No meddling in anti-terrorism campaign: VP

No meddling in anti-terrorism campaign: VP

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Vice President Hamzah Haz argued against participation by
foreign countries in the effort to crack down on terrorist groups
in Indonesia, saying that the Indonesian Military (TNI) and
police should be allowed to deal with the issue.

"I do not think we need foreign intervention unless the
Indonesian Military (TNI) and police are no longer able to
resolve the problem," Hamzah said after Friday prayers at the
complex for the Presidential Security Guard in Jakarta.

Hamzah stopped short of hinting how the TNI and police would
tackle the terrorist issue, however.

Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country, has come under
strong international pressure to deal firmly with militant
religious leaders believed to have links with international
terrorist cells.

Neighboring countries Singapore and Malaysia have specifically
mentioned Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir as having links to
Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terrorist network. Indonesian
authorities, however, have so far refused to arrest him, citing
insufficient evidence.

Last month, Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew said that leaders of
regional terrorist groups were still unchecked in Indonesia.
Meanwhile, U.S. intelligence reports have similarly suggested
that dozens of al-Qaeda operatives have found sanctuary in the
archipelago after being pushed out of Afghanistan in the
international war against terror.

Both the TNI and police, however, maintain that there are no
terrorist groups operating in Indonesia, fueling speculation that
the country is harboring terrorists.

USA Today reported on Thursday that the U.S. was planning to
send troops to Indonesia to fight against suspected terrorist
groups.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell denied the report on
Friday, though, stressing that his country would never send
troops uninvited to an ally like Indonesia, or any other friendly
democracy for that matter.

"The real question is, are we planning, as USA Today said
today, American involvement in Indonesia? No. With respect to
democratic nations that are friends of ours, we only go where we
are invited," Powell told The Australian Financial Review in a
recent interview.

Hamzah appealed to the international community for
understanding with regard to Indonesia, and to provide a
breathing room for the country to resolve its own internal
problems.

"We have to pay our debts, so give us a chance to take care of
our own domestic affairs, and put forward our national
interests," said Hamzah.

Accusing Indonesia of being a haven for terrorists, he added,
would only worsen the country's situation.

Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda also said on Friday that it
would be unfair to blame a country for harboring terrorists,
simply because one or two of its citizens have been arrested for
alleged links to terrorist groups.

"Some U.S. and Egyptian citizens have also been arrested for
their links to terrorist network -- does it make them terrorist
countries?" Hassan told The Jakarta Post.

The Foreign Ministry issued a statement that Indonesia would
not accept foreign intervention in dealing with terrorism, adding
that Jakarta fully understood that there was no intention for any
other country to do so.

Lisa Anderson, a professor of political science at Columbia
University in New York, said on Friday that the U.S. would keep
up its pressure on Indonesia, unless Jakarta did something to
prove that it was not a sanctuary for militant religious groups.

Speaking at a public lecture organized at the Paramadina
University in Jakarta, Anderson said that the U.S. was very
concerned with terrorist attacks, and that it was pursuing its
effort dealing with terrorism.

She also acknowledged that U.S. pressure could also easily
hamper bilateral relations between Indonesia and Washington.