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The New York Times, October 4, 2001
Americans Are Target of Radicals in Indonesia
By SETH MYDANS
JAKARTA, Indonesia, Oct. 3 - Sweeping: It is an English word that has taken on an unsettling meaning in Indonesia.
The military uses the word, in English, for its search-and-destroy missions when it hunts for separatist rebels. And now it is what radical Islamic groups say they are going to do with Americans: sweep them out of the country.
Already in the central Javanese city of Jolo, bands of young men have gone from hotel to hotel examining guest registers. They have found no Americans, and it is not clear what action they would take if they had.
But it is one of the threats that have caused several Americans to flee the country and have aroused frictions between the United States Embassy and the government.
With the world holding its breath as it awaits American military action, fringe groups of Islamic militants here have raised a hue and cry, warning of retribution.
In the latest of a series of advisories, the State Department said last week, "Some radical Indonesian groups have attempted to attack United States citizens and have threatened to attack United States facilities and expel American citizens."
One Western diplomat called the threats "the most widespread activity against Americans that we are seeing anywhere in the world."
Ambassador Robert S. Gelbard has castigated the police for what he described as their laxity in providing protection. Indeed, in their public statements, Indonesian officials have belittled the threats, insisting that no laws have been broken and that security is adequate.
"There is no serious threat from these organizations," the spokesman for the Jakarta city police, Anton Bachrul Alam, said in an interview. "It is only the American ambassador who is making a big deal out of it. And I'd like to remind him that demonstrations are part of the free expression of democracy."
President Megawati Sukarnoputri, returning on Sunday from a visit to Washington, where she assured President Bush of her support, issued the government's first, mild rebuke against the threats and the sweepings.
"Don't frighten the visitors," she said. "They are guests in our nation. How would we feel if Indonesians in any other country were treated like that?"
Asked whether tough action would be taken against those singling out Americans, Mrs. Megawati said, "If they cause damage and break the law, I have ordered the security forces to take stern action."
Other government figures have taken the opportunity to seek to ride the wave of Islamic passion to score political points, making intemperate statements and even calling for a holy war.
As a result, the crisis has become the first political test of Mrs. Megawati's three-month-old presidency. If she continues to support the United States once hostilities begin, some of the anti-American rage could be turned against her.
Her political opponents, including Vice President Hamzah Haz, have already indicated that they are prepared to campaign against her.
At the same time, the crisis has brought into the open the growing assertiveness of the radical minority in this overwhelmingly moderate Muslim nation of 210 million people.
Armed groups like the Laskar Jihad, which is already fighting against Christians in the Maluku Islands, and Darul Islam, which claims to have carried out several terrorist bombings, are flexing their muscles.
The leader of the Laskar Jihad, Jaffar Umar Thalib, has threatened to attack Americans and to try to drive Mrs. Megawati from office.
A senior member of Darul Islam, Al Chaidar, said in an interview that both groups have ties to Al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden's organization. He said that several members of these groups have experience fighting in Afghanistan and that some Arab fighters were now in Indonesia offering assistance.
That assessment was challenged, though, by Azyumardi Azra, rector of the State Institute for Islamic Studies, who said he doubted both assertions. "We have to admit that these groups exist," he said. "But don't exaggerate the influence of these radical groups. That is just what they want."
Wahid Supriyadi, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, also noted that such groups were a minority, with little public support. But, he added, "We are a bit worried, to be honest."
Copyright © 2001 The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.
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