[Nasional-e] Terror has deep roots in Indonesia

[bhineka@brd.de]

Terror has deep roots in Indonesia

Al-Qaida is a brand, but we have our own army-backed terrorists

Wimar Witoelar
Wednesday October 16, 2002
The Guardian

Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network has been blamed for the Bali bomb attacks by
the United States, Australia and surprisingly even Indonesia itself. President
Bush said he assumed the attack was the work of al-Qaida, while Australia's
foreign minister, Alexander Downer, said it was likely the Islamist group Jemaah
Islamiyah was responsible. We must admire the confidence of faraway world leaders
in identifying the culprits even before
the investigation has started. But then the Indonesian defence minister Matori
Abdul Djalil outdid them all by insisting the bomb blasts were "related to
al-Qaida with the cooperation of local terrorists".

However, nobody else in government confirmed his claim. And the National Police
spokesman said the defence minister's statement was probably based on logic, not
on facts. So perhaps we should use logic to identify other masterminds of the Bali
bomb. Never for a moment even thinking to stand in the way of Mr Bush's war on
terrorism, I am happy for al-Qaida to top the list of suspects. But if we are
serious about dealing with the Bali tragedy, we must look at groups beyond Mr
Bush's horizon.

October 12, 2002 is a black day for Indonesia because Bali is the part of
Indonesia that is friendliest to outsiders. But the bombing is not by any means
the first act of terror suffered by Indonesia. Previous incidents brought more
casualties, but did not dominate the world's news pages because the victims were
locals.

Terrorism has been an unpleasant reality for Indonesia for decades. General
Suharto's regime was based on state terrorism for 30 years. Without the free press
we have now in Indonesia, and with a world committed to the investment climate
Suharto nurtured, the locations of murderous campaigns such as Aceh, Lampung and
Tanjung Priok never became household words. East Timor was known mainly because of
Australian involvement, now history.

In the 1970s, Suharto thought the communist danger required the the military and
Muslim extremists to work together. This led to the establishment of Jemaah
Islamiyah, now mentioned as the local arm of al-Qaida. The military hardliners
continued to support radical Islamist militia off and on throughout the years,
working in networks on "special operations".

When Suharto fell, his military hardliners had to move their base outside the
state, but their networks remained. They became known as the "dark forces",
consisting of rogue elements within and outside the military. The May riots of
1998 demonstrated their power, resulting in more than a thousand deaths. The
Banyuwangi killings took hundreds of lives and the ethnic conflict in Kalimantan
produced gruesome deaths. The conflict in Ambon took many hundreds of lives. As
the only victims were Indonesians and al-Qaida was not headline stuff then, the
world looked away. But the terror went on, always aimed at destabilising the
nation.

Then came the Bali bomb, a year after the US war on terror began to highlight
every event in the light of US suspicion of al-Qaida. Al-Qaida elements are
probably involved in one way or another. Terror thrives on publicity, and the
media is providing 15 minutes of fame to every terrorist group. Bush has made
al-Qaida a world brand. It makes it easy for them to franchise terror worldwide as
McDonald's franchises Big Macs. But in Indonesia, local terrorists are more
significant than the international brand-holders. They have the motive to
discredit the effort to democratise and make people long for a return of a
Suharto-type regime.

The burden now rests firmly on the Megawati government to be tough on terrorism.
The problem is that the government has been soft not only on terrorism but also in
other areas, such as law enforcement and corruption. A convicted criminal
continues to head the parliament. Military hotheads not only shoot dissenters, but
also attack the police. Privatisation fuels corruption. A messy state is sliding
into a failed state.

The world thinks President Megawati hesitates in acting against terrorism to
maintain a balance with Muslim political groups. This does not make sense, because
the major Muslim groups are opposed to terrorism. In fact, the Bali disaster
ironically provides an opportunity for the government to gain legitimacy by acting
against terror. For that she will have the support not only of Mr Bush (as long as
she looks for al-Qaida), but most Indonesians, as long as she uses the momentum to
get rid of violence and corruption. Mr Bush can then go on to the next terrorist
haven and Indonesians can try to put back together the pieces of our nation.

· Wimar Witoelar is a Jakarta-based Indonesian commentator and adjunct professor
at Deakin University, Australia. He was spokesman for President Abdurrahman Wahid
in 2000-01