Kangmas Djoni Saleh , Terimakasih infonya ,..Lagi saya klipping dan masih di otak-atik ,.. Wassalam , Priyo PS --------------------------Original Message---- - From: "Akhmad Bukhari Saleh" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "YON-I/ITB" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Sun, 9 Nov 2003 00:33:16 +0700 Subject: [yonsatu] On J.I.
> U.S. - Indonesia Society - USINDO [Washington D.C.] > November 6, 2003 > USINDO Open Forum > > Summary followed by Q&A > > Indonesia's Reactions to the War on Terrorism > > with Sidney Jones, Indonesia Project Director International Crisis > Group Jakarta > > October 28, 2003 [available online Nov. 6] Washington D.C. > > Sidney Jones did a convincing job of explaining why it is politically > incorrect - if not impossible - for Indonesians to condemn Jemaah > Islamiyah (JI) these days. > The organization listed as a terrorist group by the U.S. and the UN > and the subject of a detailed exposé by the International Crisis > Group, whose Jakarta office is headed by Jones, is nevertheless exempt > from direct criticism in Indonesia for a variety of reasons. > While top government leaders such as Coordinating Minister Susilo > Bambang Yudhoyono and Police Chief Da'i Bachtiar will condemn JI to > audiences in the United States, they will not repeat those accusations > in Indonesia, Jones said at a USINDO meeting on October 28. > > Most Indonesians are so alienated by U.S. Middle East policy, from its > stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict to its war in Iraq, that > anything the U.S. condemns, in the eyes of these Indonesians, can't be > all bad. > Even the moderates, said Sidney Jones, believe that the U.S. has > singled out Muslims for repressive action and treats Indonesia in a > high-handed way. > There's a belief that "Indonesia can't win," she said. Indonesia > never gets credit for anything it accomplishes. > > As a result, anything the U.S. condemns must be defended and anything > the U.S. supports must be suspect. > > This preoccupation with the U.S. is distorting what might otherwise be > a more hostile attitude toward JI. > For example, the moderate Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia's largest Muslim > organization, has "good reason to loathe Jemaah Islamiyah," Jones > said. > The JI is the direct descendant of Darul Islam, the militant > fundamentalist organization that fought for an Islamic state during > the independence struggle and afterward against the Republic until it > was crushed by the Indonesian army in the 1960s. > The DI saw the NU "as impure, idolatrous," Jones said, and that > attitude is alive and well within the JI. > The convicted Bali bomber, Amrozi, had, as one of his first acts upon > returning to Indonesia from Malaysia about three years ago, desecrated > the grave of an NU kiai (religious leader) who was beloved in that > area. > The NU was outraged, but "the outrage that everyone senses was not > expressed by the leaders of NU." said Jones. Why? The NU fears that > the JI might attack them. > The NU leader, Hasjim Muzadi, has political ambitions, and it's just > not politically possible to take a stand because he would be accused > of kowtowing to the U.S. line, Jones said. > Another reason for caution is that NU is worried that the JI will > attack NU pesantren, the Islamic boarding schools which are the > lifeblood of the NU educational system. There are perhaps 30,000 > pesantrens in all of Indonesia, the vast majority of which are > controlled by the NU, she said. > > There is some evidence that the JI may target the pesantren system. > A cache of documents, captured by the police in Semarang a few months > ago, contained a computer printout survey of religious schools in > Central Java, including the name of each school, the religious leader, > the number of his followers and affiliated organizations, and whether > JI had access to it. > The chilling news was that JI had the capability of such a > sophisticated survey, but the good news was that the survey admitted > JI had very little access to these schools. "Very few pesantrens want > contact with the JI," she said. > > Another complication is that "Jemaah Islamiyah" is a generic term > meaning "Islamic community. It would be as if the Irish Republican > Army called itself the Catholic Church," Jones said. > > As a consequence, Indonesia is not willing to crack down on JI. > This failure to ban the organization may have serious consequences, > Jones said. > At the moment, senior JI leaders are in detention, but it is not clear > that the police can link them to specific acts > of violence. They will be more difficult to convict than was Abu > Bakar Bashir, JI's leader. > Meanwhile, the police are vulnerable. There was a well orchestrated, > well financed protest of 20,000 people in Solo, Central Java, after > the recent arrests of 15 terror suspects. > No senior Indonesian official came to the defense of the police; on > the contrary, there seems to be an orchestrated campaign to go after > the police, Jones said. > > "There is a serious problem for moving further on the war on > terrorism," Jones said. > > Meanwhile, the JI remains active. > Despite the arrest of some top leaders, there is more and more > information on its activities and scope. > There is information that there are Indonesian alumni of the Chechen > war. An al Qaeda operative arrested in Karachi claimed to have 100 > Indonesians there and plans to train Indonesians to fight in Kashmir. > So there is evidence that JI is not restricted to Southeast Asia any > longer but is operating in South Asia and beyond as well. > > Furthermore, the recent outbreak of violence in Poso may be linked in > some way to JI, Jones said. > There is evidence of a special operations unit set up by JI in Poso. > This unit may have spun out of control when the JI leaders were > detained. > > > > Q: What was the Indonesian reaction to President Bush's misstatement > about resuming military relations with Indonesia? > > A: Resuming military to military relations is a non-starter. > Indonesia is not of a mind to receive this kind of aid now, and if it > were offered it would be refused. > > > Q: Given your description of the attitudes in Indonesia toward the > U.S., what can or should the U.S. do at this point? > > A: At present it is useless to try public diplomacy relating to > Muslim issues. > It would be better to look at other things: non Islam-related aid > programs, educational exchange, institution building... the kind of > long-range assistance that USAID produces. > > > Q: It is said that the real war in Islam is between the moderate and > radical views within the religion. > If so, the moderates in the so-called peripheral states including > Indonesia might have a better chance of prevailing over the radicals > who are concentrated in the Middle East. > Your comment? > > A: I do think the moderates are prevailing in Indonesia. > On a range of social issues, such as the debate whether the > provocative dancer Inul should be allowed to perform in public, it's > clear the moderates are in control. > But on this one issue - U.S. policy - the moderates actually share the > views of the radical fringe. > > > Q: How are the police generally viewed, especially as the focus of > U.S. aid for police training to combat terrorism? > > A: The police have been successful in recent investigations of > terrorist incidents. > They have not been stigmatized for receiving international aid, but > they feel very vulnerable nevertheless, particularly > as the military are resentful of the police and determined to take > back their former role in internal security. > There are three bills before parliament at present which might end up > in restoring more military power. > They are the armed forces bill, the intelligence bill and amendments > to the terrorist law passed earlier. > > > Q: Referring to the recent outbreak of violence in Poso [Central > Sulawesi], by hit squads dressed in black. > Is this reminiscent of earlier communal violence in Ambon [Maluku]? > > A: The attack you refer to in Ambon was by the Laskar Jihad and > Kopassus [armed forces special unit]. > In Poso there is no evidence of military involvement. > Poso is a fundamentalist Muslim area, a possible fertile ground for > pressure to establish Islamic law. > There are jihadist elements there. There was possibly a special unit > of JI set up there to get a jihad going again. > The violence was of a different style, with different people, than in > Ambon. > Possibly, with some of the top JI leaders now in detention, the local > group in Poso got out of control. > > > Q: The Indonesian police chief said at a recent USINDO program that > about 10 JI leaders are still at large. > Your comment? > > A: Those ten people are the big fish, members of the central command > with the capability of doing serious damage. But if they were all > taken into custody JI's capacity would not be reduced. > Other units would pop up, perhaps without central control, as may have > been the case in Poso. > > > Q: Who will win the 2004 elections? > > A: I will give you the current wisdom, but the answer changes every > two weeks. > At the moment Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is thought to have very little > chance to become president. > His only backing is from the PKB, Gus Dur's party. > The strongest candidates are, of course, Megawati from PDI-P and > either Akbar Tandjung or Wiranto from Golkar. Akbar has rescheduled > the Golkar convention to occur after the parliamentary elections in > April. > This gives him more time to maneuver, especially if in the meantime > the Supreme Court upholds his appeal from a corruption conviction. > So the candidates for president might be Megawati and perhaps Akbar > Tandjung from Golkar. > In a runoff election, there could well be a "anybody-but-Mega" > coalition of political parties. > This might produce dangerous situations in areas with communal > tensions. > > > Q: We haven't heard much lately about the connection between Jemaah > Islamiyah and al Qaeda. > > A: Most Indonesians are skeptical about such links, but the links are > there. > Hambali is the key person. He received funds from al Qaeda for the > Bali bombing. > There were ties between the two organizations in Afghanistan, and > there were al Qaeda trainers in Poso in 2000 and 2001. > It's unfortunate that the U.S. is not allowing the Indonesians to have > access to Hambali. (Hambali was captured in Thailand and is in U.S > custody at an undisclosed location.) > > > Q: Are there any hopeful developments in Indonesia, or is the news > all bad? > > A: There are many hopeful developments. The stock market is booming, > the rupiah is stable, small and medium enterprises are growing, recent > polls suggest a big voter turnout for 2004 elections, and parts of > decentralization are going well. There are leaders emerging at local > levels. > > -------------------------------------------------------------- > > Far Eastern Economic Review > Issue cover-dated November 13, 2003 > [from the Dow Jones Newswires] > > The 5th Column > > Why Indonesians Distrust The U.S. > > By Sidney Jones > > Indonesians are not happy with the war against terrorism, despite the > success of their police in fighting it, primarily because they don't > trust the United States government and don't want to be part of a > U.S.-led campaign. > > The distrust of the U.S. is not just a result of the Bush > administration's foreign policy in the Middle East, though that is > part of it. "The U.S. has demonstrated a double standard in responding > to terrorism in the Israel-Palestine conflict," said an October 22 > editorial in Kompas, Jakarta's leading newspaper, "and there's no > question that it generally associates terror with Islam." > But many Indonesians also think that for all the talk about > partnership and cooperation in the "war," the U.S. just takes without > giving anything back. > Its refusal thus far to grant Indonesian police access to detained > Jemaah Islamiah leader Riduan Isamuddin, or Hambali, is one example. > (During his fleeting visit to Bali, President George W. Bush promised > access at some indeterminate future date, but that is not good > enough.) > > There's also the perception that Indonesians can't win -- no matter > how many terrorists they arrest, the U.S. is still going to punish > them for human-rights violations of the past or find some other excuse > for not giving them credit. > "In terms of respect for human rights and respect for national > sovereignty," the Kompas editorial asked, "isn't the attitude of the > U.S. towards Iraq worse than Indonesian policy towards East Timor?" > > Many Indonesians believe that the U.S. focus on terrorism is pushing > everything else off the agenda. > Another leading Jakarta newspaper, Koran Tempo, carried an editorial > on the eve of Bush's visit, urging Indonesian religious leaders who > were going to meet the president to tell him that the country had > other pressing needs: "We have a whole warehouse of problems: poverty, > corruption, foreign debt, the credibility of our legal system and a > difficult transition to democracy. These problems aren't getting > enough attention because so much of our energy is being diverted to > terrorism, and terrorism in the end is being encouraged by the > arrogant attitude of America itself." > > These strongly negative attitudes toward the U.S. colour how > Indonesians in general, and politicians in particular, see Jemaah > Islamiah. > The home-grown terrorist organization believed responsible for the > Bali and Marriott bombings, and perhaps the recent shootings in Poso > in central Sulawesi as well, has not been banned, and many members of > the political elite remain unwilling to acknowledge its existence. > > One public reason is that the term jemaah islamiah is a generic term > meaning "Islamic community," and that applying it to a terrorist > organization is offensive to many Muslims. > There is also a concern across the Muslim community that one > consequence of banning JI could be an assault on pesantrens, > Indonesia's Muslim boarding schools, simply because of the role a tiny > handful of these have played in JI recruitment. > > But another key reason why mainstream Muslim leaders and politicians > have difficulty admitting in public that JI is a terrorist > organization is because of a widespread view that the U.S. is the real > terrorist, and nothing JI has done > compares with the devastation that "America and its lackeys" have > inflicted on the Muslim world. > Many moderates don't condone the indiscriminate killing of civilians, > but they explain it, with some sympathy, as the tactic of groups that > see themselves as fighting terror, not perpetrating it. > Suicide bombs, whether in Tel Aviv or Jakarta, are the weapon of the > weak, they say, against an infinitely stronger foe. > > No amount of U.S. public diplomacy or new assistance is going to > change the deep antipathy in Indonesia towards American policies in > the Middle East. > Stepping up aid for Indonesian education, for example, is a desirable > aim in itself, but it will not reduce unease about U.S. motives. > Indeed, to the extent that new assistance is linked to the war on > terrorism, that unease is likely to grow. > > What to do? > The U.S. should ensure quick access to Hambali and assist Indonesian > police as necessary with the gathering of evidence that will allow him > to be tried in an Indonesian court. > However weak the legal system, the trials of terror suspects thus far > have been speedy, fair and transparent, which is more than can be said > of the U.S. > But Indonesia also needs a few courageous politicians willing to say > that whatever people think of the war on terrorism and U.S. policies, > there's a serious problem at home that needs more attention -- and the > name of that problem is Jemaah Islamiah. > Despite the efforts of the police, the public still needs convincing, > and Indonesians, not Americans, are the only ones who can make the > case. > > The writer is based in Jakarta as Southeast Asia Director for the > International Crisis Group. > > > --[YONSATU - > ITB]---------------------------------------------------------- > Online archive : <http://yonsatu.mahawarman.net> > Moderators : <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Unsubscribe : <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Vacation : <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > --[YONSATU - ITB]---------------------------------------------------------- Online archive : <http://yonsatu.mahawarman.net> Moderators : <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Unsubscribe : <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Vacation : <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
