Lesson from Tentena

Aleksius Jemadu, Bandung

The Tentena bombing on May 28, 2005 occurred while President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was trying to convince the United States government and foreign investors that they had good reason to trust his security policies. Soon after the bombing the People's Consultative Assembly's Speaker (MPR), Hidayat Nur Wahid, made a statement that the terrorist attack was a slap In the face for the President.

The timing of the President's visit to the U.S. and the Tentena bombing has fueled much speculation. Some people link the bombing to the closer bilateral relations between Indonesia and the U.S. while others put it down to the incompetence of the Indonesian security authorities.

When Susilo won the presidential election last year, many expected that he would at least provide some sort of effective leadership the country so badly needed to restore Indonesia's credibility abroad. Western leaders expressed their enthusiasm and promised to cooperate with him in security and economic fields. People might think that the general's previous experience as coordinating minister for security and political affairs could add to his credentials.

Notwithstanding President George W. Bush's warm welcome at the White House, from the very beginning Susilo was a bit embarrassed by the fact that almost at the same time the U.S. government announced a temporary closure of its embassy and several consulates in Indonesia for security reasons. While everybody knows that the U.S. always protects the security of its officials and citizens at all costs, the timing of the announcement could have a profound psychological implication for Susilo.

As far as President Susilo is concerned, it seems that he has little to worry about in terms of domestic political support. Not only was he elected by a quite convincing majority of popular votes, his popularity has also been on the rise due to the seriousness of his government in eliminating corruption.

Therefore, his main challenge is how to mobilize international resources to support his ambitious domestic agenda of economic development. The President eagerly wants to substantiate his popular mandate with something that makes his constituents realize that he deserves their trust.

The timing of the Tentena bombing and his visit to the U.S. has put Susilo in a serious policy dilemma. At the domestic level he has to respond to a variety of segments of society, ranging from those who are enthusiastic about his economic diplomacy to the radical groups who might consider his visit to the U.S. as a form of unwanted surrender to the will of the superpower. Susilo's journey to success remains rocky and at the same time the political forces trying to discredit his government have given a clear warning that they are ready to risk everything in order to accomplish their political goals.

The following suggestions can be used as policy input for the government.

First, any terrorist attack is by nature aimed at crushing the spirit of the political authorities it seeks to destroy. The government should maintain a high level of determination to eliminate all forms of terrorist activities.

Second, the Tentena bombing is yet further evidence that the terrorist groups have tried to exploit religious conflict in various regions in order to accomplish their political goals. Therefore, the government should have a clear agenda with respect of violence in the name of religion.

Third, the clandestine nature of terrorist activities can only be dealt with a high quality intelligence service. Intelligence information gathered by the police, the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) and the Indonesian Military should lead to an early and accurate detection of any possible terrorist attack.

Since the terrorist attacks that have occurred several times in Indonesia have been of a similar type, the security authorities should have learnt from the previous incidents how to constantly monitor the activities of the terrorist groups. On top of that, there is a need to control the proliferation of dangerous explosives so that they do not fall into the hands of extremists or terrorists.

Last but not least, the increasingly machiavellian nature of Indonesian politics could lead to the exploitation of the issue of terrorism for partisan interests. Therefore, it is of supreme importance that those who hold top positions in the Indonesian security structure are non-partisan and committed only to the interests of the whole nation.

The writer is head of the Department of International Relations at Parahyangan Catholic University in Bandung. He can be reached at aleks@home.unpar.ac.id.