[Nasional-e] Taking the Hard Road

[Ambon]

Time (Asia)
September 30, 2002 / VOL. 160 NO. 12
Asia

Taking the Hard Road
Indonesia faces a tough choice: crack down on extremists and risk an Islamic
backlash—or incur America's wrath
BY SIMON ELEGANT / JAKARTA


KEMAL JUFRI/IMAJI PRESS
While many JI suspects have been apprehended, leader Ba'asyir remains free
in Indonesia

CNN: Grenade explodes near U.S. Jakarta depot


George W. Bush told the nations of the world after Sept. 11 last year that
they were either with the U.S. in the war on terror or against the U.S. At
the time, the choice for most frontline governments was stark: join up or
face the wrath of the world's military and economic superpower. One year on,
the war has indeed turned out to be a global conflict. But in Jakarta, local
politics may outweigh geopolitics as President Megawati Sukarnoputri's
administration last week wrestled over whether to cooperate with the U.S.,
or risk being labeled a pariah state in this new, antiterror world order.
The Indonesian President picked a bad week to fence-sit. Singapore's
announcement that 19 of the 21 Singaporean Muslims arrested last month have
ties to the regional extremist group Jemaah Islamiah (JI), an affiliate of
al-Qaeda, were a reminder that the scope and reach of terror remain
formidable and potentially lethal. Malaysia and the Philippines have taken
action against militants too. Teamwork, it would seem, is the only way to
counter such threats. Indonesia, accused by nations around the region of
harboring terrorists and under pressure from the U.S. for not fighting its
share of the battle, looks increasingly like the odd nation out.
The man putting Indonesia—and particularly Megawati—in this bind is Abubakar
Ba'asyir, the Muslim cleric who is allegedly the spiritual and political
leader of JI. As TIME reported last week, the U.S. interrogation of Omar
al-Faruq, a militant who has confessed to being al-Qaeda's Southeast Asian
point man, revealed that he and Ba'asyir had planned to bomb American
embassies and consulates in the region the week of the first anniversary of
Sept. 11. Despite this and related disclosures that indict him as at least a
suspect, Ba'asyir (who has denied these accusations) remains free, openly
running his Islamic school in the central Java town of Solo. Indonesia, says
Rohan Gunaratna, an expert on terrorism and author of a recent book on
al-Qaeda, "is the only place in the world where radicals tied to al-Qaeda
aren't being hunted down." Adds a Western intelligence source in Jakarta:
"The country's like an aircraft carrier from which terrorists can safely
launch attacks throughout the region."
Not surprisingly, Ba'asyir's, and JI's, apparent untouchable status has set
off alarm bells in Washington. U.S. calls for action against Islamic
militants in Indonesia have been ratcheted up in recent weeks. President
Bush discussed the issue with Megawati in a Sept. 16 phone call; the next
day, the director for Asian affairs of the National Security Council, Karen
Brooks, made a quiet two-day visit to Jakarta. While those conversations
amounted to polite encouragement, the U.S. has also been using the threat of
harsher tactics to bring Megawati into line. Washington is threatening to
officially classify JI as a foreign terrorist organization, as well as
possibly Ba'asyir himself as a terrorist. Failure by Indonesia to act
against JI or Ba'asyir, U.S. officials say, could then precipitate a series
of grave economic sanctions such as refusing aid and voting against
financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund.
But as a hostage to her country's byzantine politics, Megawati seems damned
no matter which way she moves. Regardless of how much Washington increases
the pressure, the complex of interlocking forces on which Megawati's power
depends seems virtually certain to preclude any action on her part. Not even
allegations that al-Faruq and Ba'asyir plotted to assassinate Megawati have
stirred her. If she takes steps against Ba'asyir and other JI members
believed to be at large in Indonesia, she risks alienating the Muslim
majority, whose support she desperately needs if she and her party are to be
returned to office in the 2004 elections. Says Arbi Sanit, a lecturer in
politics at the University of Indonesia: "Every politician in Indonesia
needs the Islamic vote, and with Megawati it's even more so because of her
secular background."
The power of Indonesia's Islamic lobby was amply demonstrated earlier this
year when three Indonesians were arrested in Manila with plastic explosives
and detonator cords in their luggage. Despite the evidence, two of the men
were released due to pressure from Jakarta, official sources in the capital
say. The Philippines came close to releasing the third man, Agus Dwikarna,
at which point U.S. officials directly intervened with Megawati (as well as
with Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo) to warn against allowing
the release. Dwikarna was later tried and sentenced to 17 years in prison
for possessing explosives.
Indonesia's inaction contrasts starkly with its neighbors' aggressive
antiterror measures. Singapore has repeatedly displayed its resolve, not
only through its announcement last week but through the arrests of 15
alleged terrorists earlier in the year for a plot to bomb U.S. interests
there (masterminded, says Singapore, by Ba'asyir). Local authorities say the
fresh detentions foiled plans to target a range of facilities in the
republic, including the Defense Ministry, Changi International Airport,
water pipelines and communications installations. In the Philippines,
meanwhile, officials last week apprehended four Indonesians, one of whom
they accuse of being linked to JI and helping to plot bomb attacks that
killed 15 people and injured nearly 100 in a mall in Mindanao last April.
Along with Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines have enthusiastically
thrown in their lot with America. Singapore has long been a vocal advocate
for a strong U.S. presence in the region, which it feels promotes stability.
Manila is an old ally of Washington's and has for decades been battling its
own Muslim insurgencies. Malaysia does have a Muslim majority, like
Indonesia, but the government has never hesitated to use its draconian
powers to keep the wilder fringes of the Muslim community under control, an
attitude that seems to have been reinforced since Sept. 11 by Prime Minister
Mahathir Mohamad's desire to step forward as the world's leading moderate
Muslim leader.
Megawati is a moderate too, but even if the President were to allow a
crackdown on Islamic radicals, there is no guarantee that the military and
police would cooperate. A combination of Islamic sympathy, interservice
rivalry, greed and simple incompetence has hobbled similar past attempts. In
a series of failed operations in recent years, law enforcement officers have
allowed their fellow Indonesians suspected of terrorist activity to slip
away.
Typical was the incident last December when Spanish authorities requested
the arrest of Parlindungan Siregar, who allegedly ran military training at a
JI/al-Qaeda camp near Poso on the island of Sulawesi. Despite being under
24-hour surveillance by intelligence operatives and having his mobile phone
conversations recorded, Parlindungan vanished as soon as the Spanish request
was received. Tellingly, his current whereabouts remain well known to the
authorities, says a senior foreign intelligence source: "I was told [by
Indonesian officials], 'you can go and talk to him if you want. We'll give
you his address in Yogyakarta.'" Seeking to increase their diminishing role
in government, the military and police have fallen into an uneasy alliance
with Islamic politicians. "There is a danger with this game," warns the
University of Indonesia's Sanit. "What if one day Indonesia is accused of
being another Iraq by the international community? We'd be dead meat."