[Kabar-indonesia] Indo News - 9/20/05 (Part 1 of 2)

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- Indonesia Moves to Contain Bird Flu
- Democracy 'but a concept' in RI
- Revised Decree in Indonesia to Allow For Greater Religious Freedom
- Indonesian radicals in aggressive mode
- Indonesia's moderate Islamic image under threat
- Taking aim at Indonesian terrorists
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Indonesia Moves to Contain Bird Flu
By Niniek Karmini
Associated Press Writer
September 20, 2005, 9:26 AM EDT

Jakarta, Indonesia -- The government imposed "extraordinary" measures
Tuesday to contain a bird flu outbreak that has killed four people in
Indonesia, including the forced hospitalization of people with symptoms of
the disease.

In addition to the fatalities, seven patients suspected of having the H5N1
strain of bird flu -- two of them zoo employees -- have been admitted to
Jakarta's infectious diseases hospital, officials said.

Blood samples from the patients have been sent to Hong Kong for testing.

Health Minister Siti Fadila Supari assured the public there was no reason
to panic, saying the government was taking the outbreak seriously and had
assigned 44 state-owned hospitals to treat avian influenza patients and
make sure all receive free medication.

Those with symptoms of the disease -- including high fever, coughing and
breathing difficulties -- could be forcibly admitted to hospitals, Supari
said.

She said a 21-day state of high alert against the disease, issued Tuesday
by the government, could be extended if necessary.

Meanwhile, zoos across the sprawling archipelago were taking measures to
protect their animals after 19 eagles, peacocks and other birds tested
positive for the virus at the popular Ragunan Zoo in the capital, Jakarta,
forcing it to close for three weeks.

Two of its employees -- a 28-year-old guide and a 39-year-old vendor --
were hospitalized Tuesday with bird flu symptoms, said I Nyoman Kandun,
director general of Communicable Disease Control.

Other Indonesian zoos were testing birds for the virus. Some sprayed
disinfectant in bird cages and stopped accepting new animals.

"With such measures, we believe the park is safe," said Asep Firmansyah, a
spokesman for Taman Safari Indonesia, just outside Jakarta. "However, we
will welcome health officials testing the birds at this park."

The virus has swept through poultry populations in large swaths of Asia
since 2003, killing 63 people and resulting in the deaths of tens of
millions of birds.

Most human cases have been linked to contact with sick birds. But the
World Health Organization has warned that the virus could mutate into a
form that can easily spread among humans, possibly triggering a global
pandemic that could kill millions.

Supari said the government would stockpile 10,000 tablets of Tamiflu --
the only treatment so far proven effective against bird flu in humans --
enough for about 1,000 victims.

The Agriculture Ministry also said it would push to amend the current farm
law to allow for sanctions against chicken farmers who refuse to cull
birds sickened by the virus.
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The Jakarta Post.com
Headline News
September 20, 2005
Democracy 'but a concept' in RI
Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

The much-vaunted reform movement has helped Indonesia build a democratic
infrastructure but the country has yet to develop democratic practices, a
noted political analyst says.

Speaking at a seminar here on Monday, Harold Crouch of the Australian
National University said Indonesia had actually done quite well in
establishing an adequate democratic framework since 1998.

The formal constitutional system, he said, had provided an infrastructure
that enables the practice of real democracy. Yet, a democratic
infrastructure alone was not sufficient to guarantee that democracy would
work well.

"These days we hear many complaints about the behavior of politicians who
have been elected in free and democratic elections," Crouch, a specialist
in Southeast Asian politics, particularly those of Indonesia, told the
seminar, held to mark the 50th anniversary of Gadjah Mada University's
School of Social and Political Sciences.

Also speaking at the forum was former People's Consultative Assembly
speaker Amien Rais, who is an alumni of the school.

"Not only do we hear many stories about corruption among officials and
legislators, but every few weeks we read about democratically elected
politicians being convicted and sent to jail," Crouch added.

A democratic political infrastructure, therefore, did not guarantee good
government, but only made it easier to introduce reforms that could
improve the quality of governance.

"It, therefore, would not matter whether a head of government is elected
directly or indirectly, whether an election is held under a district,
proportional representation, or a mixed system. It also would not matter
whether it is a unitary state or a federal constitution.

"All these systems are 100 percent compatible with democratic principles.
You can't say that one type is in principle more democratic than others,"
he said.

The choice between these alternatives, he said, was basically a pragmatic
one. It all depended on how well they worked in practice in the particular
political, social and economic circumstances of a particular country.

"If they work well, that is good. If they don't work so well, then just
change them," he said.

The choice of an electoral system, for example, could make a real
difference in practice not because one system was more democratic than
another but because one system might be more appropriate to the particular
problems, challenges and circumstances facing a country.

"I do not intend to argue that this system or that system would be best
for Indonesia. The point is that choice of electoral system is not
primarily a matter of democratic principles but depends more on the
particular problems of a particular country."

"The medicine that the doctor prescribes depends on the illness. A
medicine that can cure one disease can do a lot of harm for a different
disease," he said.
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Christian Today
Revised Decree in Indonesia to Allow For Greater Religious Freedom
Eunice Or, Correspondent
Posted: Tuesday, September 20 , 2005, 12:54 (UK)

After the revision of a controversial religious decree, the Indonesian
government's interfaith forums are now authorised to issue permits to
establish places of worship, local agencies reported late last week.

During a meeting held Wednesday at the Ministry of Home Affairs to discuss
the revision of the joint ministerial decree signed in 1969, top
government officials said the interfaith forums would bear the main
responsibility in issuing the necessary permits to open a house of worship
while local administrations would only have a coordinating role.

Previously, under the 1969 decree, religious groups were required to
obtain permission from local communities as well as the government before
building places of worship.

"The decree was made in 1969," said the Indonesian minister of home
affairs Muhammad Ma'ruf, as reported by Indonesian news agency Adnkronos
International (AKI) on Thursday.

“Now, we are in the era of decentralisation and regional autonomy. We
expect a kind of delegation by governors and regents (district chiefs) or
mayors to the village level.”

According to AKI, the interfaith forums will enjoy greater authority in
governing the establishment of houses of worship than before when the
previous decree limited the freedom of religious minorities.

Indonesia’s top officials said the interfaith forums would be formed by
independent regional groupings of leaders from various faiths with the
primary mission to resolve inter-religious conflicts.

Meanwhile, local administration heads will be given a role in "maintaining
interfaith harmony" by coordinating the interfaith forum and the religious
affairs agencies in the regions, AKI reported.

In the predominantly Muslim nation of Indonesia, Christians have found it
difficult to set up churches as the current 1969 decree requires
permission from local authorities and local residents before constructing
places of worship.

In the past year, an accelerating trend of church closures in West Java
under the threat of Islamic extremists has raised Christian concern both
locally and internationally. According to a report released on Sept. 8 by
Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), the recent church closures in
Indonesia share a common pattern and appear to be part of a wider scheme
by militant hardliners.

Even some moderate Muslims have criticised the extremists’ activities,
according to local agencies. As a result, Indonesia President Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono pledged his government’s commitment to protect the
religious freedom of all citizens and called on the community to help
prevent violence against any faith.

In addition, the government was prompted to revise the 1969 decree and to
revoke legislation incompatible with international guarantees of religious
freedom.

According to another Indonesian newspaper, Antara, the minister of
religious affairs, Mohammad Maftuh Basyuni, said after Wednesday’s
meeting, "Hopefully, revisions can be completed later in September."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
New Straits Times
Tuesday, September 20 2005
Indonesian radicals in aggressive mode
Amy Chew
-- Indonesia's doctrine of diversity has come under attack in recent
months from a group of extremists. Though small, they appear to enjoy the
support of influential sections in the Government. Amy Chew looks at the
implications for Indonesian society.

Armed with sticks and stones, hundreds of Indonesian Muslim extremists
descended on the Ahmadiyah, a small peaceful Muslim group in Bogor, West
Java, in July.

The attackers set fire to the women's dormitory and knocked down a gate
fronting the Ahmadiyah complex as its followers looked on helplessly. Some
300 policemen were on guard but failed to prevent the attack.

Shortly after, Emilia Renita, 38, a Shia Muslim in Jakarta started
receiving threatening messages on her mobile phone saying: "Shias are
deviant. Their blood is halal."

"I was shocked. I am Muslim and yet I am threatened. What more for those
who are non-Muslims?" she said.

The surge in radicalism was partly triggered by 11 decrees issued in July
by the official Council of Indonesian Ulamas (MUI) which banned the
Ahmadiyah, liberalism, pluralism and secularism as anti-Islam.

That the violence unfolded in the capital Jakarta and its satellite towns,
and not in conservative villages far from the influence of modern
progress, raises concerns over the erosion of tolerance in a country known
for its moderation and pluralism.

"These radicals are spreading hatred against people who are of different
beliefs — Muslims who believe in an Islam which is different from theirs,
which is Wahhabism. Minorities and non-Muslims are treated as though they
don't have a right to exist," said former student activist Syafik Alielha.

"They threaten the existence of Indonesia as a state of Bhinneka Tunggal
Ika which means unity in diversity," he said.

The refined culture and respect for elders, teachers, intellectuals and
foreigners — characteristics which define the finest in Indonesian
identity — are also under siege from the radicals.

When respected and fatherly Muslim scholar Dawam Rahardjo, 63, said at a
recent seminar that absolute truth lies with God and not with man and that
all else should be viewed as relative truth, young members of the
Indonesian Mujahidin Council (MMI) shouted and threatened to beat him up.

Never before had the young shown so little respect for a man who has
dedicated his life to educating the young. Rahardjo is the rector of the
Islamic University 45 of Bekasi.

So far, the radicals have targeted moderate, liberal and non-Sunni Muslims.

Ahmadiyah, which previously existed peacefully with other Muslims, is
considered deviant as its followers believe their founder, Mirza Ghulam
Ahmad, is the successor to the Prophet Muhammad.

Christians have also been targeted. From April to September, 16 churches
in Greater Jakarta were forcibly shut down by radicals. These churches are
housed in shophouses and private homes.

The authorities have done little to prevent the attacks or take action
against the radicals, emboldening them further.

"The Government is afraid," said former President Abdurrahman Wahid who is
also a Muslim ulama.

"Why should the Government be scared of the extremists when in fact they
are only a small group," said Abdurrahman, who is affectionately known as
Gus Dur.

He headed the country's largest Muslim organisation, Nahdlatul Ulama, for
15 years before stepping down in 1999 to assume the presidency. NU claims
40 million followers and is known as the face of moderate Islam.

The Government appears to be hesitant and uncertain about how to deal with
the situation, fearing a backlash from the Muslim majority.

The Liberal Islam Network (JIL) says the radicals' newfound boldness
reflects the growing conservatism in segments of the Government.

"They (in government) are not liberal. They are liberal and modern in
other matters but when it comes to religion, they are conservative," said
Hamid Basyaib, JIL's coordinator.

"What the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) wants is in line with its own
thinking," he said. FPI is a radical Muslim group opposed to the JIL.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's response to the situation has been to
order his Minister of Religious Affairs, Maftuh Basyuni, to look into the
matter while stressing that the Constitution guarantees religious freedom.
But that has failed to stop the radicals.

"We are disappointed the Government has not taken any measures to stop
them (radicals) from committing violence," said Ulil Abshar Abdalla, JIL's
founder.

A senior police source told the New Straits Times that some senior
officials occupying strategic positions in the administration were
conservative and reluctant to act firmly against the radicals.

"They are people who are for a state based on syariah and therefore are
not inclined toward taking a firm stance against the radicals," said the
police source.

JIL is a network of moderate Muslim scholars and intellectuals that
promotes tolerance and liberalism and highlights the peaceful and tolerant
aspect of Islam.

The group is small in size, but big in name and influence. Its members are
regular columnists in the country's major newspapers and are often invited
to speak in local and international forums.

Their liberal and moderate views are deemed to run counter to the MUI's
decrees.

Last month, the extremist FPI descended on JIL's headquarters, but backed
off upon seeing a large crowd of police and local residents.

Not satisfied, the radicals are now pressing district officials to evict
JIL from the area before Ramadan in October.

Moderate Muslims believe radicalism needs to be dealt with now to prevent
it spreading and deepening.

To counter the radicals requires concerned Muslims, the Government and
moderate Muslim leaders to speak to the populace at large.

"At the Government level, it needs to take steps to stop the violence in
society and we must admit that violence is committed by certain groups who
claim to be Muslims," said Ulil.

"The second part is that Muslim leaders have to tell the people clearly
that non-violence is a very important principle in Islam, that rationality
is an important virtue and civilised life is a precious thing we should
struggle for," he said.

While the majority of Muslims do not support the radicals and the chances
of their numbers growing to a huge mass is slim, they are politically
well-connected.

And therein lies their greatest strength, which could well determine their
influence in the country and ultimately the fate of this nation.

Indonesia has stood out in Southeast Asia as the country which waged a
bloody and relentless battle to gain independence from the Dutch in 1945.

The war was won with Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Buddhists fighting side
by side, diverse but united and ultimately victorious.

After 60 years of nationhood, it should be easier for everyone to live
together in harmony. But as recent events have shown, Indonesia now faces
a crucial battle to defend its way of life.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Indonesia's moderate Islamic image under threat
By Dean Yates
Tue Sep 20, 8:52 AM ET
Jakarta, Indonesia (Reuters)

Joining a group of young Indonesian intellectuals who hold liberal Islamic
views was once just a ticket to controversy. Now, it could be
life-threatening.

Since Indonesia's top Muslim council issued religious edicts in late July
that banned liberal interpretations of the faith, death threats against
members of the 4-year-old Islamic Liberal Network, known as JIL, have
poured in.

The fatwas that JIL says triggered the hate campaign coincide with the
closure of numerous unauthorized Christian churches by hardline Muslim
groups and the jailing this month of three Christian women for inviting
Muslim children to church events.

The developments have hurt Indonesia's image as a moderate Muslim nation
and reflect a backlash against liberal opinion as well as a push by Muslim
conservatives to reassert themselves after the failure of political Islam
to gain traction during last year's elections, experts say.

"The fatwas have had a snowball effect," said Nong Darol Mahmada, a
co-founder of the Islamic Liberal Network who has received dozens of death
threats via e-mail and text messages.

"People believe that JIL is banned and that it is now legally permitted
(under Islamic law) to murder us."

Police guard the Jakarta office that houses JIL after one militant
organization threatened to attack the group, which has never shied from
controversy since its inception in 2001.

It has been quick to poke holes in the arguments of militant clerics and
take the lead in debates about issues from marriage to the role of
religion in politics, often using radio to reach a broad audience across
the world's most populous Muslim nation.

In The Crosshairs
To some analysts, JIL was a key target when the Indonesian Ulemas Council
(MUI) issued its non-binding fatwas on July 29.

Apart from attacking liberalism, the council forbade pluralism and
inter-religious marriage.

"We are seeing a conservative high tide which is a reaction to several
things, but a common view that Muslim liberals have taken things too far,"
said Greg Fealy, an expert on Indonesian Islam at the Australian National
University in Canberra.

Fealy said he did not believe such a backlash meant the end of progressive
Islamic thought in Indonesia, where Muslims have embraced democracy and
have more freedom to express their views than in just about any country in
the Islamic world.

While it was clear Indonesians increasingly identified with Islam, last
year's elections showed voters did not care for Islamist parties that
support strict Islamic Sharia law.

Those parties won 23 percent of parliamentary seats last year, up from 19
percent in 1999.

"People are more self-consciously Islamic but it doesn't mean anyone is
saying ... we should make Indonesia an Islamic state," Fealy said.

Many Indonesian Muslims, especially on the main island of Java, infuse the
practice of Islam with local tradition influenced by Hinduism and
mysticism.

Indonesia is also officially secular and recognizes Christianity and
several other religions in addition to Islam.

That has not stopped Islamic militants in the past two years from closing
down some 25 unlicensed churches that operate from homes and shops.

Christians say the growth of such churches underscores the difficulty of
getting a permit, which requires approval from local communities where
they are usually a minority. Police have said they cannot act because the
churches are illegal.

In another religious case, a court in West Java this month jailed three
Christian women for three years each for inviting Muslim children to
church events without parental consent.

Unfinished Story
JIL was not actually banned in the MUI fatwas, but the message was clear,
said Mahmada, 31, an articulate graduate of Islamic studies from
Indonesia's most prestigious Islamic university, as she sipped a bottle of
iced tea.

"I am pretty pessimistic about Islam in Indonesia," she added.

Down the road at the Al-Muslimun mosque, Imam Pambudi, 41, a local Islamic
community leader, said JIL had to leave the area.

"At first we had no problems but after the MUI fatwa, the people here were
shocked that something considered haram (forbidden) by the MUI was among
us," said Pambudi.

Despite what appears to be a series of blows to Indonesia's Muslim
liberals and the country's image in general, analysts like Fealy and Merle
Ricklefs, another prominent Australian expert on Islam in Indonesia,
remain generally optimistic.

"This is a story without an ending, but there are grounds for thinking
that the progressive liberalism of Indonesia has withstood the attack,"
Ricklefs wrote in the Australian Financial Review on September 2.

"With its reactionary fatwas, MUI may indeed have sidelined itself within
a rapidly changing society."
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Asia Times Online
September 20, 2005
Taking aim at Indonesian terrorists
By Bill Guerin

Jakarta - A senior judge in the world's most populous Islamic country,
declaring that "killing is a big thing in the eyes of God, blood must be
paid with blood", sentenced a Muslim militant to death by firing squad
this month.

It was one of two related verdicts coming down within a day of each other.
The South Jakarta District Court on September 13 convicted Iwan Darmawan
Mutho, 30, and a day later Achmad Hasan, 34, of terrorism by helping to
organize and carry out a suicide bombing outside the Australian Embassy in
Jakarta and by hiding the perpetrators. The September 9, 2004 blast killed
11 Muslim Indonesians, including bystanders, security guards, police and
passing motorists, as well as people queuing to enter the embassy. The
suicide bomber, Heri Gulon, died in the blast. More than 170 were wounded.
No foreigners were killed.

The two, charged under anti-terror laws enacted following the October 2002
Bali nightclub bombings that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians,
will join convicted Bali bombers Amrozi bin Nurhasyim, Mukhlas and Imam
Samudra on Indonesia's death row.

Prosecutors accused Darmawan, also known as Rois, of working with
Malaysians Azhari Husin, popularly known as Azahari, and Noordin Mohammad,
also known as Top. Azahari and Noordin are likely the most wanted men in
Southeast Asia. They are said to have masterminded the September 9 attack
and are also wanted for involvement in a string of other terror attacks,
including the Bali bombings and an August 2003 blast that killed 12 people
at Jakarta's J W Marriott Hotel.

Azahari, a British-educated engineer, is an explosives expert like
Noordin. The two learned their trade at al-Qaeda camps and have remained
on the run for three years despite a massive search by the Indonesian
anti-terror police who are trained in part by Australia and the United
States. Both suspects have connections to the regional terrorist network,
Jemaah Islamiyah (JI).

Darmawan told police al-Qaeda had bankrolled the attack. The money was
delivered to Azahari, who drove the suicide bomber to within a few hundred
meters of the building, then fled on a motorcycle, looking over his
shoulder at the explosion. After his arrest in November 2004, Darmawan
disclosed that Azahari had been stopped by Indonesian police three times
and let go each time after paying bribes.

Chief judge Rocki Panjaitan said there were no mitigating factors to
warrant showing Darmawan any leniency. On hearing the verdict Darmawan
stood up, punched his fist in the air and chanted "Allahu Akbar [God is
Great]." A mob of supporters rallied to the shout and chanted a jihad
marching song in the packed courtroom. Claiming he was innocent, he
welcomed the death sentence because it would enable him to die a martyr;
"I am grateful to God for being sentenced to death because I will die a
martyr. Why should I be frightened?"

In a similar show of bravado a day later, Hasan denounced his judges,
shouting, "They're all Satans, it's a satanic court. They're infidels. As
long as they oppress Muslim people, Muslim people will have revenge."

The prosecution said Hasan taught bomber Heri Gulon how to drive, surveyed
the embassy before the attack, conducted bomb-making classes for recruits
and purchased explosive materials for the embassy bomb. Presiding judge
Achmad Sobari also said there were no mitigating factors because Hasan
expressed no remorse for his "uncivilized actions" that had discredited
Islam and killed his fellow Indonesians. His lawyer, Ahmad Michdan, said
the verdict would be appealed. "The facts were not explored optimally and
there were foreign influences of terrorism propaganda to corner Muslims,"
he said.

The same court earlier jailed three others for periods of between 42
months and seven years for relatively minor roles in the bombing. Two
others are still on trial for alleged involvement, and other recently
arrested suspects are expected to be brought to trial soon.

A balancing act
There have been an impressive number of arrests and convictions of
terrorists under President Susilo Bambang Yudhyono. He is juggling the
needs of the country, in terms of creating a secure and safe environment
for investment, with the excruciatingly subtle threats posed to
Indonesia's vast majority of peace-loving Muslims by the radicalized few.

Soon after the terror unleashed by the September 11, 2001 attacks in the
United States, there was concern in Indonesia and across the Muslim world
that the ensuing US-led "war on terror" would become a prelude to a
worldwide assault on Islam and the Muslim world itself.

With the focus now on Islam more than ever, there is deep concern within
the Islamic community that the West will use the opportunity to subjugate
the Muslim world and force it into some sort of inferior class of Western
civilization.

On the other hand, the basic ideology of the fundamentalists is a literal
and intolerant interpretation of the Koran. The crux of the extremists'
oratory and their Taliban-style spin is an attempt to sell the message
that somehow Islam is a religion that sees everything in terms of a
struggle - not against one's self, but against a perceived threat. Their
war against the West is sustained by rage at cultural imperialism and
global injustice. The bombers may be few in number, but the sentiment they
exploit is the widespread psychological urge to see the face of their
enemy in pain and grief.

Azahari was one of several Indonesians and Malaysians who went to
Afghanistan in the 1980s and early 1990s during, and in the immediate
aftermath of, the CIA-backed holy war against the Soviet-backed regime in
Kabul. There, supported by massive US and Saudi funding, JI's connections
with al-Qaeda and other Islamic extremists were established. The invasion
and occupation of Iraq has been one of the best recruitment opportunities
for the terrorist cells since the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979.

Meanwhile, Indonesia's top Muslim council, the Indonesian Ulema Council
(MUI), has declared liberalism and pluralism as haram, or forbidden under
Islam, despite the freedom of religion guaranteed by Indonesia's 1945
constitution. It issued religious edicts in July that banned liberal
interpretations of the faith, and death threats have been made against
members of the four-year-old Islamic Liberal Network, known as JIL.

JIL says the MUI fatwas (edicts) that sparked the hate campaign coincide
with the closure of several unauthorized Christian churches by hardline
Muslim groups and the jailing this month of three Christian women for
inviting Muslim children to church social events. Some schools of thought
see this as a backlash against liberal opinion as well as a push by Muslim
conservatives to reassert themselves after political Islam failed to gain
ground in last year's general elections.

The developments, if not firmly dealt with, could hurt the country's image
as a moderate Muslim nation. "Pluralism actually enriches our nation,"
stressed the president, when saying he had ordered his subordinates to
ensure that such violence would not be repeated. He has also tasked
Minister of Religious Affairs M Maftuh Basyuni with investigating the
reasons why the MUI issued the edicts.

Australia at risk
The Indonesian legal system has come under fire in Australia since
Schapelle Corby was sentenced to 20 years' jail for drug smuggling, though
Jemaah Islamiyah's alleged spiritual leader, Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, was in
March sentenced to only 30 months in prison for being part of a "sinister
conspiracy" behind the bombings. There was even more outrage across
Australia last month when more than 30 militants convicted over the Bali
bombings were granted sentence remissions and Ba'asyir's sentence was cut
by 135 days. Police received a cell phone message 45 minutes before the
September 9, 2004 embassy bombing, warning that foreign missions in
Jakarta would be attacked unless Ba'asyir was freed, Australia's Foreign
Minister, Alexander Downer, said then. Indonesian police said they
received no such warning.

Downer welcomed both the Darmawan and Hasan verdicts although Australia
opposes capital punishment.

Meanwhile, Darmawan said Australian dollars from Osama bin Laden directly
funded the embassy operation, designed, he explained, to avenge the
killings of Muslims in Afghanistan and Iraq by the US and its allies,
including Australia. He had a chilling message for Australia: "It should
be borne in mind that any act of injustice against Muslims anywhere in the
world will not go unavenged. Muslims will certainly avenge this."

Australian Ambassador David Ritchie said Friday after the verdicts,
"Mindful of President Yudhoyono`s warning about the possibility of more
terrorist acts, we have taken a preventive measure by issuing a travel
advisory to Australians who intend to visit Indonesia."

Yet the biggest threat to Australians may now be on their own soil. Kerry
Collinson, author of Crescent Moon Rising to be launched on October 1,
argues that the irony for Australia is that joining the "coalition of the
willing" gave a gift of epic proportions to the Islamic, extremist fringe.
The clear and present danger is that Australia may suffer an attack of
disastrous proportions. Earlier this month al-Qaeda televised warnings
claiming Melbourne is now a target.

But increased terror attacks inside Indonesia are also a worry, though
Sidney Jones, Southeast Asia project director of the International Crisis
Group (ICG), believes that future terror attacks in Indonesia may be less
professional and even less well-executed than in the past. JI, she said,
faces dissension over how to achieve its objectives and is reeling at the
double whammy of the arrest of more than 200 of its members and public
outrage over its tactics.

"There won't be another attack that's as big as the Bali bombings. JI's
alive, consolidating, actively recruiting, but most of its leadership is
no longer interested in bombing Western targets as it's wasting time,
funds and human resources," she said.

While commending efforts to stamp out terrorism, Jones said the government
still needed to improve its intelligence while at the same time avoiding
arbitrary legislation and abuses of power.

ICG describes itself in glowing terms as "widely regarded as the world's
leading independent, non-government source of information, analysis and
advice to governments and international organizations on conflict issues".
There are double standards inherent in Jones's comments. Where is the
credit for Indonesia's success and the censure for the two major
proponents of "arbitrary legislation" and "abuses of power", ie, the US
and the UK?

What civil liberties?
Even the US has acknowledged Jakarta has done an "admirable job of
pursuing, arresting and prosecuting terrorists". Deputy Assistant
Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific Affairs Eric G John, in
testimony before a Senate Foreign Relations committee last week, praised
Indonesia for arresting and convicting more than 130 terrorists since the
Bali bombings and establishing an effective counterterrorism police force.

Generally, the war on terrorism has drastically altered the balance
between civil liberties and security, putting core values at risk. The
challenge to mount an effective domestic and international response to
terrorism that does not, in the long run, compromise basic human rights
domestically or internationally, has been fudged by both the US and the
UK.

Protecting US or British citizens' freedom to live and go about their
lives without fear of terrorism is regarded as more important than the
civil liberties of suspected terrorists. The UK's proposed new Prevention
of Terrorism Bill 2005 gives the government even greater power than the
Anti-Terrorism Crime and Security Act 2001, legislation ruled contrary to
human rights laws by the House of Lords Judicial Committee. Since January
2002 prisoners from the war in Afghanistan have been cooped up in wire
cages at US military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba with no access to
lawyers - in violation of international law.

Civil liberties advocates do not dispute the need for additional
investigative methods to address the threats of terrorism, but they are
acutely concerned about the broader and longer-term implications of
sidelining legal rights in response to acts of terrorism.

The many critics of the "war on terror" rarely say the threat is not real,
but argue simply that sweeping arbitrary powers are a flawed approach to
addressing it. There is a rising chorus of concern that such powers are
more likely to lead to a miscarriage of justice and that prosecution in a
court of law would be a better solution.

The most fundamental human rights are the freedom from arbitrary arrest
and detention at the whim of the executive and the right to a fair trial
and due process. "Security and human rights are not alternatives; they go
hand in hand. Respect for human rights is the route to security, not the
obstacle to it," says Amnesty International.

Nonetheless Jones makes one very valid point. Putting hurdles in the way
of the recruitment process, according to her, was one key to the success
of counterterrorism efforts, and this involved identifying people
vulnerable to being recruited. More than any other country, Indonesia's
geography lends itself to extremist groups that rely upon
inconspicuousness and free movement. (Indonesia is an archipelago of
17,000 islands, 6,000 inhabited, covering 1,826,440 square kilometers,
almost three times the size of Texas.)

Terrorists do not simply appear in full-blooded hate mode, trained and
equipped to launch their deadly attacks. Persistent dire social and
economic circumstances encourage the converts to take the easy way out.
Instead of living for Islam, they want to die for Islam. Being martyrs
like the Bali bombers and the Australian Embassy blast accomplices, for
them has its rewards in the hereafter.

Hardline Islamic groups do not enjoy widespread public support in
Indonesia. The average Indonesian Muslim, judging by mass-media coverage
of the issue, does not see the issue as demanding attention. Though those
calling for violence and aggression in Indonesia are preaching in a
wilderness, the danger is that the extremist interpretations from radicals
will strike a chord with the dispossessed and disenchanted masses.

"You may read from time to time of the voice of small radical groups, but
these voices will not change the fact that mainstream Indonesia will
continue to be moderate, tolerant and democratic," Yudhyono told an
Asian-European Editors Forum in Jakarta this month. "Fighting terrorism
will continue to be our top priority in Indonesia. We will continue to
pursue these terrorist groups wherever they may be hiding. We will
continue international cooperation involving the police, intelligence and
immigration. We will strengthen the hands of the religious moderates."

The retired general has also ordered chief security minister Admiral A S
Widodo and the National Intelligence Agency chief Syamsir Siregar to
heighten the level of alert against possible terrorist attacks, saying
that domestic terrorist cells might be planning another strike soon.

Yudhyono has focused anti-terrorism efforts on increasing international
cooperation and coordination to build a strong network within the region
and beyond through a series of agreements to fight terrorism and other
transnational crimes.

Still, there seems to be something missing. JI is Indonesia's best-known
terrorist network. Its followers come from Indonesia, Malaysia and
Singapore but it is rooted in Central Java with cells scattered across the
archipelago. Yet the government, the police and intelligence agencies have
not acknowledged that JI is an organization operating within Indonesia nor
even recognized it as a terrorist organization.
-- Bill Guerin, a Jakarta correspondent for Asia Times Online since 2000,
has worked in Indonesia for 20 years as a journalist. He has been
published by the BBC on East Timor and specializes in business/economic
and political analysis in Indonesia.
-- Copyright 2005 Asia Times Online Ltd.
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