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