Snags in Powell's mission<\/p>\n
Kornelius Purba, Staff Writer, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta,
\nkorpur@yahoo.com<\/p>\n
When U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell arrived in Jakarta
\nlate Thursday for a two-day visit to Indonesia, he may be
\nwondering about the best ways to convince Indonesians on how to
\nput their house in order while we have been accustomed to chaos.
\nSo how can he can achieve his mission from President George W.
\nBush to push Indonesia to do its part in battling terrorism?<\/p>\n
It is routine information for many Indonesians now when they
\nhear the alleged involvement of Indonesian Military (TNI)
\nofficers in incidents of major violence here.<\/p>\n
A young honey seller in East Jakarta offers a glimpse of how
\nto survive amid the chaos.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, July 28, Bernard was selling his wares as usual to
\nchurchgoers coming out of the St. Anna Catholic Church in Duren
\nSawit, East Jakarta.<\/p>\n
"This black honey is very good for your endurance," Bernard
\nsaid with a big smile to the people who shook hands with him.<\/p>\n
Nearby a 12-year old newspaper vendor was busy promoting
\nheadlines which included the latest bomb incident in Ambon,
\nMaluku. But no one was interested: the three-year conflict has
\ndragged on between Muslims and Christians, claiming thousands of
\nlives from both sides.<\/p>\n
Bernard, the young church activist, understands the meaning of
\nendurance very well. Bernard lost his left leg when a bomb
\nexploded inside the St. Anna church on July 21 last year when he
\nwas attending a Sunday morning service. Several others were also
\nbadly wounded in the incident -- which remains a "dark number",
\none among a long list of unresolved cases along with other cases
\nof violence throughout the country.<\/p>\n
For Bernard, and also for thousands of victims of violence, it
\nis important to survive while waiting for a miracle that justice
\nwill eventually come.<\/p>\n
Terror, riots and violence are routinely on the menu for many
\nIndonesians. There were many churches attacked in the last four
\nyears since Soeharto ended his dictatorship in 1998. Thousands of
\nMuslims were killed in Aceh during endless clashes between the
\nmilitary and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM). In Poso, Central
\nSulawesi, Christians and Muslims kill each other.<\/p>\n
So, when U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell arrived in
\nJakarta with a mission to pressure President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri's government to take quicker and tougher action
\nagainst terrorists here, he will meet with officials who may no
\nlonger regard terrorism as an urgent issue for their political
\nsurvival.<\/p>\n
"Indonesia does not need U.S. assistance in combating
\nterrorism," Minister of Defense Matori Abdul Djalil boasted one
\nday before Powell's arrival.<\/p>\n
Hours before Powell's debarkation, East Jakarta District Court
\nadjourned the opening day of the trial of Jafar Umar Thalib,
\nleader of the hardline Laskar Jihad Muslim militia, who faces
\ncharges of spreading hatred against the government and inciting
\nviolence in Maluku. Jafar's name was sometimes mentioned by
\ninternational media reports on international terrorist networks.<\/p>\n
Acknowledging that he once met with Osama bin Laden, Jafar
\nflatly denies that he is a terrorist. In an interview with AP Dow
\nJones on Wednesday he expressed his eagerness to talk to Powell.<\/p>\n
"If I could speak with Colin Powell, I would say please
\nimprove your intelligence," he said.<\/p>\n
"All of the information the United States government has about
\nMuslims in Indonesia and about terrorism here is fake," Jafar
\ntold the news wire service.<\/p>\n
Not only the U.S., neighboring countries like Malaysia and
\nSingapore, armed with strong intelligence, have openly shown
\ntheir impatience with Indonesia's reluctance to investigate and
\nhandle terrorist networks here. Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad
\nis likely much luckier than Megawati, because he could easily
\nappease Washington by arresting alleged Muslim fundamentalists,
\nhis main political opponents.<\/p>\n
For Megawati, the less she touches the terrorist issue here
\nand the less she embarrasses the Indonesian Military (TNI), the
\nmore stable her government. Her weak government, poor law
\nenforcement, the impotent role of Jakarta in the regions, and the
\ncountry's sheer size are among crucial factors which could lead
\nIndonesia toward becoming fertile soil for terrorist breeding.<\/p>\n
Bush's priority is to crack down on al-Qaeda which has very
\nclose links with other international Islamic terrorist groups. As
\nthe world's most populous Muslim nation Indonesia theoretically
\ncan play its role in bridging the Muslim world and the U.S. if it
\ncan clean up its own yard first.<\/p>\n
TNI tries hard to exploit these factors; and against
\nMegawati's frailty in persuading Washington to end its arms
\nembargo the TNI argues that it can not move further with its poor
\nlogistics. So far Washington has only agreed to the resumption of
\nInternational Military Education Training (IMET) for Indonesian
\nofficers.<\/p>\n
CNN recently reported that al-Qaeda has touched on Aceh soil.
\nApparently the TNI is spreading rumors that GAM has links to al-
\nQaeda and that the military is doing all it can to combat GAM to
\nappease Washington so it lifts its embargo. So its campaign still
\ndoes not bite. The military however is smart enough not to link
\nthe Free Papua Movement (OPM) with bin Laden because Washington
\nmay laugh -- the province is a predominantly Christian region.<\/p>\n
In their meeting with Powell on Friday security leaders may
\nurge Powell to end the arms embargo if it wants the TNI to crack
\ndown on terrorists here. Knowing TNI's track record in human
\nrights abuses, it will be unbelievable if Washington fulfills the
\nTNI's demand. Other incentives for the TNI will not likely be
\naccepted.<\/p>\n
While speaking on how to combat terrorism, Powell may want to
\nknow how Indonesians, under the international threat of
\nterrorism, have been able to readjust their lives amid rampant
\nviolence, injustice, corruption and the shameful behavior of
\nIndonesian leaders, including the military.<\/p>\n
For many of them, it is not al-Qaeda or other alleged Muslim
\nfundamentalist groups which pose a direct threat to their
\nsurvival. The most immediate threat is economic hardship.
\nPreaching the danger of bin Laden without helping people to get
\nout of the economic quagmire may backfire on the preacher
\nhimself.<\/p>",
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