Working with Indonesia

Working with Indonesia

Indonesian Security Minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
announced last week that the government would extend martial law
for at least six months in Aceh, a province terrorized by
separatist violence. This has led to complaints from human-rights
groups concerned with alleged abuses at the hands of soldiers in
rebelling villages. For the same reason, two weeks ago, a handful
of U.S. senators blocked President Bush's plan to provide aid to
help professionalize Indonesian troops. Isolating the Indonesian
military is a strategic mistake for the United States. America
needs to build its relationship with Jakarta.

There are few governments in the world that can assist
Washington more in the war on terror than Jakarta. On Oct. 30,
for example, Indonesian police barely missed capturing Jamaah
Islamiyah bomb experts Azahari bin Husin and Noordin Mohammad,
both of whom have had assets frozen by the United States for
their links to al-Qaeda. In their haste to abandon their hideout
ahead of the police dragnet that is getting tighter by the day,
the two terrorists left behind bombs, bomb-making equipment,
identification and other documentation relating to their work.

It is important for policy-makers in Washington not to forget
that the two most deadly terrorist attacks since Sept. 11 were
perpetrated on Indonesian soil. Many Indonesians have been killed
by Islamic terrorists. Local officials have arrested dozens of
Jamaah Islamiyah members and other terrorist suspects in the past
year. Interrogation of these prisoners provided the leads for the
raid two weeks ago, as well as evidence used for the convictions
(in Indonesia) of terrorist leaders such as Jamaah Islamiyah
mastermind Abu Bakar Bashir in September.

Intelligence cooperation with Jakarta has led to numerous
other arrests in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and the
Philippines.

There are inevitable complications in working with Jakarta.
Not only is Indonesia the world's most populous Muslim nation,
but its more than 17,000 islands serve as a center for recruiting
and training jihadists. In combating radical Islam, officials
have to be cautious to avoid a major public backlash. The
military, which is overwhelmingly secular, is the most
significant barrier preventing the nation from becoming an
Islamic state.

During the holy month of Ramadhan, there was popular
resistance to soldiers passing out mug shots of terrorists in
mosques. That the military risks offending Muslim leaders by
investigating mosques reveals Jakarta's seriousness in the war on
terror. In Indonesia, the intelligence services are run by the
military. Even civilian intelligence agencies are dominated by
military officers and retired soldiers. Jakarta has made
significant progress in cracking down on al-Qaeda operations in
Southeast Asia. Isolating the Indonesian armed forces puts this
invaluable cooperation at risk.

-- The Washington Times