Govt berated for poor teamwork in fighting against terrorism

Muhammad Nafik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Political analysts lashed out at President Megawati Soekarnoputri's government on Friday for what they said was its "poor coordination" in efforts to handle the deadly Bali bombings and combat global terrorism.

The lack of coordination among the Cabinet and government agencies was further proof of Megawati's poor leadership in running the crisis-battered country, the analysts told The Jakarta Post separately.

"The administration's leadership has collapsed. In such a current situation, how could Cabinet members battle against one another? It's crazy. They should be united to deal with the nation's problems," said J. Kristiadi from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

He was commenting on Thursday's statement by foreign affairs ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa that the government had joined many other countries in supporting the inclusion of Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) on the United Nations list of terrorist groups.

However, Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono apparently adopted a cautious stance on Thursday in branding JI as a terrorist group, while Vice President Hamzah Haz declined to confirm the decision, surprisingly saying he knew nothing about it.

"I don't have information about this. Ask the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," Hamzah told journalists during his visit to Yogyakarta on Friday.

The poor coordination was also blatantly displayed by the security authorities investigating the Bali terrorist attack on Oct. 12, 2002, which killed at least 190 mostly foreign tourists.

The military intelligence team, led by Maj. Gen. Muhdi of the Army Special Force (Kopassus), has claimed to have identified those responsible for the debacle, but at the same time the separate joint police team maintains it is still in the dark over the bombing.

Kristiadi said all these disparities showed internal bickering among top government leaders despite the fact the country badly needed a united effort to root out terrorism.

"As the vice president, Hamzah Haz should not have made such a statement. What he should have told the public was that Indonesia has never listed JI. But if the group or its members could be detected here, it is not part of our Muslim culture. This would be wise for him as a statesman," he said.

Kristiadi also said rivalry between military, police and intelligence leaders was increasingly evident in their separate investigations to find the Bali bombers.

"The unhealthy competition between security forces should not have happened. If intelligence knows about the identity of the attackers, they have to share information with others to build mutual coordination," he added.

Socio-political analyst Fachry Ali concurred and said: "There is no coordination at all between government officials. It is a fundamental weakness of the current government's leadership".

It means that the country was maintaining a "disorganized government" in dealing with one of the most crucial problems, he added.

Before leaving on Tuesday for Mexico to attend the APEC meeting, Megawati appointed Susilo to coordinate efforts to fight terrorism.

Fachry said even though Susilo was appointed to take charge of the national drive against terrorism, the coordination remained poor.

Kristiadi, nevertheless, said Megawati as the top government leader must bear the brunt of most of the blame.

"She should not have gone abroad but should instead have been on full alert for 24 hours to coordinate efforts at home to resolve the Bali blasts and the anti-terrorism campaign.

"Megawati has to visit ulemas for talks and speak to journalists every day in order to convince the public that terrorism is not a part of the Muslim way of life. She has to do this perpetually," he said.

Similarly, noted military analyst Kusnanto Anggoro of the CSIS also blamed the lack of coordination for the current messy situation.

"We probably have to give them (the government) some time. But certainly, they cannot blame it on the lack of a legal basis anymore," he said.

Kusnanto and Kristiadi attributed the poor coordination to the vested political interests on the part of all senior government officials.

The current government is comprised of leaders of political parties that helped Megawati rise to power in July last year, after toppling blind Muslim cleric Abdurrahman Wahid for alleged graft and incompetence.