Asia Times, May 6, 2004
COMMENT
Indonesian leadership silent on religious violence
By Gary LaMoshi
DENPASAR, Bali - Religious-inspired violence is old news in Indonesia. Muslim
extremists were behind the Bali bombings of October 2002 and, allegedly, the Marriott
Hotel blast last August. The secessionist movement in resource-rich Aceh cloaks
itself in strict Islamic clothing. In the Maluku Islands and in Central Sulawesi,
communal violence between Christians and Muslims erupted shortly after the fall of
Suharto in 1998 and has simmered, occasionally boiling over, ever since.
Few human rights are more basic than the right to live in safety and security, and
religious-inspired violence - whether fostered by the Koran, the Bible, foreigners, rogue
military elements, Zionists or the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), as various
groups allege - is the greatest threat to safety and security in Indonesia. That's why
the silence of Indonesia's political leadership following renewed clashes in Ambon and
the rearrest of radical Islamic cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, sparking bloody conflicts
around the archipelago, is not only deafening, but shameful.
Politicians are busy this week in the world's largest predominantly Muslim nation,
though, wrangling to arrange their tickets for the July 5 presidential election, with
incumbent Megawati Sukarnoputri, challenger Wiranto and others seeking running
mates, and minor parties holding out for the best deal. In the campaign to date,
radical Islam is the 800-pound gorilla in the room that no one dares mention. Their
fiddling, while Ambon burns and violence in the name of Islam smolders, illustrates
the Indonesian political elite's disconnect from the real problems of this vast nation.
Back to future in Ambon
In Ambon, the capital of Maluku, fighting erupted on April 25 after two years of relative
calm. Members of the predominantly Christian separatist organization marched to
commemorate the 54th anniversary of their declaration of an independent Republic of
South Maluku. That's the kind of communal display that police are supposed to
prevent; instead, some officers joined the parade to provide protection. The marchers
clashed with predominantly Muslim opponents, and the battle resumed. So far, at
least 38 are dead, many at the hands of snipers, and hundreds have been injured.
Local leaders of both the Christian and Muslim communities blame outsiders for this
outbreak. Indeed, hundreds of Muslim fighters recruited from other areas of the
archipelago and internationally fueled the previous three-year fight that left at least
9,000 dead, until a military ship mysteriously appeared and removed them after the
October 2002 Bali bombings. Armed-forces supporters of Suharto are believed to be
behind these dark forces, such as the thugs who conducted massacres in East
Timor. Retired General Wiranto, Suharto's last military chief and presidential nominee
of Suharto's ruling party Golkar despite his international indictment for the East Timor
killings, might benefit from an unstable domestic situation that demands a strong,
experienced former military commander (see Looking for Mister Golkar , April 22).
Wiranto has made no public statement about the outbreak in Ambon, but he's not
alone. The closest that President Megawati has come to speaking out was sending
one of her daughters there last week to promise medical supplies to victims. Gee,
thanks.
Big, bad Ba'asyir
The silence over Ambon pales in comparison with the case of Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, the
reputed spiritual leader of the terrorist group Jemaah Islamiya, because of the larger
issue of violent, radical Islam.
Jailed for his radicalism under Suharto and an exile in Malaysia until the Suharto
regime fell, Ba'asyir was taken into custody after the Bali bombings and tried on
terrorism charges last year. He claims the CIA was behind the Bali bombs and, like
many Indonesians - without contradiction from their leadership - that Jemaah Islamiya
is a figment of Western imagination. Much of the evidence against Ba'asyir allegedly
came from terrorism suspects in US custody, fueling Ba'asyir's claims that he was a
victim of the West's plot to destroy Islam.
Observers say prosecutors presented an extraordinarily weak case, and Ba'asyir was
acquitted of the terror charges last year, but sentenced to four years for immigration
violations connected to his exile. Western officials howled about the
split-the-difference verdict, privately and publicly, bolstering Ba'asyir's claims as a
conspiracy victim. A higher court later cut the sentence to 18 months.
Ba'asyir was due for release last Friday from his relatively comfortable confinement
that included an unlocked room with private bath, use of a mobile phone in
contravention of prison rules, and frequent visits from Islamic politicians and religious
leaders. But police claimed they had new evidence and wanted to question him
further. Ba'asyir refused to cooperate, and his lawyers claimed the new allegations
were further evidence of US influence. He was released and immediately rearrested on
terrorism charges.
The incident sparked a riot outside the Jakarta prison between an estimated 700
Ba'asyir supporters and police that left more than 100 people injured. Indonesia's
leadership sheltered comfortably under their cone of silence, and the populace paid for
it.
The next day, students at the Indonesian Muslim University in Makassar on the island
of Sulawesi protesting Ba'asyir's release turned violent, reportedly yanking an off-duty
police officer from a vehicle and taking him hostage. Police stormed the campus and,
by all accounts, beat everyone in sight. The 61 injured included four students who
were shot.
Would a presidential statement, even one delivered by a cabinet officer - since Ibu
Mega rarely speaks for herself - saying that Ba'asyir was being detained because
police say he is a threat to our nation and that their evidence will be aired openly in a
court of law that will determine justice for him and for Indonesia, have prevented the
violence in Makassar? We'll never know. In fact, at this point, we don't even know if
Megawati has heard about Ba'asyir's confinement or the accompanying violence.
The silence fits a long-standing pattern. Since the Bali bombing, Indonesia's political
leaders have offered blanket condemnations of terror violence, but categorically
refused to condemn its perpetrators or link it to radical Islam. Paradoxically, though,
they often offer excuses for Islamic anger, such as the invasion of Iraq and US support
of Israel, and those US policies undoubtedly make it more difficult for them to join
hands with the US on the terror issue (see Unhappy anniversary for US-Indonesia ties,
September 11, 2003). They claim that the majority of Indonesia's estimated 200
million Muslims are moderates, yet will not condemn radical fringe elements.
Police officials get no political cover to fight terror. It's a trick from the authoritarian
days - gee, what can we do about those nasty security forces? - that continues to
serve politicians well. National Police Chief General D'ai Bachtiar deserves praise for
carrying out his job despite the absence of public support from the political leadership;
he promptly fired the police officials in charge in both Makassar and Ambon this week
(see Indonesian police earn 'A,' Megawati gets 'F' , November 29, 2002).
Not all politicians are silent, though. Hamdan Zulva, head of the House of
Representatives' Commission for Legal and Human Rights, plans to call Bachtiar on
the carpet this week to demand Ba'asyir's release. Zulva is a member of the Muslim
Crescent Star Party, a strict grouping that demands imposing Islamic law in
Indonesia. In last month's legislative elections, the Crescent Star Party received 2.57
percent of the vote. Who among Indonesia's political elite dares speak out for the
other 97.43 percent?
Copyright 2004 Asia Times Online Co, Ltd. All rights reserved.
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