http://www.zenit.org/english/war/visualizza.phtml?sid=26940 Code: ZE02102602 Date: 2002-10-26 Bali: Indonesia's Latest Bout of Terror Leaders Were in Denial About Islamic Extremists JAKARTA, Indonesia, OCT. 26, 2002 (Zenit.org).- The Oct. 12 bombings that killed more than 200 in Bali shattered what the press called the idyllic peace of the popular tourist destination. Bali, home to a largely Hindu population known for its easygoing nature, had seemed a safe haven from the ethnic and religious turmoil affecting Indonesia in recent years. But Indonesia's situation has been worrying for some time. On the island of Aceh alone, more than 6,000 lives have been lost in fighting between the Islamic Free Aceh Movement and government forces, the New York Post noted Oct. 22. In Sulawesi, meanwhile, Islamists have set up roadblocks, isolating the indigenous Christian community. They have also obliged Christians to convert, and have burnt churches and other buildings. In all, Muslim-Christian clashes in Indonesia have killed more than 19,000 since 1999 and left over 600,000 displaced from their homes, the Post reported. In the weeks before the Bali bombing, Western intelligence officials urged Indonesia to take action against Muslim radicals, after the capture in west Java of a senior al-Qaida terrorist, Omar Al-Faruq, whose confessions described plans to attack local targets, the London Sunday Times reported Oct. 13. In Australia, the Age newspaper on Oct. 14 accused Indonesia of not taking seriously the threat of radical Islamic networks in its midst. "They have been in denial," said Jakarta-watcher Greg Barton of Deakin University. "They have refused to accept all along that they have serious problems." The Age noted that even though Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri offered strong public support for the global war on terror, "her actions have not come close to matching the fine words." Fringe groups Islam in Indonesia is overwhelmingly moderate and tolerant, according to Greg Fealy, a research fellow in Indonesian politics at the Australian National University, in the Sydney Morning Herald on Oct. 14. About 184 million Indonesians, 87% of the population, are Muslims. Most Islamic groups support the country's religiously neutral philosophy of Pancasila and reject calls for Indonesia to become an Islamic state, noted Fealy. But, he continued, what is less well known "is that Indonesia also has a long history of violence perpetrated in the name of Islam by small militant groups on the fringes of society." In 1948 the Darul Islam movement rose up in rebellion and established an Islamic state. During the next 14 years, more than 40,000 people died and at least 1 million were displaced. With Suharto's downfall in May 1998, new militant Islamic groups emerged. Among them is the Laskar Jihad -- recently disbanded, according to some reports -- a paramilitary group which deployed up to 6,000 fighters in the Christian-Muslim conflicts in the Molucca and Central Sulawesi provinces. Other groups include the Islamic Defenders' Front, which regularly attacks nightclubs and "places of vice," and the Indonesian Mujahedin Council, which is committed to the full implementation of Islamic law in the archipelago. The Aug. 22 issue of the Far Eastern Economic Review published an analysis about the groups seeking to impose Islamic law in Indonesia. The most well-known radical Islamic leader in the country is Abu Bakar Bashir. In early August, Bashir pressed Indonesia's highest legislative chamber to pass a constitutional amendment that would allow the full imposition of Shariah, Islamic law. In fact, Shariah already functions to a limited degree in Indonesia, with a network of 330 religious courts adjudicating on marriage, inheritance and other domestic disputes, the magazine noted. The rebellious province of Aceh, regarded as one of the most devoutly Islamic of Indonesian provinces, has already won the right to implement a to-be-determined form of Shariah under its new special autonomy status. Parliament rejected the Shariah amendment proposed by Bashir, with the backing of the country's two largest Muslim organizations, Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah. However, a "growing number of moderate Muslims, worried about corruption and a collapse of moral values, seem to see Islam as a vague panacea for the country's economic and social ills," observed the Far Eastern Economic Review. Authorities are now waiting to question Bashir, who is being treated for health problems. Just before his hospitalization, an interview with him appeared on Newsweek's Web site, on Oct. 17. Bashir denied he is a terrorist, but his comments were guaranteed to be provocative. The Bali attack, he claimed, "was carried out by America," so that the United States would have "the justification [to say] that Indonesia is a terrorist nest." Bashir also declared "his moral support to Osama bin Laden for his struggle." Bashir said he never met bin Laden, but that he believes that the latter "is a believer and he fights based on Shariah law. We have to give him moral support and even physical support if possible." The hand of terrorism Even before the recent events in Bali, concerns were growing about the infiltration of Islamic terror groups in the region. U.S. intelligence reports since Sept. 11, 2001, warned of risks posed to Western embassies and companies by Southeast Asian groups with ties to bin Laden's al-Qaida terrorist network, the Financial Times reported Oct. 14. An Aug. 8 report by the International Crisis Group looked at the presence of al-Qaida in Indonesia. They reported that Abu Bakar Bashir had been a member of the Darul Islam movement in the late 1940s. Bashir was also one of the founders of the radical "Ngruki network." In December 2001, Malaysian authorities arrested a group of 15 Islamic militants. It turned out that some of them belonged to the group Jemaah Islamiyah (Islamic Community), which they said is led by Bashir. The report describes how Bashir is linked to a handful of Indonesians who have been accused of having ties to al-Qaida. One of these is Fathur Rahman al-Gozi, who has been detained in Manila since January on charges of illegal possession of explosives and falsification of documents. Another is Hambali, alias Riduan Isamuddin, alias Nurjaman, who is thought to be al-Qaida's main Indonesian contact. Hambali has been linked by intelligence sources and the Indonesian police to a wave of bombings in Indonesia in December 2000. A few days after the Bali attack, the Indonesian government declared Jemaah Islamiyah to be a terrorist organization, the New York Times reported Oct. 17. Indonesia's minister for state security, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, said that Jakarta had to "respect and believe" assertions that Jemaah Islamiyah was part of "an international terrorist network." Since then, moderate Muslim groups in Indonesia have asked authorities to take action against the extremists, the Associated Press reported Oct. 21. The call was made by Nahdlatul Ulama, led by former Indonesian president Abdurrahman Wahid, whose 40 million members make it the world's largest Muslim grouping, and the 30-million-member Muhammadiyah. But not all are confident that Indonesia's president is up to the task of taming the militants. Megawati Sukarnoputri pushed through emergency anti-terror legislation in the wake of the bombings, but is accused of leading a "do nothing" administration, the London Telegraph said Oct. 17. Indonesia is not dominated by Islamic extremists; the great majority of its Muslims are moderate. The Bali episode, however, shows how even a small group can cause immense damage. How to take effective action against the radicals, while not undermining democracy or causing a backlash that could feed extremist groups, is the challenge facing not only Indonesia but the rest of the world.
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