ASEAN's stand on terrorism<\/p>\n
The recent explosion in a car park at a mall in Central
\nJakarta underlines the worrisome fact that acts of terrorism have
\nindeed become a part of the Indonesian scene. As a matter of
\nfact, although it may appear that in these last few years acts of
\nterrorism have escalated, such acts have occurred since the
\n1950s, albeit on a limited scale.<\/p>\n
It should be remembered, for instance, that the current
\nPresident of Indonesia, Megawati Soekarnoputri, almost became a
\nvictim herself of a terrorist act in 1957 when grenades were
\nlobbed in the direction of her father, president Sukarno. He was
\nvisiting a primary school in the Cikini area in Central Jakarta,
\nattended by his children, among others Megawati, which was
\norganizing a bazaar for fund-raising purposes.<\/p>\n
Given such a historical context of terrorism in this country,
\nit is needless to say that Indonesia did not have to make the
\nchoice, as posed by President George W. Bush in his recent speech
\nbefore the United States Congress, that \"either you are with us
\nor you are with the terrorists.\" For obvious reasons, Indonesia
\nhas always been against acts of terrorism. The question now is
\nhow to better coordinate these measures and make them more
\neffective.<\/p>\n
We know that an interdepartmental taskforce has already been
\nestablished for this purpose. However, given the current critical
\nsituation and Indonesia's proneness to terrorist acts, whether of
\nan indigenous nature or instigated and assisted by outside
\nelements, we think that a more unified body needs to be set up.<\/p>\n
Sayidiman Suryohadiprojo, the former governor of the National
\nResilience Institute has frequently proposed, through his
\nwritings and in seminars, to set up a national agency to combat
\nterrorism. He suggested that the agency should be of a cross-
\nsectoral nature and manned with experts from the national police,
\nthe immigration service, the intelligence community, the Attorney
\nGeneral's Office, the central bank and even from the Ministry of
\nHealth for the eventuality of a biological terrorist attack.
\nLogically, such a national agency should reside under the
\njurisdiction of the Coordinating Minister for Political and
\nSecurity Affairs.<\/p>\n
Given the urgency of the situation, not too much time should
\nbe wasted in preparing the setting up of such an agency. However,
\nconsidering the unique geography of the Southeast Asia region,
\nIndonesia should also speed up its efforts to coordinate its
\nantiterrorist program with neighboring countries. The President
\nof the Philippines, Gloria Arroyo Macapagal, recently stated her
\nsupport for the proposal to set up a regional coalition to combat
\nterrorism. But it was the speaker of the Philippines parliament,
\nJose de Venecia, who suggested that such a coalition should
\ninitially comprise the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia,
\nnoting that each of those countries faces grave domestic problems
\nrelated to terrorism.<\/p>\n
We might also note that President Megawati, on her recent tour
\nof ASEAN capitals, visited Kuala Lumpur and discussed the matter
\nwith Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. The prime
\nminister has on a number of occasions warned of the danger of
\nterrorist acts spreading from Malaysia to neighboring countries.
\nIt has been reported that in the upcoming informal meeting of
\nASEAN heads of government, scheduled to take place in Brunei
\nDarussalam later this year, the subject of coordinating progress
\nin the fight against terrorism will be discussed.<\/p>\n
Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda's statement (made in New York
\non Monday on the occasion of the ratification by Indonesia of the
\n1999 International Convention for the Suppression of the
\nFinancing of Terrorism) that Indonesia would increase
\ncoordination of intelligence information with fellow member
\ncountries of ASEAN and other countries, should be a sign that
\nJakarta is indeed driven by a sense of urgency in developing an
\neffective program to combat terrorism, on both national and
\nregional planes.<\/p>\n
We should be aware that for countries such as Indonesia, which
\nare in a delicate stage of developing and maturing their
\ndemocratic institutions, unbridled acts of terrorism could nip
\nthe process of democratization in the bud.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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