Posted on 10/29/2002 6:55:49 PM PST by DeaconBenjamin
But leaders from the two biggest Muslim organisations in Jakarta say the govt seems more interested in the 2004 polls
THE leader of Indonesia's largest Muslim organisation backs tough government measures to tackle terrorism and radicalism, saying it was in the country's interests to clamp down on them.
Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) chairman Hasyim Muzadi, speaking at a forum in Singapore yesterday, also said that neighbours should not be alarmed by the presence of radical groups in Indonesia.
This is because 'only a minority of Indonesian Muslims can be considered as radicals; mainstream Muslims are moderates', he told the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies forum.
As such, it was regrettable that Indonesia's reputation has been tarnished by allegations that it was a hotbed of terrorism in South-east Asia.
'We are actually the victim of terrorism, not its perpetrators,' he said.
He called for regional cooperation between Indonesia and its neighbours, including Singapore, to forge a common vision and battle terrorism.
'If Indonesia suffers from it, the region will also be hit,' he said.
The leader of the 40-million-strong NU said he backed tougher anti-terrorism measures because 'terrorism can lead to anarchy and this has to be destroyed'.
His view was supported by fellow speaker Bahtiar Effendy, a leading intellectual of the 30-million-strong Muhammadiyah movement, the second largest Muslim group in Indonesia.
He said the authorities must tackle law and order problems posed by groups claiming to uphold Islamic principles - but which are no more than criminal gangs.
They vandalised nightclubs and even carried out 'sweeps' earlier this year against foreigners in several towns.
'The criminal acts committed by such groups must be dealt with,' said Dr Bahtiar, head of Muhammadiyah University's post-graduate programme.
Both men said that weak political leadership, undue focus on democratisation and poor intelligence-gathering by the police contributed to the rise of radicalism.
President Megawati Sukarnoputri must not only focus on such issues, but also convince the Muslim ground that recent actions against terrorism were not undertaken at the behest of the West.
Referring to the arrest of alleged Jemaah Islamiah leader Abu Bakar Bashir, Dr Bahtiar said Jakarta's case against the cleric was based on statements by detained Al-Qaeda operative Omar Al-Faruq and allegations made by Malaysia and Singapore.
'The government must produce strong evidence against Bashir. Otherwise it will be Bashir's words against Faruq's,' he said.
Mr Hasyim said that during the Suharto era, radicalism was kept in check because 'there was strong leadership although there was no clean government'.
'But in the present situation, we don't have strong leadership. Neither do we have a clean government,' he said.
He said the fall of the Suharto administration in 1998 saw the emergence of left- and right-wing radicals as the country was swept up in the euphoria of democracy.
'Communist elements tried to make a comeback and this prompted the emergence of rightist Muslim radicals who opposed them,' he said.
There were also underground groups that operated unfettered as the military's intelligence network was unable to function properly.
In the post-Suharto period, sentiment was opposed to the military continuing to enjoy a dominant position, and they were effectively confined to their barracks, he explained.
He added that the Oct 12 Bali blast could be the work of such groups whose cause had nothing to do with Islam.
Dr Bahtiar felt that too much focus on democracy had not helped the country's development because 'Indonesia is in a weak state, without the ability to govern'.
The country needed to deal with a host of issues before it could push for 'full-fledged democratisation', he added.
Both men agreed that what had aggravated the country's woes was the fact that the political elite were focused on the 2004 general and presidential elections.
'If the national leadership cannot bring about a speedy economic recovery and enforce the law, then this radicalism, this extremism will prevail,' Dr Bahtiar warned.
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