Counter-terrorism in Indonesia

Toppled

A terrorist leader is killed in Indonesia

INDONESIA’S police chief, General Bambang Hendarso Danuri, can probably be forgiven his air of triumphalism in confirming on Friday September 18th that officers had killed Noordin Mohammed Top, the most wanted terrorist in Indonesia, and perhaps in South-East Asia. The police said that fingerprint tests confirmed that they had got their man. DNA tests are expected to be released on Saturday. Three other suspected terrorists died in the same police raid that did for Mr Top and three more people were arrested. Mr Top's role in recruiting, planning, financing and leading terrorist attacks, particularly against Western targets, was substantial.

At first he was happy to be part of Jemaah Islamiah (JI), the regional group affiliated to al-Qaeda, which rose to prominence with the deadly bombing of nightclubs in Bali in 2002, although he was not thought to have been directly involved in that attack. Then, along with his fellow Malaysian, Azahari Husin, he broke away to form a splinter group. The leaders of JI had developed reservations about hitting Western targets because they led to arrests and community revulsion, especially because Muslims were inevitably caught up and killed in any terrorist attack in Indonesia. For their part, Mr Top, Azahari and their followers adhered to Osama bin Laden’s orthodoxy of promoting terrorism.

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Mr Top and Azahari led the 2003 attack on the Marriott hotel in Jakarta, the Indonesian capital, the 2004 bombing of the Australian embassy and the second Bali bombing, in 2005. By then the group was calling itself “al-Qaeda for the Malay Archipelago”. After Azahari was killed in a police raid in November 2005, Mr Top became the undisputed leader. His group fell silent until July this year, when suicide bombers hit the Marriott (again) and Ritz-Carlton hotels in Jakarta.

Mr Top developed an almost mythical status among his followers and pursuers as he repeatedly evaded capture. In recent years foreign investors, among others, have worried that more bombings were likely, even though hundreds of suspects were rounded up and many were tried and convicted. As long as Mr Top was at large, more attacks were expected.

The bad news for the subscribers to this argument is that, despite his death, more terrorist attacks are still a real possibility. Sidney Jones of the International Crisis Group, a think-tank, estimates any one of some half a dozen disciples could attempt to step into Mr Top’s shoes. None may have his charisma, but new leaders are sure to emerge from among the many active followers. And the numerous Islamic boarding schools in Indonesia continue to act as fertile grounds for new recruits.

Unfortunately for the terrorists, however, the Indonesian police have become increasingly competent. Years of training and co-operation with the Australian and American governments have turned Detachment 88, an anti-terror unit, into an effective force. The operation that ended in Mr Top’s death was an entirely a domestic one.

The international reaction to the deaths of Mr Top and two of his closest associates has been uniformly positive, praising Indonesia’s authorities. More importantly, the domestic response has been mostly enthusiastic. Mr Top’s adherence to Mr bin Laden had left him marginalised, dismissed as the violent extreme of the radical fringe in Indonesian society. Some commentators have voiced doubts that the terrorists had to be killed, but most accept the police version of events: that officers tried to capture them but this soon proved impossible.

The positive reaction is partly a result of the authorities’ even-handed approach to countering terrorism over the past seven years. Force has been used where necessary but suspects have been prosecuted rather than detained without charge. Well-publicised programmes designed to deradicalise suspects have also won the police much-needed support. The police chief has promised there will be no let up in eradicating terrorism. Right now, at least, that claim looks convincing.

Indonesia Is a Model Muslim Democracy

Last week's election caps a decade of success.

PAUL WOLFOWITZ

It's rare when any political leader wins a 60% mandate in a free and fair election, which is why commentary on last week's Indonesian election has focused on the personal success of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

However, Indonesia's success in building democratic institutions in just 10 years is equally remarkable. It is yet another demonstration of the appeal of free institutions, in this case to people with East Asian value systems and in a country with the largest Muslim population in the world.

Ten years ago it wasn't hard to find skeptics about the democratic experiment in Indonesia. The financial collapse that brought about President Suharto's resignation in 1998 pushed more than a quarter of the country's population below the official poverty line. East Timor's violent separation from Indonesia severely damaged the country's international reputation and threatened the breakup of the entire country.

Radical Islamist movements were also gaining strength and causing bloody clashes with Christians in Eastern Indonesia. Then came the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on America and an al Qaeda threat in Indonesia, including a bombing in Bali in October 2002.

Against that background, it seems hard to believe how well Indonesia is doing today. Per capita incomes are more than double what they were when I arrived there as U.S. ambassador 25 years ago. Since 2000, Indonesia's economy has grown at an average of more than 4% a year. Last year the rate was 6%.

The country has made strides in other areas as well. The war in Aceh has ended. Secessionist sentiment elsewhere in the country has largely disappeared, thanks in part to a transition to democracy. And the Indonesian police have recorded substantial successes against terrorism.

Above all, Indonesia's political process has displayed a remarkable degree of maturity. Three consecutive free and fair presidential elections is one mark of that. Voters have also shown an impressive degree of common sense. For example, when President Yudhoyono was criticized because his wife often appears in public without a head covering, or jilbab, voters shrugged off the criticism.

No single explanation can account for the progress of such a complex country over the course of the last decade. Mr. Yudhoyono's leadership deserves a great deal of credit, as does the country's tradition of tolerance and respect for women. Indonesia's first two democratically elected presidents were Abdurrahman Wahid, a devout Muslim leader and proponent of religious tolerance, and Megawati Sukarnoputri, a passionate spokeswoman for democracy. Neither presidency was very successful, but the values each embodied were influential.

So too were a variety of civil society groups that thrived despite restrictions from the Suharto regime. Indonesia's press was financially independent and competitive, so the country had the basis for a free media as soon as censorship restrictions were lifted. Many of the country's leaders were also educated in democratic countries. Mr. Yudhoyono is a graduate of the U.S. Army's Command and Staff College.

But we can't be complacent about Indonesia's future. The problems facing the country are enormous, poverty first among them. Corruption remains a deterrent to foreign investment. Islamic fundamentalism poses a threat. The authorities have shown a disturbing passivity in the face of attacks on churches and mosques of certain minority sects. Many Indonesians are fearful that government restrictions on pornography and proselytizing will be used by extremists to restrict free expression.

On the positive side, recent elections showed that there has been a decline in the influence of overtly Islamist parties.

The U.S. has an enormous stake in Indonesia. It provides stability for the whole of Southeast Asia, a region of more than half a billion people. It is an example for other aspiring democracies. And if it continues to make progress on religious tolerance, it can point the way for other majority Muslim countries.

Indonesians have achieved this success largely on their own. But having chosen a path of freedom, democracy, and religious tolerance, they would like to see that recognized. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton did that on her visit in February. When Mr. Obama visits in November he will receive a hero's welcome. He should use that to speak forcefully on behalf of the great majority of Indonesians who believe in tolerance and equality for all the country's citizens.

Mr. Wolfowitz, a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, has served as deputy U.S. secretary of defense and U.S. ambassador to Indonesia.