Time for Jakarta to act promptly

Time for Jakarta to act promptly

The Asian Wall Street Journal, Hong Kong

That terrorism is a world-wide threat was proven yet again
Saturday night when a car bomb killed approximately 200 patrons
of a nightclub on the Indonesian resort island of Bali. A few
minutes later, another blast exploded near the U.S. consulate
there. These attacks occurred four hours after an explosion
rocked the Philippine consulate in the Indonesian province of
Sulawesi. Perhaps the violent weekend will shake Jakarta into
taking the threat of homegrown radicalism more seriously.

Yesterday's actions by President Megawati Soekarnoputri
suggest she might finally realize there's trouble brewing in
Indonesia. The president ordered heightened security across the
country, not only at foreign diplomatic posts but power plants
and important government sites. In her strongest admission of a
deep-rooted local crisis to date, Megawati stated that, "the
bombings should be a warning for all of us that terrorism is a
real threat to national security."

A lot of people had been trying to convince her of that for
months. The governments of Singapore and Malaysia have been
especially vocal in their complaints that not enough has been
done to curb the activities of the Jemaah Islamiyah jihadist
group, which operates freely in Indonesia. Manila likewise has
struggled to get greater cooperation from Jakarta in
investigations of Indonesian terrorists active in the
Philippines.

Last month, U.S. Ambassador Ralph Boyce hastily ordered the
embassy in Jakarta temporarily closed because of threats.
Indonesian officials had the temerity to complain that American
diplomats didn't give them polite notice before making the move,
but of course they were trying to make a point. Defending foreign
missions is the responsibility of a host country; halting all
activities at the embassy sent the message that U.S. officials
didn't think enough was being done to protect Americans in
Jakarta.

The clear and present danger to foreigners in Indonesia was
proven by the Bali attacks. Clearly the attack will damage
Indonesia's tourism industry, something its fragile economy
doesn't need.

There have been other terrorist acts. A Sept. 23 grenade
attack targeted the house of an American official with the U.S.
Agency for International Development. This prompted the U.S.
State Department to threaten to evacuate non-essential embassy
employees, as it did briefly last year, if Jakarta didn't do more
to counter the terrorist threat.

The grenade incident provided ample justification for Ms.
Megawati to act. The driver of the van from which the grenade was
thrown has confessed that the attack was planned by Abu Bakar
Baasyir, the Indonesian cleric who heads the al-Qaeda-linked
Jemaah Islamiyah. Abu Bakar had been brought in for questioning
in February but quickly released.

Omar al Faruq, a Kuwaiti national arrested in Indonesia and
handed over to the U.S., has given further testimony of al-Qaeda
activity in Indonesia -- including bombings in which he
participated. Information from Faruq led to the arrest of German
national Seyam Reda. A search of Reda's home produced videotapes
showing arms distribution and weapons training to jihadist groups
in eastern Indonesia.

The usual excuse used for not cracking down on the likes of
Abu Bakar is that there's not enough evidence. But surely even
what already has been made public belies that claim.

A more realistic explanation is that Ms. Megawati and her
advisers are concerned about the public reaction to a get-tough
policy. But this worry seems misplaced. While Indonesians are
predominately Muslim and the country has its share of ethnic
strife, a vast majority of them are religious moderates.
According to a study recently undertaken by the Australian
Foreign Ministry, radical Islam isn't spreading among the
Indonesian population but the degree of extremism among the
existing fundamentalists is growing. A small group of radicals
can do a lot of damage, as the slaughter in Bali proved.

On Sunday, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said
his government has long worried about Indonesian terrorist
activity and has undertaken extensive talks with Jakarta about
controlling the problem. He asserted that explosives are being
stockpiled by terrorist cells in Southeast Asia.

At this writing, several anti-terrorism bills are languishing
in the Indonesian parliament. It's not entirely surprising that
Jakarta ignores warnings and pleas to get tough from the U.S.,
Australia Singapore and the Philippines, but it is surprising
that it hasn't heeded Malaysia, an other nation with a Muslim
majority that knows full well the threat of Islamic radicalism.
Sometimes it takes tragedy to wake dozing officials to danger. It
can be hoped that this weekend's assault in Bali served that
purpose for Megawati Soekarnoputri. If the attack in Bali goes
unpunished, it clearly won't be the last.