Mega's antiterror tour

Mega's antiterror tour

President Megawati Soekarnoputri does indeed have reason to be
satisfied with the result of her five-day tour to Malaysia,
Thailand and Singapore -- she has won the strong backing of
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and Thai Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra in her government's war against the Free Aceh
Movement (GAM).

Both Thaksin and Mahathir assured the President that they
would crack down on arms smuggling from their respective
countries to the westernmost Indonesian province, and that
Malaysia would take harsh actions against any Acehnese refugees
entering that country illegally. The two countries are major
sources of arms procured by the rebels, due to their proximity to
Aceh. Now, more then before, the two countries realize the
urgency of curbing the arms smuggling activities, not only for
the sake of their relations with their giant neighbor, Indonesia,
but also because the level of illegal arms trading in the region
is quite alarming.

The agreement was part of their larger discussion designed to
eradicate the roots of international terrorism from the member
countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN),
which will again become the focus of the ASEAN annual summit in
Bali, next month.

Megawati's two hosts must have felt encouraged by Megawati's
determination to clamp down on terrorists, because Indonesia,
internationally, is regarded as the most vulnerable target of
terrorism in the region, among others due to the sheer size of
the country, rampant corruption and poor law enforcement. Last
year's Bali bombing and last month's bombing of the JW Marriott
Hotel proved that Indonesia has become not only a fertile
breeding ground for international terrorists, but has also become
a major target for acts of terrorism.

For a long time Indonesian officials and Indonesian society
have tended to play down the terrorist threat because they
believe -- or pretend to believe -- that their country is safe
and most of the people are religious and would therefore not
commit any evil acts. What is even more ridiculous is their claim
in the past that the terrorist issue was being used by western
countries to malign Indonesia.

When 202 people were killed in the Bali bombing in October
last year, many Indonesians had yet to realize the real danger of
terrorism here, and some pointed the finger at foreign elements
who they claimed do not want to see a strong Indonesia. Only when
the JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta was bombed last month did people
find it no longer possible to find a pretext for denials.

But the Thai and Malaysian leaders are wrong if they believe
that Indonesia is the most responsible party for the rise of
terrorism in the region. There is a strong feeling here that
Malaysia tends to blame Indonesia because most of the Jamaah
Islamiyah (JI) leaders come from Indonesia and most of the
alleged terrorists in that country are Indonesians.

Malaysia so far is still free of terrorist attacks, due to the
relatively strong law enforcement, strong economic growth and
clean governance. Meanwhile Thaksin's government also tries to
play down the terrorist threat because it fears a panic reaction
in its tourism industry, a major source of revenue for the
country. The recent arrest of JI leader Hambali in Thailand,
however, shows that Thailand can no longer underestimate the
danger of terrorism.

Despite the strong reluctance of its leaders to admit it in
public, Indonesia, along with Malaysia, Thailand and also the
Philippines, has been a fertile breeding ground for terrorists.
So there is no other solution for them but to intensify their
joint antiterrorism war.

We hope that Malaysia and Thailand will soon give concrete
evidence of the sincerity of their promise to stop arms smuggling
to the Acehnese rebels. However, many of the weapons that are
used by the rebels are also registered weapons of the Indonesian
Military (TNI) and the National Police. In the meantime, it is
understandable that the international community places much hope
in the seriousness of Megawati's government in eradicating the
roots of terrorism here.

The result of the President's tour is quite encouraging,
although we do regret her insensitive decision to stay for two
days in Singapore for a medical check up and some time out.