Asia Times: Jakarta changes tack


	December 18, 2001	atimes.com

Southeast Asia

Jakarta changes tack
By Ken Ntalarana

JAKARTA - Conflicting statements on the existence of Saudi-born Osama bin Laden's terrorist network Al-Qaeda in Indonesia have clearly proved to be nothing but a tug-of-war between the government and Muslim communities in the country.

It may also signal a conflict of interest among high-ranking military officers as some Islamic extremist groups suspected of having linkages with international terrorist groups are known to enjoy "limited" backing from certain elements in the country's military.

Although he didn't directly name it in comments he made last week, National Intelligence Agency (BIN) Chief A M Hendropriyono was undoubtedly referring to Laskar Jihad (Holy War Legion) as the group having links with Al-Qaeda in Poso, Central Sulawesi province. Laskar Jihad is also known to have sent hundreds of fighters from Java to join in the attacks on Christians in the Maluku islands.

At stake is the very existence of the country itself as religious and ethnic conflicts, believed to have been aggravated by local accomplices of international terrorist groups, are increasingly threatening to tear the country apart. Also in serious danger is recovery from the current economic crisis that began to grip Indonesia in 1997. The existence of terrorist groups in Indonesia and the government's reluctance to purge them may keep much-needed foreign investment at bay.

President Megawati Sukarnoputri, who took over the national leadership through what some political analysts dubbed as a parliamentary coup d'etat in July, has appeared reluctant to take firm action against militant Muslims, who in some cases tend to take the law into their own hands.

She has always appeared to be powerless in confronting those religious militants, partly because her leadership is rejected by many Indonesian Muslims who still believe that women are not supposed to become a president. Laskar Jihad, for example, has been sending "volunteers" to regions suffering from religious conflicts, such as Maluku, North Maluku and Central Sulawesi provinces. The Islam Defenders Front (FPI) has also been raiding, almost at will, entertainment establishments and places it suspects to be gambling dens and prostitution fronts in Jakarta and other big cities in Indonesia. Another militant group also sent hundreds of volunteers to Afghanistan to fight among the Taliban. The government knew about the activities of those militant groups but did not take stern measures against them.

So, after Hendropriyono's announcement on Laskar Jihad last Wednesday, people immediately thought Jakarta would soon crack down on those militant Islamic wings that have already been blamed for aggravating religious conflicts in Maluku and North Maluku provinces. But the Megawati administration cannot do it alone; it needs both domestic and international support.

In the face of anti-US sentiment among Muslim communities because of its military operations in Muslim-dominated Afghanistan, compounded by resistance among Muslims toward a female president, it is almost certain that domestic support, notably from Muslim communities, will be very difficult to come by. And so the only support the Megawati administration can expect is from the international community, especially the United States and its Western allies, which have mobilized worldwide support in the fight against terrorism. To that end, the government had to declare that religious conflicts in Poso and other provinces were international issues since they are "organized" by international terrorist networks. Thus, Hendropriyono's admission.

By announcing that religious radical groups in Indonesia have links with international terrorist networks, the government hoped to rally international support to purge Islamic militant groups that have often undermined the authority of the government in Indonesia. Going after local accomplices of Al-Qaeda would clearly demonstrate Indonesia's determination in the fight against terrorism, raising its international standing. The government might had also hoped that the announcement would "move" the US to lift the military embargo imposed by Washington because of rampant human-rights abuses by military personnel in Indonesia.

However, the announcement by Hendropriyono, who was made BIN chief by Megawati in August, was negated by Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra later that very same day, when he said: "The government has completed its three-month investigation and found no bank accounts or assets belonging to international terrorist groups in Indonesia." Mahendra made the statement after a coordination meeting of political, social and security affairs ministers in Jakarta. In addition, the justice minister's statement came just one day after the United States excluded Indonesia from a list of countries where Al-Qaeda operates.

Many Muslim scholars and military analysts here, however, believe that virtually all extremist religious groups in Indonesia have links with international terrorist networks such as bin Laden's al-Qaeda. After the arrest of a Malaysian Mujahidin member for placing a bomb at a shopping center in downtown Jakarta in late August, Hendropriyono warned then that international terrorist groups were already operating in Indonesia. His warning came almost two weeks before the deadly attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11.

"There are strong indications that Al-Qaeda is operating in Indonesia, but they need further investigation," former intelligence officer Djuanda said recently. "If the government launches a crackdown on those militant groups suspected of having links with Al-Qaeda, it would certainly hurt the feelings of the majority of Indonesians, especially Al-Qaeda supporters in Indonesia," Djuanda added. Indonesia is home to some 190 million Muslims, making it the world's biggest Muslim country.

Hendropriyono's announcement, which was made after the intelligence chief met with Megawati at Merdeka Palace, further angered the Muslim community, which had been upset by the government's reluctance to urge the US to stop its military campaign in Afghanistan. That prompted him to "rectify" his statement on Thursday on the supposed training camps of international terrorists in Poso, where fierce religious fighting has claimed dozens of lives in the past two weeks. His second statement, however, did not negate the fact that international terrorists are operating in Indonesia.

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