ASSOCIATED PRESS, Sunday November 25, 2001
Indonesia Extremism Worries U.S.
By SLOBODAN LEKIC, Associated Press Writer
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - After decades of dormancy under the iron-fisted rule of
former dictator Suharto, Islamic militancy is on the rise in Indonesia and U.S. officials
fear its newfound democracy is threatened.
They warn that Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network has taken advantage of lax
security to infiltrate Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation.
``Frankly, I think they are more dangerous to Indonesia than they are to the United
States,'' Paul Wolfowitz, a deputy U.S. secretary of defense and former American
ambassador in Jakarta, told the Indonesian news magazine Tempo.
Islamic extremists lost a bloody war against the secular government in the 1940s and
'50s. An entire wing of the armed forces museum is dedicated to that war in an effort
to warn of the dangers of religious militancy.
One diorama in the exhibit depicts terrified women and children screaming and
cowering as armed men in black turbans shoot at them in a village square while
thatched huts burn. Another shows Indonesian soldiers gunning down hordes of
wild-eyed fanatics.
A possible new wave of Islamic militancy is an unwelcome side effect of democracy.
Suharto kept the lid on religious extremism during his 32-year rule. But when he was
ousted in 1998 his once formidable and ruthless security services were left
rudderless.
Meanwhile, a severe, four-year economic downturn has pushed 60 percent of the
population into poverty. Millions have been left unemployed, providing recruits for
radical organizations.
``Because of the economic crisis, we are seeing more people joining militant groups,''
said Dien Samsyudin, an official of the Indonesian Ulema's Council, a coalition of
moderate Islamic clerics. ``The emergence of Islamic militancy is influenced by
social, economic and political injustices.''
Indonesia has enjoyed a reputation for tolerance among its 170 million Muslims and
35 million Christians, Buddhists and Hindus. But since Suharto's downfall that has
come under strain. Sectarian conflicts have flared in the Maluku islands and parts of
Sulawesi island.
Even so, some people say radical Islamic groups remain small and insignificant, with
little support among the overwhelming majority of Muslims.
``There are a few hundred Muslim extremists in Indonesia, a country of 210 million
people,'' said Taufik Abdullah, chairman of the Indonesian Science Institute. ``Don't
take these groups seriously. They pose no threat to the government.''
But, emboldened by their success in Maluku province, where they have killed
thousands of Christians, Islamic militants have been asserting themselves in recent
months.
In a sign that a six-month lull in the fighting in the Malukus may be ending, the main
force behind the sectarian blood bath - an Islamic militia known as Laskar Jihad -
says it is beefing up its strength.
The government of President Megawati Sukarnoputri has done little to rein in the
sectarian violence.
Another radical Muslim group, Darul Islam, which staged the uprising five decades
ago, claimed last week that it had trained dozens of foreign volunteers in handling
weapons and explosives. Alone among Indonesia's Muslim groups, it also says it has
links with bin Laden's followers.
Those claims were immediately dismissed by government officials. But they appeared
to dovetail with reports from Spain that an investigation into an al-Qaida cell operating
there found that foreign fighters had received military training in a secret camp in
Indonesia.
And there are fears that some of the 300 Indonesian volunteers who reportedly have
fought with the Taliban in Afghanistan may return and provoke more bloodshed. Armed
with new experience, training and a network of contacts with fellow militants
elsewhere in Southeast Asia, those fighters could join existing extremist groups or
form new ones.
``Everywhere in the country there are calls for young people to join them,'' said
Samsyudin, the moderate Muslim cleric. ``We are struggling to cope with this
problem.''
Copyright © 2001 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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