"My nation must stand
up to terrorism"
Using "lack of sufficient evidence" as excuse for not arresting people is clearly wrong, says former president. People no longer fear authority, says Abdurrahman Wahid
Oct 21, 2002

This is clearly a wrong-headed approach because it has resulted in a state of affairs in which groups act with impunity, without any fear of the authorities.

Three bombs explode in close succession in Bali, more than 180 are killed and many more are injured.

It is clear that this is yet another awful development in the series of terrorist acts that have been wrenching at our hearts for so many months now.

I have repeatedly called on the Indonesian security forces to take the necessary steps to ensure that this sort of thing does not happen any more. There needs to be a firm commitment to taking preventive action.

Among other things, this should include arresting those who are seen moving freely around Indonesia with weapons, and, of course, those who we know to be assembling bombs or who are manufacturing weapons.

Sadly, the authorities say they cannot act because they lack sufficient evidence to arrest and detain people.

Perhaps this is the nub of the issue. We have been so fixated with the idea of punitive action that we have neglected the importance of preventive action. The lack of sufficient legal evidence against people has been used as an excuse for not arresting people.

This is clearly a wrong-headed approach because it has resulted in a state of affairs in which groups act with impunity, without any fear of the authorities.

Moreover, in many aspects of everyday life in Indonesia, it is well known that all manner of illegal activities are carried out by the very authorities who are responsible for upholding the law.

Consequently, those authorities have not been able to effectively prevent acts of terrorism.

At the same time, the Indonesian political system has so far proved unequal to the task of cleaning up the security apparatus and legal system, in part because to many of its own members have themselves been guilty of illegal and anti-democratic activity.

All of this means that the security authorities have got into the habit of turning a blind eye towards all manner of wrongdoing and malpractice in day-to-day life.

As a result, even when the authorities do decide to take action they often do not have community support because the community can see for itself the extent of the authorities' own culpability with respect to illegal activities.

So, for example, when the police or the military occasionally decide to crack down on vice, the community is disinclined to cooperate because they know full well that many police and army officers are themselves involved in protecting drug rings and illegal gambling venues - and, moreover, that they do so with impunity.

So now the problem arrises of how we Indonesians prevent certain groups from terrorising society as a whole, including those who are guests in our society.

Unfortunately, the habit of turning a blind eye has now become so ubiquitous that none within the security apparatus is brave enough to take on such groups.

Sadly, even when there are elements of the security apparatus who remain clean, they, quite understandably, are reluctant to initiate preventive actions for fear of coming face to face with their own colleagues or superiors.

This is real; the state of affairs in so many places, including on the island of Bali, so we should not be surprised that the authorities proved so ineffective in preventing this latest tragedy.

Our security apparatus is in a state of partial paralysis.

One sign of this malaise is the disturbingly good relations that exist within the security apparatus between their own thugs and gangsters, and terrorist groups.

In fact, such is their ability to cover up their criminal activity, it is almost as if these groups are being given a place of respect in society.

I recall one gang leader recently addressing a gathering of religious leaders, as if to prove he was above the law.

So is it any surprise that many feel it is pointless attempting to carry out preventive action under these circumstances?

After all, the effectiveness of preventive action really begins with the ability to produce a feeling of shame, and a fear of social alienation, within the minds of those who are tempted to break the law. If you take this away, what hope is there of people taking the law seriously?

Moreover, when terrorists are received at the presidential palace as if they were heroes, is it any wonder that members of the security apparatus feel afraid to confront them?

Does this not represent a serious affront to the principles of justice in our society?

And is not the implication that it is somehow acceptable that the army should employ dirty-tricks campaigns clearly morally bankrupt, whatever justification people try to give to it by dragging in notions of CIA conspiracies and the like?

The priority now is to ensure that what happened in Bali never happens again.

After all these years of judicial malaise and ineffectual law enforcement in Indonesia, the really important thing now is that we give attention to preventive action.

We must move immediately to fill the vacuum that has existed for years in our legal and security system, lest those groups threatening peace, security and social stability become even more emboldened.

For this we need to move simultaneously on several fronts.

First, there needs to be decisive action immediately to tackle the problem of corruption in government bureaucracies and agencies.

Without this, it is pointless to expect our legal system and security apparatus to comply with the law, act justly, and deliver effective outcomes.

Creating a clean and professional environment in both the civil and military realms must be our first responsibility.

Second, and no less importantly, is the need to develop and apply realistic policies that meet the challenges of the present conditions. It is pointless to build castles in the sky.

We are facing serious problems and we need to address them right now, in the real world.

Enough with dreaming and delusion. We must act with a sense of urgency and honest realism to ensure that tragic attacks like that that occurred in Bali last Saturday night do not occur again.

(Abdurrahman Wahid was president of Indonesia from 1999 to 2001. His article "My nation must stand up to terrorism" was published in The Age, Oct 19, 2002).