Susilo, APEC and the broad issue of terrorism<\/p>\n
S.P. SETH, Freelance Journalist<\/p>\n
While global terrorism is a major problem, sometimes it is
\neven a bigger problem for countries to convince the United States
\nthat they share its commitment to fight and eradicate it.
\nIndonesia is an important example.<\/p>\n
It has been the target of terrorist violence on more than one
\noccasion, and is quite serious about combating this threat. But
\nthere is a feeling in the United States and Australia that it
\nhasn't been doing as much as it should-though President Susilo
\nBambang Yudhoyono is presently enjoying their goodwill. And he
\nwould obviously like to keep it that way. Not surprisingly,
\ntherefore, terrorism featured prominently in his address to the
\nrecent Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference in
\nSantiago.<\/p>\n
He said, \"To fight terrorists who ignore borders, governments
\nmust evolve a different security culture. Our police,
\nintelligence, immigration officials must be able to work together
\nextensively. The community of nations must evolve a new global
\nsecurity culture where the norm is for all law enforcement
\nagencies to cooperate with one another.\"<\/p>\n
And to showcase his country as an exemplary case of such
\ncooperation, Susilo highlighted what Indonesia and Australia \"did
\nwhen we co-sponsored a number of regional conferences on people's
\nsmuggling, money laundering and counter-terrorism.\"<\/p>\n
Another one on inter-religious dialogue is due early next
\nmonth in Jakarta. According to Alexander Downer, Australian
\nforeign minister, the idea behind it is \"to empower the moderates
\nin religious communities and encourage them to take more of a
\nlead in addressing regional issues\", especially terrorism.<\/p>\n
The inter-faith dialogue is an interesting idea but not likely
\nto do much good. Because all such initiatives start with the
\nunderlying assumption that Islam needs help from moderates within
\nits ranks who, in turn, need propping up from outside. In the
\nprocess the moderates tend to lack credibility in their wider
\nMuslim constituency, being regarded as agents of external powers
\nout to divide and decimate Islam.<\/p>\n
It is not to suggest this is a valid or correct view, but the
\nperception persists. For instance, Canberra has excluded Sheik
\nTaj el-Din al Hilaly, Mufti of Australia, from its Muslim
\ndelegates for his outspoken views. But it has included Catholic
\nArchbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell, in the delegation who
\ncreated quite a controversy recently by comparing Islam to
\ncommunism, which is an atheist ideology.<\/p>\n
But getting back to the APEC conference, there is some welcome
\nshift in the US and Australian position. They seem to be
\nrecognizing that terrorism is more than just a security problem.
\nIn his address to APEC business leaders, President Bush said, \"In
\nthe past, many powerful nations preferred others to remain
\nunderdeveloped, and, therefore, dependent. It was a cynical
\ndoctrine. And that doctrine is unsuited for our times.\"<\/p>\n
He elaborated, \"Weak and troubled nations export their ills-
\nproblems like economic instability and illegal immigration and
\ncrime and terrorism. America and others sitting around the table
\nhere at APEC understand that healthy and prosperous nations
\nexport and import goods and services that help to stabilize
\nregions and add security to every nation.\"<\/p>\n
Not surprisingly, Prime Minister John Howard of Australia is
\nalso now thinking on these lines. According to him, \"It is
\nimportant to try and tackle those inequalities in societies which
\nprovide, how I should put it, a point of advocacy for
\nterrorists.\"<\/p>\n
President Susilo, of course, emphasized the link between
\neconomic backwardness, and growth of terrorism and other crimes.
\nWhich establishes a common ground of sorts with the United
\nStates, Australia and other countries similarly inclined.<\/p>\n
But how do you go about reversing the situation of \"increasing
\ndisparity between the haves and the have-nots, between developed
\nand developing countries\"?<\/p>\n
The United States (as do Australia) believe that this could
\nand should be done through trade and globalization. The problem,
\nthough, is that the terms of global trade are stacked against the
\ndeveloping countries because the rich and powerful generally
\ndefine and lay down the rules of the game in their favor. Though
\nthey might now think that terrorism requires some bait for the
\npoorer countries (\"which provide a point of advocacy for
\nterrorists\"), there is no blueprint to translate it into
\npractice.<\/p>\n
And even if one were to eventuate, the time lag between a plan
\nand its implementation and consequent benefits for the poorer
\ncountries is unlikely to make much difference, at least in the
\nmedium term, to tackling the problem of global terrorism.<\/p>\n
Interestingly, reporting from APEC conference in Santiago, Tom
\nAllard of the Sydney Morning Herald thus summed up the consensus
\nreached among the summit leaders to defeat the \"scourge of
\nviolent Islamism\", as he put it. It included intelligence
\nsharing, eradicating radical Muslim schools that teach hatred,
\nmore discussions between the leaders of different religions and
\nnations and, and economic development. It is worth noting that
\neconomic development features last in the list.<\/p>\n
Even more tellingly, the APEC conference (essentially a
\nregional forum to promote trade liberalization) ended up being
\nessentially an adjunct to the problem of global terrorism.<\/p>\n
President Susilo was right when he said in his keynote
\naddress: \"It goes without saying that security and prosperity are
\ntwo sides of the same coin. But since Sept. 11, the dynamics
\nbetween them are changingThe world economy, particularly APEC
\neconomies, must now strive to find the right balance between
\nsecurity concerns and open trade.\"<\/p>\n
The pity, though, is that the rest of his address read like an
\nessay on terrorism.<\/p>",
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