Our antiterrorism policy after the fresh Bali blasts

Aleksius Jemadu, Bandung

Once again Indonesia becomes the focus of international attention due to the fresh terrorist attacks on Bali on Oct. 1. The fact that attacks with similar characteristics have taken place every year since the first Bali bombings in 2002 can be seen as an indication that there is an urgency to reevaluate Indonesia's policy on dealing with the issue of terrorism.

It is evident that the terrorist groups have a permanent agenda of destabilizing the Indonesian government in order to paralyze the whole system so that they might take political advantage from the deterioration of national security and the economy. In May 2005 through the Tentena bombing the terrorists tried to reignite the religious conflict in Poso, Central Sulawesi, but they failed thanks to the resolve of local religious communities in rejecting any external provocation.

The recent Bali bombings have led us to questioning whether or not the Indonesian government under President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has a clear and well-coordinated policy in eradicating the threat of terrorism. He was certainly right when he told journalists in a press conference that no state leader could ever anticipate accurately a terrorist attack like the one in Bali. However, it can also be said that no leader could be forgiven for the ill-designed policies and lack of purpose of his government after the series of terrorist attacks in Indonesia.

It is widely acknowledged that Indonesia has done a lot in bringing to justice those who are accused of masterminding the terrorist attacks. However, law enforcement after an attack takes place is only part of the solution to the problem. What is more important now is how to build an integrated security policy that is effective enough in minimizing the likelihood of future terrorist attacks.

Our bureaucratic culture in dealing with the issue of terrorism is such that government officials are only determined to take action when they are under pressure by their superiors. As time goes by their determination in solving the problem declines or their attention is immediately diverted to other bureaucratic urgencies. The general mind-set among Indonesian government officials is that the issue of terrorism is mainly perceived as a typical American and European agenda.

They think that there is no need for the Indonesian government to trouble itself with the agenda of other people. For National Police chief Gen. Sutanto, for instance, gambling eradication takes top priority. It always takes another terrorist attack to remind the Indonesian security authorities of the importance of constant vigilance against terrorism.

It is no exaggeration to say that Indonesia's security policy on terrorism is at best fragmented and very much characterized by a competition for power and money. For instance, the police and the Indonesian Military (TNI) want to get their respective share from the distribution of the antiterrorism funding given by donor countries.

There is indeed a special section at the office of the Coordinating Minister of Politics, Law and Security whose responsibility is to coordinate policies on terrorism. That section is called the Special Desk for Terrorism Eradication. The problem with this institution is that it only has ad hoc status and lacks a budget of its own.

At a societal level, Indonesia has always been proud of the existence of its moderate, tolerant and peace-loving majority. However, so far, when it comes to the issue of terrorism, the Indonesian moderate majority remain indifferent and passive. Their real power in preventing the spread of radicalism and terrorism is just a myth.

We can now conclude that both at the governmental and societal level Indonesia has a tremendous job ahead of it. Both the government and society have a common agenda: How to combine their resources in ensuring there will be no more room for any kind of terrorist operation in Indonesia. Neither of the two can do the job alone.

The writer is head of the department of international relations at UNPAR Bandung. Currently he is a visiting research fellow at the Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies (IDSS) Nanyang Technological University Singapore and can be reached at aljemadu@yahoo.co.uk.