Indonesian power shift may affect anti-terrorism efforts

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- A recent power shift inside the Indonesian military has raised questions about a U.S. proposal to resume aid to the country's armed forces and is likely to have an impact on the war on terror in the world's most populous Muslim country.

The Bush administration is moving to re-establish ties with the Indonesian army -- cut off three years ago over human rights violations in East Timor -- as a way of keeping al-Qaida-linked terrorists out of Southeast Asia.

But when Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri earlier this month appointed an army general to replace a navy admiral as head of the military -- bypassing an air force marshall next in line for the job -- she raised the profile of an institution whose credibility among Indonesians has been severely eroded.

Some Indonesians believe their country's security would be better served by reducing, not bolstering, the prominence of the army -- long discredited by human rights abuses and corruption.

Analysts say the navy and air force, not the army, are best equipped to prevent al-Qaida operatives from slipping into the 13,000 islands that make up the 3,000-mile-long Indonesian archipelago -- the largest in the world.

"We should develop the navy, which can guard the whole border of Indonesia, and the air force, which can strike any point" in the country, said Tamrin Amal Tomgola, a university professor and government adviser.

Nonetheless, others are hoping that the army's renewed power will make the institution less inclined to court Muslim fundamentalists -- as it has often done in recent years as a way of counteracting civilian efforts to curtail its influence.

Indonesia's role in the war on terror took on new importance last year when neighboring Singapore discovered what it said was an Indonesia-based al-Qaida-linked network intent on sowing terror and establishing a pan-Islamic state in Southeast Asia.

Abuse of human rights

Before the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States, Washington focused on reducing human rights abuses by the Indonesian military. The Bush administration still voices concern about human rights, but now the main priority appears to be ensuring Indonesia's cooperation in the war on terror.

This week's appointment of Army Gen. Endriartono Sutarto as military head has been criticized as a reversal of a government policy seeking to end the army's domination of the military by promoting top officers from the navy and air force -- services considered untainted by human rights abuses.

The Bush administration is backing an anti-terrorism bill that would send $8 million to Jakarta to create a police unit to fight terrorists, but Congress has so far not approved the closer cooperation with Indonesia's 300,000-strong military.

The push to re-establish relations is spearheaded by Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, a former ambassador to Jakarta.

At a news conference last month, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld said the administration has been "interested in finding ways to work with the Congress to re-establish the kind of military-to-military relations which we believe are appropriate," Rumsfeld said. He did not elaborate on what those might be.

"If Indonesia were to go bad, it would be spectacularly bad," Wolfowitz said at a recent defense ministers conference in Singapore. "I also believe if Indonesia succeeds ... it can be a very important model for the Muslim world."

Indonesia's need to appear cooperative with Washington's anti-terror agenda may be offset by its need not to alienate Muslim factions ahead of national elections in 2004.

The army -- though fiercely secular for much of its 57-year history -- forged alliances with Muslim fundamentalists during the Wahid administration.

Wahid "was very hostile to the military. He interfered quite a lot in the army and they didn't like it. What they did was try to badger him and destabilize the whole country," said Tomgola. "Ethnic conflicts were triggered by military factions that didn't like Wahid."

A group of army generals, for instance, was accused by the Wahid administration of supporting the paramilitary Muslim group Laskar Jihad, which has slaughtered thousands of Christians in strife-torn Moluku province.

Favored by the government since Suharto's downfall, the navy and the air force have had little need to seek friends among Muslim radicals.

Despite its history of abuse, many believe Indonesia's military is the best hope of keeping the country together during its tumultuous transition to democracy.

When Sutarto took command of Indonesia's military earlier this month, he instructed soldiers "to respect the principles of democracy and human rights." The new military commander is not known to back Muslim radicals.

"I would be very grateful if America gives us aid to fight against terror," he said after being sworn in. "As long as it is not in conflict with our national interest."

Indonesia's 200 million Muslims are among the world's most moderate; many of them combine elements of Hinduism, Buddhism and other beliefs into their practice of Islam.

Yet its vast, unpatrolled borders, widespread anger with the United States' perceived favoritism toward Israel and an Islamic movement long nurtured by political opportunism could provide fertile ground for extremists.

While Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines have arrested dozens of suspected Islamic extremists since Sept. 11, Indonesia has arrested only one: Jafar Umar Thalib, the leader of Laskar Jihad.

"Indonesia has been a playground for international terrorists for a long time," said AC Manulang, a retired Indonesian intelligence officer. "Geographical, political and religious reasons make it easy for terrorists to find recruits here."