----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, October 17, 2002 10:36
AM
Subject: [RantauNet.Com] Referensi untuk
Minang
Terror has deep roots in
Indonesia
Al-Qaida is a brand, but we have our own
army-backed terrorists
Wimar Witoelar
Wednesday October 16,
2002
The Guardian
Osama bin Laden's
al-Qaida network has been blamed for the Bali bomb attacks by the United
States, Australia and surprisingly even Indonesia itself. President Bush
said he assumed the attack was the work of al-Qaida, while Australia's
foreign minister, Alexander Downer, said it was likely the Islamist group
Jemaah Islamiyah was responsible. We must admire the confidence of
faraway world leaders in identifying the culprits even before the
investigation has started.
But then the Indonesian defence
minister Matori Abdul Djalil outdid them all by insisting the bomb blasts
were "related to al-Qaida with the cooperation of local terrorists".
However, nobody else in government confirmed his claim. And the
National Police spokesman said the defence minister's statement was
probably based on logic, not on facts. So perhaps we should use logic to
identify other masterminds of the Bali bomb. Never for a moment even
thinking to stand in the way of Mr Bush's war on terrorism, I am happy
for al-Qaida to top the list of suspects.
But if we are serious about dealing with the
Bali tragedy, we must look at groups beyond Mr Bush's horizon. October
12, 2002 is a black day for Indonesia because Bali is the part of
Indonesia that is friendliest to outsiders. But the bombing is not by
any means the first act of terror suffered by Indonesia. Previous
incidents brought more casualties, but did not dominate the world's news
pages because the victims were locals.
Terrorism has been an
unpleasant reality for Indonesia for decades. General Suharto's regime
was based on state terrorism for 30 years. Without the free press we have
now in Indonesia, and with a world committed to the investment climate
Suharto nurtured, the locations of murderous campaigns such as Aceh,
Lampung and Tanjung Priok never became household words. East Timor was
known mainly because of Australian involvement, now history.
In the 1970s, Suharto thought the communist
danger required the the military and Muslim extremists to work together.
This led to the establishment of Jemaah Islamiyah, now mentioned as the
local arm
of al-Qaida. The military hardliners continued to support
radical Islamist militia off and on throughout the years, working in
networks on "special operations".
When Suharto fell, his military
hardliners had to move their base outside the state, but their networks
remained. They became known as the "dark forces", consisting of rogue
elements within and outside the
military. The May riots of 1998
demonstrated their power, resulting in more than a thousand deaths. The
Banyuwangi killings took hundreds of lives and the ethnic conflict in
Kalimantan produced gruesome deaths. The conflict in Ambon took many
hundreds of lives. As the only victims were Indonesians and
al-Qaida was
not headline stuff then, the world looked away.
But the terror went on, always aimed at
destabilising the nation.
Then came the Bali bomb, a year after the US
war on terror began to highlight every event in the light of US suspicion
of al-Qaida. Al-Qaida elements are probably involved in one way or
another. Terror
thrives on publicity, and the media is providing 15
minutes of fame to every terrorist group. Bush has made al-Qaida a world
brand. It makes it easy for them to franchise terror worldwide as
McDonald's franchises Big Macs. But in Indonesia, local terrorists are
more significant than the international brand-holders. They have the
motive to discredit the effort to democratise and make people long for a
return of a Suharto-type regime.
The burden now rests firmly on the
Megawati government to be tough on terrorism. The problem is that the
government has been soft not only on terrorism but also in other areas,
such as law enforcement and
corruption. A convicted criminal
continues to head the parliament. Military hotheads not only shoot
dissenters, but also attack the police. Privatisation fuels corruption. A
messy state is sliding into a failed state. The world thinks President
Megawati hesitates in acting against terrorism to maintain a balance with
Muslim political groups. This does not make sense, because the major
Muslim groups are opposed to terrorism. In fact, the Bali disaster
ironically provides an opportunity for the government to gain legitimacy
by acting against terror. For that she will have the support not only of
Mr Bush (as long as she looks for al-Qaida), but most Indonesians, as
long as she uses the momentum to get rid of violence and corruption. Mr
Bush can then go on to the next terrorist haven and Indonesians can try
to put back together the pieces of our nation.
Wimar Witoelar is a
Jakarta-based Indonesian commentator and
adjunct professor at Deakin
University, Australia.
