United Press International, June 1, 2002
Analysis: Politics of terrorist socials
By SUKINO HARISUMARTO, JAKARTA, Indonesia,
Amid international concerns about terrorists linked to the al Qaida network continuing
to operate in Indonesia, the country's vice president decided to find out for himself
firsthand. His visits and dinners with Muslim hard-line clerics, however, reached a
peak of controversy this week, with Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, the leader of the Jemaah
Islamiyah regional terrorist group and the Muslim cleric alleged to be the ideological
leader on an organization linked to al Qaida.
That exchange drew even more fire than one earlier in May, when Hamzah Haz visited
the detained leader of the Laskar Jihad (Holy Warriors) Islamic militia, Jafar Umar
Thalib, whose militia has fought to evict Christian from the sectarian-ravaged
Moluccas islands. Thalib is being held for allegedly inciting a massacre of Christian
villagers in Moluccas in late April.
Ba'asyir has been named by Singapore and Malaysia as a possible leader of a group
that they say has ties with al Qaida network and was plotting attacks on U.S. targets
in Singapore.
Although the vice presidency is a largely ceremonial office in Indonesia, Haz's
opinions about Islamic radicalism are politically significant. His reputation, until now,
has been one of a man whose maneuvers have always been cautious.
The visit to Ba'asyir comes only days after a top U.S. official said that Osama bin
Laden's al Qaida militant network had established a toehold in Indonesia, home of the
world's most populous Muslim nation.
Indonesia, the world's fourth largest populous nation of 220 million, led by President
Megawati Sukarnoputri, went only as far as arresting foreign Muslims suspected of
being al Qaida members, and handing them over to U.S. authorities for deportation.
Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines have arrested several suspects they say are
linked to a regional terrorism network of militant Muslims and have named
Indonesians among its leaders.
While stability of Indonesia is crucial to the future of region and the strategic balance
in East Asia, the country faces the most difficult challenge following the downfall of
former authoritarian President Suharto in 1998. Since then Indonesia have endured by
political, economic and social turmoil.
Jakarta's reluctance to rein in extremists and detain suspected terrorists have
sparked concern in Washington and neighboring nations for fears that Indonesia would
become a terrorist haven or a base from which to plot new attacks.
An annual report of global terrorism issued by U.S. State Department this week said
radical Islamic groups were active in Jakarta and continued to threaten U.S. interests.
Indonesia received special attention, saying Jakarta had taken only "limited action" in
support of international efforts to counter terrorism, and only "some effort" to bring its
legal and regulatory counter-terrorism regime up to international standard.
Indonesia, arguing it does not have any hard evidence to make any arrest, but adding
that the country was in the process of passing a bill on terrorism to strengthen its
legal infrastructure.
Haz even challenged the allegations, saying repeatedly there is no terrorist network in
the country: "There are no terrorists here. I guarantee that. If they (terrorists) exist,
don't arrest any Muslim clerics, arrest me," Haz said during a meeting with Ba'asyir's
followers.
But officials and diplomatic sources have said foreigners linked to the group have been
expelled from Indonesia on several occasions and the national intelligence chief
suggested at one point there may have been a temporary al Qaida base on an outer
island.
Haz, who leads Indonesia's largest Muslim political party that forms a key plank in the
shaky coalition government, also denied any political motive behind the visit to the
detained Laskar Jihad chief. It was a "personal matter" to express sympathy among
Muslims, he said.
A few days after the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington that left about
3,000 people dead, Haz told worshipers at a Jakarta mosque that the attacks "will
cleanse the sins of the United States."
Critics and political experts criticized such talk, saying it could be considered by
international communities to legitimate radicalism in the country amid issues of
Megawati's weak in handling Muslim hard-liners.
Analysts expressed belief that Haz is just looking for supports from among Indonesian
Muslims, including the militant groups to garner votes, as he is widely expected to vie
for presidency during the country's next general elections, in 2004. But such a move
could boomerang.
"Such a move can jeopardize Haz's political career once he has to face the
international world," said a political analyst Afan Gaffar.
Many suggested that if Megawati plays her cards in place, she could do considerable
damage to the country's most radical Muslim organizations. Since taking office last
July, Megawati has spent relatively little time reaching out to conservative Muslim
groups, leaving that duty to Haz.
Megawati, the daughter of Indonesia's founding father, President Sukarno, is not the
politically Messianic figure that her father was. She is popular nonetheless and has
the support of the Indonesian Army, which has long played a critical political role in
the country and became a backbone for Suharto's 32 years of iron-fist administration.
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