Indonesia must clean up terrorism

Indonesia must clean up terrorism

Amien Rais, Speaker People's Consultative Assembly, Jakarta

The recent JW Marriott Hotel bombing in Jakarta did not only
leave a deep scar on those who lost their loved ones, but
moreover a majority of Indonesians. The public's shock has yet to
wane, and it will take some time for this wound to heal and bring
life back to its normal pace again.

Indonesian Muslims are generally peaceful, tolerant and well-
motivated; the suspected actions of Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) and any
other extremist factions are therefore rejected by the Indonesian
people and its leadership. I am convinced that 99 percent of
Indonesians condemned these cowardly attacks, which were
obviously targeted at Westerners, but resulted in the death of
Indonesians: Taxi drivers, security guards and innocent
bystanders.

If these terrorists were aiming to make a statement and rally
public support behind their cause, the bombing attack achieved
just the opposite. Our determination to combat terrorism has
become greater then ever. I personally took a very strong stand
on these matters at the time of the Bali bombing, which has been
proved correct by the passage of time and events.

Following the attacks, a senior official foreshadowed the need
for an Internal Security Act similar to those in Singapore and
Malaysia.

Although supported by a number of other government officials,
I have my doubts that this idea will ever become law. The heart
of the problem does not lie in the incompleteness of a regulatory
framework, but in the capacity of the Indonesian security and
intelligence authorities to prepare for and prevent similar
attacks from reoccurring. Adding new laws will not stop a new
breed of Amrozi's and Hambali's to start aiming for new targets;
but having the police force and national intelligence step up its
capabilities to detect underground terrorist activities certainly
will.

We have made the right steps by admitting our lack of
technical skill in dealing with terrorism and have requested the
cooperation of foreign institutions, such as the Federal Bureau
of Investigation, the Australian Federal Police, Scotland Yard
and others. It is important to establish a stronger and
continuous relationship with these police agencies, for as long
as it takes to train our police force to meet the public's
highest expectations.

The Indonesian public is united in the fight against all forms
of terrorism. The Jakarta bombing tragedy, as painful as it may
be to most of us, has given Indonesians a stronger incentive to
eradicate terrorism from our country. I trust the international
community does not believe that JI somehow speaks for Indonesia
and Indonesians.

Finally, the government needs to "act" and not "react" to
detect terrorist activity before and not after the event. If the
Bali bombing of last year was a "wake up call" for the Jakarta
government, the Marriott bombing was indeed a slap in the face of
our security apparatus. Another incident of this nature will not
be slap but a serious body blow. We have to prevent this grim
scenario at all costs.
The above views are personnal.