Old crime, new crisis

Old crime, new crisis

JP/6/E05

authoritarian former Indonesian president Soeharto, why has one
military massacre of Muslim civilians been singled out for
accountability, almost two decades after the fact? The answer is
as much entwined in the present day threat posed by extremist
Islam - and its terrorist offshoots - as in popular demands to
right past wrongs.

On September 12, 1984, Indonesia's notorious special forces,
Kopassus, opened fire on a crowd of protesting civilians in
Jakarta's impoverished port district of Tanjung Priok.
Ostensibly, the crowd's anger was provoked by a group of soldiers
who had defiled a local mosque by not removing their shoes. The
real fuel, however, was resentment over official corruption and
misrule. Under Soeharto, all political dissent was brutally
oppressed. Much unhappiness was channelled into the mosques. The
death and injury of perhaps hundreds of devout Muslims at Tanjung
Priok, and the riots and arrests that followed, formed a deep
scar on Indonesian society.

A human rights trial which opened in Jakarta last month
dredges up the bloody past of a cast of serving military officers
implicated in the massacre, including the Kopassus commander,
Major-General Sriyanto Muntarsan. So abusive was Soeharto's rule,
however, that thousands of serious crimes against humanity will
forever go unpunished. The only other charges to have been laid
relate to Indonesia's military occupation of East Timor. This
suggests the Tanjung Priok case, no matter how deserving and
symbolic, is not just about retrospective justice.

For the government of President Megawati Soekarnoputri,
Indonesia's Islamic opposition parties represent a serious
political challenge. Ms Megawati, although a Muslim, rejects the
Islamic identity these parties peddle in favour of tolerance and
respect for Indonesia's religious and ethnic minorities. The US-
led "war on terrorism" has made her political balancing act
especially difficult. This is not because Indonesia's majority
Muslims oppose harsh security measures against terrorists inside
Indonesia. Rather, it is because of deep public unease over
Western stereotypes of Islamic terrorism, which many believe tar
peaceful, moderate Muslims with the extremist brush. This
perceived humiliation of Islam is buoying Ms Megawati's Islamist
political opponents.

Ms Megawati's recent criticism at the United Nations of the
"prolonged, unjust attitude exhibited by big powers" towards
nations which profess Islam was an attempt to revive confidence
in an Islamic identity. While Ms Megawati must continue to crush
terrorism, she must also engender respect for Indonesia's
legitimate, moderate Muslim majority. Justice, however overdue,
for the victims of Tanjung Priok can only help this cause.

-- The Sydney Morning Herald.

-- Terror in Istanbul and beyond

The murderous car bomb attacks in Istanbul at the weekend will
achieve none of their apparent political objectives. Turkey is
the most secular of Islamic nations and was possibly targeted for
that reason. It will not be distancing itself from either the
United States or Israel, with both of which its ties are
longstanding and unusually cordial. Turkey is more likely to
remain close to the U.S. and seek, among other things, an
abatement of criticism of its stern treatment of its Kurdish
minority, whose defiance of its authority Istanbul customarily
describes as its own terrorist problem.

Not that those behind Saturday's bombings were of Kurdish
origin. Rather, a radical Islamic group linked to al-Qaeda, the
Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades, has claimed responsibility for the
bombings outside two synagogues in Istanbul which killed 18
Muslims and six Jews. It threatens further attacks in other
countries, including Australia.

The group says "Jews around the world will regret that their
ancestors ever thought about occupying the land of Muslims". It
says the U.S. and its allies must "put an end to the war they are
waging against Islam and Muslims in the name of the war on terror
and withdraw from all Muslim lands desecrated by Jews and
Americans, including Jerusalem and Kashmir". It also calls for
the release of all detainees held at Guantanamo Bay and of Sheikh
Omar Abdul Rahman, the spiritual guide of Egypt's Jamaah
Islamiyah, who is jailed in the U.S.

It backs these demands with threats: "We say to the criminal
Bush and his Arabs and Western hangers-on -- in particular
Britain, Italy, Australia and Japan -- that the cars of death
will not stop at Baghdad, Riyadh, Istanbul, Nasiriyah, Jakarta
and the rest until you see them with your own eyes in the middle
of the capital of this era's tyrant, America."

There is not the remotest chance that the wild demands
accompanying these obscene threats will be met. The first
response in all countries under threat will be to heighten
vigilance and increase counter-terrorist measures. That is the
only sensible immediate response. In Australia that means,
especially, taking special care to protect potential targets in
the Jewish community.

That is not to say that reflexive, defensive measures are
enough. For the long haul, the even harder task of achieving
peace and stability in the Middle East, to remove the conditions
in which such hatred breeds, must continue.

-- The Sydney Morning Herald

Masked attack on the Constitution

This is why non-Muslims have responded vociferously to the
Islamic State Document unveiled by Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS).
Although PAS has made much of the fact that the document was the
result of intense discussion and deliberation for two years
inside and outside the party, it is clear that it has paid no
heed to the sensitivities of non-Muslims. The groundswell of non-
Muslim objections, whatever their political allegiance or
religious affiliation, indicates that they refuse to be ignored
in any attempt to re-make the future of Malaysia. Nor do
rightthinking Malay realists.

Despite the seemingly high moral ground it seeks to occupy,
PAS is profoundly expedient when it comes to political power. It
will strike alliances with any party that will increase its
influence, as attested by its links with Keadilan, Parti Rakyat
and DAP. The document is another instance of the political
Machiavellianism that PAS is so good at. As PAS president Abdul
Hadi Awang has admitted, the blueprint is above all a polls ploy.
In its attempts not to scare the non-Muslim voters, the document
employs the language of democracy.

But the strident objections from non-Muslims show that they
have not allowed neither this rhetoric on rights, nor Hadi's
disclaimer that PAS is not establishing a theocracy, to pull the
wool over their eyes. The document has been left deliberately
vague, full of generalities and lacking in detail to make it
malleable for the slick tongues of its demagogues, except for its
version of hudud, its ultimate and paramount aim. To paraphrase
Humpty Dumpty in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in
Wonderland, when they use a word, it means just what they choose
it to mean. They have been good at interpreting the Quran to mean
what they want it to mean.

What it means is that any state shaped in accordance with the
PAS version of Islam will lead to radical changes in the
constitutional framework. And what would hudud mean if not a
theocracy? Which is why every Malaysian who subscribes to the
social contract struck by our founding fathers 46 years ago must
strike hard against the PAS attempt to throw it out and replace
it with their own version.

-- New Straits Times, Kuala Lumpur

Terror in Turkey

Terror is still at large, seeking its prey. During this week,
after Saudi Arabia, Turkey became the target. Last Saturday at
least 25 people were killed and 150 others injured in blasts that
destroyed a pair of synagogues. Further blasts destroyed the HSBC
bank and the British consulate on Thursday, leaving 26 people
dead and hundreds more injured.

The attacks were believed to be systemized and well planned,
instead of a spontaneous display of anger. Therefore, it is
feared that there will be another, more horrible blast in the
future.

Turkey is a die-hard supporter of U.S.-led moves against
terror, and the attacks could become a reminder for George W.
Bush, currently visiting the UK.

Given the blasts in Turkey, the international community's
worry that the antiterror drive declared by Bush would be
countered, is being proven. Here in Indonesia, it is not easy for
people to forget the horrible JW Marriott Hotel bombing. They are
also hoping that the police will arrest the number one suspect,
Azahari.

The fight against terror is now a global predicament, not the
problem of America only. A bomb attack can happen anywhere,
anytime.

Indonesian religious leaders' messages conveyed to President
Bush in a meeting in Bali some time ago were clear: One of the
complex problems was the perceived arrogance of America, with its
biased policies in dealing with international affairs.

The messages do not mean that terrorism is acceptable. We
condemn any acts of terrorism, including those taking place in
Turkey. Using terror to settle problems is a backward step for
civilization.

-- Republika, Jakarta

Afghan challenge

The UN's suspension of its demining operations in Afghanistan
does not augur well for a country riddled with millions of mines.
The world body's decision comes in the wake of the tragic killing
of one of its aid workers of French origin over the weekend and
the snatching of a UN vehicle at gunpoint on Monday in Ghazni,
south of Kabul.

The two incidents show once again the extent of insecurity in
the country beyond Kabul, which has become relatively safe since
the deployment of the Nato-led International Security Assistance
Force (ISAF). Time and again it has been argued that the scope
and the mandate of ISAF - or some such multinational peacekeeping
force - should be widened to enable it to be deployed across
Afghanistan. This will ensure a minimum of unhindered activity by
various NGOs and UN agencies, on whose work a majority of Afghans
depend for subsistence.

Afghanistan today needs all the assistance it can get from the
international community to recover from the devastating effects
of two decades of war and civil war that have left its physical
and social infrastructure in a shambles.

The first priority of the government in Kabul and ISAF should
be to rebuild the country's damaged infrastructure and provide
succor to the people. To return life to a semblance of normality,
the warlords need to be somehow neutralized and prevented from
causing trouble.

The recent attacks on international relief agencies and NGO
personnel, who have no agenda other than to help the destitute,
point to the law of the jungle being the rule of the day in
Afghanistan. It is the responsibility of the nations that pledged
moral and material aid to the ravaged country at Berlin two years
ago to see to it that some degree of peace and security returns
to Afghanistan sooner rather than later.

-- The Dawn, Karachi

Victory for the people PRIORITAS

The Central Jakarta District Court turned down on Wednesday
Sinivasan Marimutu's lawsuit against Tempo weekly magazine. The
same panel of judges -- on the same day -- also agreed to
Sinivasan's request to withdraw the lawsuit his company (PT
Texmaco Group) had filed against Kompas daily.

The court's decisions, like candlelight in the dark for the
nation, boosted the hope that efforts to build a better Indonesia
in the future are not futile.

It is not just because the court favored Tempo, Kompas or the
national press community. It is because the court has just
favored the people of Indonesia, who should no longer worry about
losing access to information in the public domain.

It is true that the national press was shocked upon learning
the plaintiffs' demand for a huge sum in compensation. There is
also a belief among the public that court decisions depend more
on the size of the bribe offered (to law enforcers) than the
evidence under consideration.

Wednesday's verdicts indicate strongly that we still have
bright judges who want the public to enjoy the right to
information, as stipulated in Law No. 40/1999 on the press.

We do hope that in the future the courts will use the press
law to deal with press-related cases on the basis of lex
specialis or special law, which involves special professions,
instead of lex generalis or (general) criminal law.

-- Koran Tempo, Jakarta

Warning for tardy
civil servants

Civil servants who fail to return to work in the days after
the Idul Fitri holiday will be punished. State Minister of
Administrative Reforms Feisal Tamin revealed the government's
policy on Monday, saying that anyone not on official leave must
be at their desk on Dec. 1, 2003.

Idul Fitri will fall on Nov. 25 and Nov. 26, but the
government has declared an extended holiday, from Nov. 22 through
Nov. 30, meaning that the total holiday for civil servants will
be nine days. With such a policy -- hopefully -- all government
office employees will have no reason to skip work after the
holiday has ended.

Feisal's intentions could be achieved if a monitoring system,
involving the public, were run properly, because electronic
attendance records can be manipulated.

The bosses (at state institutions or offices) usually want
their offices to look clean and disciplined; therefore, there is
a possibility that they may be concealing the fact that many of
their staff are unpunctual.

Almost all government offices are usually empty on the days
following the Idul Fitri festivities. A few workers turn up at
the office just to greet each other, with no sanctions taken
against those who fail to show up on work days after Idul Fitri.

-- Warta Kota, Jakarta

Firecracker menace

Year in year and year out the guilty parties are the same --
the people who peddle the illegal stuff and the parents who never
learn. Sometimes images in the newspapers of children with
fingers maimed and faces burnt do not shock anymore because it
happens with alarming regularity, particularly as Hari Raya
approaches. But it could be our son on that hospital bed with
eyes patched, face scarred and fingers blown off.

The peculiar aspect of firecracker mishaps is that most, if
not all, of the casualties are Malays. Does this mean that they
are more mischievous than others or are they simply more foolish?
Perhaps both. Strict parental control and supervision are needed
if such accidents are to be curbed.

In the first place firecrackers are banned. Yet children have
access to them and have the means to acquire them, showing that
there are people out to make a fast buck by breaking the law at
the expense of fun-loving kids. And parents cannot plead
ignorance because, firstly, it is their money that children use
to buy the firecrackers. Secondly, playing with firecrackers is a
noisy affair and there is no way children can indulge in it
discreetly or undetected.

Parental supervision is therefore a most important element if
measures to curb firecracker injuries are to be successful.
Strict enforcement too is needed for the supply lines to be cut.
But ultimately, the fight against this menace can only be won by
eliminating the demand.

-- New Straits Times, Kuala Lumpur

The second six months for Aceh

As the first six-month military operation in Aceh has yet to
crush the rebellious activities of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM),
the government has decided to extend the operation for another
six months.

The second, six-month period of martial law started on
Wednesday, based on Presidential Decree No. 97/2003, which
legalizes an integrated operation, to include economic recovery,
law enforcement and security restoration, as well as
administrative order.

Rumors have it that martial law in Aceh will affect people's
rights in the 2004 general elections, because of the military's
presence. Therefore, it is feared that the elections will not run
smoothly in Aceh.

To counter the rumors, Coordinating Minister for Social and
Political Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono plans to hold an open
dialog with the General Elections Committee (KPU), the Elections
Supervisory Committee and several Aceh-based, non-governmental
organizations. The meeting will also involve the Aceh governor
and police and military chiefs.

Apart from the question of whether or not the military
operation or the general elections will be a success in Aceh,
there are 1,686 family refugees -- 7,202 people -- who cannot
observe the Idul Fitri holiday at their villages. Celebrating
Idul Fitri in refugee camps will be a miserable experience for
them.

-- Harian Ekonomi Neraca, Jakarta