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.