim groups
that have never come to terms with her being the
president because of her gender. And to make things
worse, those Muslim groups have successfully redefined
the anti-terrorism campaign as an anti-Islam drive.
Taking stern action against militant clerics
will certainly further reinforce perceptions among
Muslims that Megawati, hailing from the nationalist
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI
Perjuangan), is anti-Islam. This certainly does no good
for her presidency now or for her re-election bid in
2004, when the country holds its first direct
presidential election.
Leaders of moderate
Muslims have repeatedly warned the government not to
take any action against Muslim fundamentalist leaders
without any solid proof of their involvement in any
terrorist activities.
Economically, the
bomb blast will deprive Indonesia of
much-needed foreign-exchange earnings, especially Balinese who
count on the tourism industry for their living.
Countries around the world have warned their citizens to
delay indefinitely trips to Indonesia and tour operators
worldwide have also suspended their trips to Indonesia.
The US, Australia, and New Zealand have even encouraged
their citizens in Indonesia to leave the country.
Donor countries belonging to the
Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI) have decided to delay their
annual meeting, scheduled for this month, until early
next year. Though loans from its member countries have
consistently fallen in the past few years, CGI serves as
a barometer for foreign lending agencies and investors
to put their money in the country.
Indeed, if
the New York World Trade Center's twin towers were
symbols of economic power, and the Pentagon of military
might, Bali was a symbol of security and peace. The
deadly bomb blast has shattered that image, and peace
and tranquillity have vanished from the island.
The blasts have also created suspicions and
animosity among ethnic and religious groups in Bali,
once considered the most tolerant and peaceful place in
the crisis-stricken country. Rumors have been
circulating in Bali that a massive sweep would soon be
launched against certain ethnic and religious groups as
retaliation for the Bali bombing. While no such sweep
has been launched so far, the rumors reflect the level
of distrust the bombings have created among ethnic
groups on the Island of the Gods.
(©2002 Asia
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