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