Radicalism and national security<\/p>\n
Sutanto, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Although radicalism is alien to the character of various
\nreligions in Indonesia, practices of radicalism are not alien in
\nIndonesia's history. In terms of national security strategies,
\nthere were occasions in which the country's national security was
\ndeclared to be under the threats stemming from the radicalism of
\nright-wing and left-wing extremists. The right-wing extremists
\nrefer to the groups of a particular religion while the left-wing
\nextremists are associated with communist groups.<\/p>\n
Radicalism has also been employed in various rebellions and
\nseparatist efforts recorded throughout the existence of the
\nunitary state of the Republic of Indonesia, such as the
\nradicalism of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) in Madiun, the
\nDI\/TII (Darul Islam\/Indonesian Islamic Army) in West Java and
\nDI\/TII in Aceh.<\/p>\n
Considering the bomb cases in the past five years, we can
\nclearly see that most of these terrorist acts were linked with or
\ncommitted in the name of religion. This rapid development of
\nterrorist acts committed by these terrorist groups is inseparable
\nfrom the global development of terrorist acts in the world.<\/p>\n
In terms of quality, in the sense of how the bomb is exploded,
\nthe terrorists have now opted for the method of suicide bombings,
\nclaimed to be committed in the name of jihad, or the waging of a
\nholy war.<\/p>\n
This change in method has certainly led to a higher level of
\ndanger as it may claim more lives and cause greater damage.<\/p>\n
This method is really new and is believed to be copied from
\nthe way adopted by the Palestinian freedom fighters, who are
\nquite different from the groups of terrorists in Indonesia in
\nterms of the struggle they are involved in.<\/p>\n
At this point, we may pose a rather difficult question: What
\nactually motivated the suicide bombings in the first Bali bombing
\ncase, at the JW Marriott Hotel, in front of the Australian
\nEmbassy in Jakarta and the second Bali bombing case?<\/p>\n
Many of the victims were Indonesians, most of those were
\nMuslims. Will these suicide bombing cases not be a paradox in
\nthemselves if they and their impacts are associated with the holy
\nwar waged by Muslims?<\/p>\n
In this context, it is really very difficult for us to digest
\nthe video statements made by the perpetrators of the suicide
\nbombings in the second Bali bombing case about their great
\nconviction that they would die a Muslim martyr in a holy war.
\nThis indoctrination must have been fed to them by the masterminds
\nof the bombing case to brainwash them in such a way that they
\nwere ready to carry out a suicide bombing. This condition also
\nreminds us of the level of danger that we may still face because
\nit is very likely that there is now a new group of suicide
\nbombers already similarly brainwashed.<\/p>\n
In the context of security, certainly this discussion will be
\ngiven more focus on various matters related to radical acts in
\nthe form of terrorism inasmuch as quite a lot of attention is now
\npaid to terrorism at home. A close study of terrorism at home
\nwill undeniably show that various bomb cases occurring in
\nIndonesia have exerted a highly adverse impact on security and
\ndevelopment efforts.<\/p>\n
Indeed, security is not the main factor contributing to
\nIndonesia's economic depression, but various terrorist acts are
\nbelieved to have created an impression of insecurity, the effect
\nof which will not be conducive to improvements in the country's
\ninvestment and tourism climate.<\/p>\n
There are also groups that, although they do not resort to
\nradical or extreme violence or bomb terror, their actions, to a
\ncertain extent, have an impact on security too. For many
\nIndonesians, things like damaging karaoke bars and other
\nentertainment centers may not quite affect their daily routines
\nin general, but expatriates living in Indonesia and foreign
\ncountries may not have a similar perception like the Indonesians.<\/p>\n
Quite spectacular bomb cases in several places such as the
\nfirst and second Bali bombing cases or the bomb cases at the JW
\nMarriott Hotel and in front of the Australian Embassy were the
\nclimaxes of terrorist acts that led to a great alarm over
\nIndonesia's security. If the masterminds of these bomb cases have
\nintended these terrorist acts to be -- a retaliation -- against
\nthe attitudes and policies adopted by the United States and other
\nWestern countries, which are believed to disadvantage Muslims,
\nthey must have missed the target because the victims were
\ninnocent people, in no way linked with these policies.<\/p>\n
Thanks should go to the police officers that have nabbed most
\nof the perpetrators. Many of them have been taken to court and
\nsentenced.<\/p>\n
The antiterror unit and all the other units of the police have
\nbeen doing their utmost to free the country from terrorism.
\nDespite the praise given to the achievement of the police in
\ncombating terrorism, the police still hope that efforts to
\nminimize terrorism should not be viewed as the sole
\nresponsibility of the police. Various dimensions in national
\nproblems outside the area of responsibility of the police and
\nalso global problems are believed to also have contributed to
\nterrorism.<\/p>\n
It should be noted that, given the generally unfavorable
\ncondition of the nation at present, the police are facing no
\nsmall challenges. Political interests that have gained prominence
\nin the present era of reform sometimes also lead to various kinds
\nof difficulty in publicizing the danger of terrorism and in
\nencouraging the public to participate in dealing with terrorism.<\/p>\n
In view of the magnitude of the threat and the potential
\nlosses that terrorist acts, in particular, and other radical
\nacts, in general, carry with them (without linking them with
\nreligion), our efforts to deal with terrorism should not be
\nconfined to removing only the symptoms.<\/p>\n
In our experience in dealing with terrorism so far, the
\nimpression is that the police have only removed the tip of the
\niceberg without ever touching the part below the surface, which
\nwill of course surface once the tip is removed, simply because
\nthere are various dimensions of the problems at hand that prevent
\nthis part below the surface from ever being touched at all.<\/p>\n
We must reconsider some laws and regulations to prevent and
\novercome terrorism, while maintaining human rights in order to
\nbetter guarantee the protection of the nation against terrorist
\nacts.<\/p>\n
We need to create global responsibility for the establishment
\nof a world order based on democracy, justice, mutual respect and
\nthe exercise of human rights. In this way, it is expected that
\nthere will no longer be any feeling of being oppressed, a
\ncondition usually serving as a breeding ground for radicalism.<\/p>\n
We must participate, as a government, in nurturing the
\ndevelopment of tolerance in religious life.<\/p>\n
We should publicize various problems in an effort to prevent
\nthe development of radicalism and various anti-social acts so
\nthat the solutions to these problems can be found, and that would
\ninclude minimizing various unhealthy social conditions that may
\ntrigger the growth of radicalism.<\/p>\n
We need to develop a condition that will oppose all forms of
\ninterpretation of religious teachings to justify terrorism or
\nradical actions.<\/p>\n
We must mobilize the nation to participate in and resist acts
\nof radicalism that harm this society, especially those leaning
\ntowards terrorist acts that are obviously counter-productive to
\nthe nation's great endeavor to improve the well-being of all.<\/p>\n
The writer is Indonesia's National Police Chief. This article
\nis an excerpt of his paper presented in an international
\nconference on extremist Islam, security issues and economic
\nactivities in Indonesia, held on Dec. 7, 2005 at the Borobudur
\nHotel in Jakarta.<\/p>",
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