Asia and terrorism

Asia and terrorism

It is by now well known that Asia harbors some of the world's
most dangerous terrorists. In two nations especially -- the
sprawling and adjacent archipelagos of Indonesia and the
Philippines -- the terrorist threat is a political issue.

In Indonesia, the politics has just been complicated by a
constitutional court ruling that a tough anti-terrorism law,
passed after the Oct. 12, 2002 Bali bombings, may have been
applied retroactively, contrary to the constitution. The ruling
was not a surprise. Our sister publication, the Far Eastern
Economic Review, commented over a year ago that it is a
fundamental legal tenet that laws should not be applied
retroactively.

But Indonesia must now face the possibility that Abu Bakar
Ba'syir, the alleged leader of local al Qaeda affiliate Jamaah
Islamiyah, will walk free because Indonesia prior to the Bali
bombing has lacked a law against aiding terrorists. It would be a
hard blow to the relatives of the 202 people killed at Bali - and
to the war on terrorism - if any of the 32 terrorists found
guilty in the bombing were to be let out of Indonesia's prisons.
"We face a difficult situation," said Justice Minister Yusril
Mahendra this week.

These new circumstances increase the obligation of Indonesia's
two presidential candidates to spell out in greater detail how
they expect to fight terrorists. On Monday the Election
Commission announced that the top two winners in the first round
presidential elections three weeks ago were retired general
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and incumbent President Megawati
Soekarnoputri. The two will now face off in second-round
elections on Sept. 20.

Mr. Yudhoyono, Ms. Megawati's former security minister, has
won praise from foreign officials for his positions on terrorism,
while his former boss is seen as less praiseworthy. The
president, who did surprisingly well by winning 26.6% of the vote
to Mr. Yudhoyono's 33.6%, could however make up some of that
ground by showing that she understands the threat. All too often
she has appeared o be paralyzed by the fear of incurring the
warmth of Muslim militants.

-- The Asian Wall Street Journal, Hong Kong