The tremors spread far afield

Amit Baruah

THE AMERICAN war in Afghanistan has polarised key South East Asian nations. Predominantly Roman Catholic Philippines has emerged as an enthusiastic supporter of the American war and has even invited U.S. military advisers to help in the battle against the Abu Sayyaf group.

Indonesia, on the other hand, has expressed the most serious and direct criticism of the American military operations. The country's leadership has repeatedly called for a halt to military strikes during Ramzan.

Malaysia, a country of 23 million people, 60 per cent of whom are Malay-Muslims, opposed the military strikes in principle even before they began. The country's long-serving, outspoken Prime Minister, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, has said the strikes would not result in a defeat of terrorists.

There is little doubt that, like in other parts of the world, individual nations are responding to the American war against terrorism on the basis of their own interests.

The Philippines, which has so far not been able to ``crush'' the Abu Sayyaf, a bunch of self-proclaimed Islamist militants operating in the southern island of Mindanao, is keen on bringing the American military might to bear on these bandits.

The Abu Sayyaf, which has specialised in kidnappings for ransom, has also targeted American nationals. Given the apparent links between the Abu Sayyaf and Al-Qaeda, the decision to send military advisers to the Philippines to advise the Government on how to tackle these militants hardly comes as a surprise.

So far, the Filipino military has not shown much aptitude in being able to deal with the Abu Sayyaf. There have been serious allegations in the recent past that military personnel actually let a band of Abu Sayyaf men escape. Such charges hardly match with promises made by the Philippine President, Ms. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, that the Abu Sayyaf would be crushed.

In Indonesia, the Megawati Government appears to be caught between appeasing a bunch of small, but noisy Islamist militants and the need to be seen supporting the ``global'' campaign against terrorists.

Earlier this week, a grenade was thrown into the premises of the Australian international school in Jakarta. Mercifully, the attack took place at night. Such incidents put pressure on Indonesia's reputation as a safe place to live and do business.

After meeting the U.S. President, Mr. George W. Bush, in September, the Indonesian President, Ms. Megawati Sukarnoputri, signalled support for the American position on anti-terrorist measures.

However, as the noisy militants (who, by all accounts, count for a tiny, but visible fringe in Indonesian politics) took to the streets, Ms. Megawati backed down and launched a broadside against the U.S. for bombing Afghanistan - without naming Washington.

The Indonesian President, some analysts believe, took the ``new position'' after consulting political leaders in Jakarta. Her Government is part of a coalition. The Vice-President, Mr. Hamzah Haz, heads an ``Islamic'' party and Mr. Hamzah personally opposed the military strikes.

Even moderate, respected newspapers such as The Jakarta Post have editorially opposed the military campaign. There is little doubt that the death of hundreds of civilians in Afghanistan is a matter of grave concern - and not just in ``Muslim'' countries.

Unlike in Indonesia, where mainstream groups such as the Nadhlatul Ulama and Muhmadiyah are opposed to the calls for ``jehad'' in Afghanistan, the Parti Islam Se Malaysia (PAS) has publicly said it is sending volunteers to fight in Afghanistan.

In the last few years, the PAS has grown in strength and popularity and mounted a serious challenge to the ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO). Whether growing support for the PAS was the result of dissatisfaction with the ruling party or amounts to a swing to more conservative forces in Malaysia remains unclear.

The arrests of individuals linked to the Kumpulan Mujahideen Malaysia (KMM) for allegedly conspiring to overthrow the Government was the first indicator that the Prime Ministerwas serious about tackling the issue. The son of a senior PAS leader is among those detained under the Internal Security Act, a preventive detention law.

Earlier this week, Christian groups in Malaysia have called upon Malaysian authorities to protect their places of worship after there were fires in at least five churches in the country following the attacks on Afghanistan.

It is evident that countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia must resist the temptation of cosying up to militant Islamist groups in their respective countries.

In the long-run, ``adopting'' radical agendas for political purposes, can end up compromising mainstream parties and sometimes expanding the narrow extremist base.

Countries with large Muslim populations, which are susceptible to whipping up passions on continuing civilian deaths in Afghanistan, need to be extremely careful in how they deal with such issues.

The American military strikes have complicated domestic scenarios in countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia. In the case of the Philippines, it has provided an opportunity to step up security cooperation with an old ally - the U.S.

Few people will disagree that an early end to the American military campaign will ease the situation in key nations of South East Asia.

Events outside national borders, it would appear, have the potential of influencing the direction of domestic politics in far-flung regions of the world.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Opinion
Previous : Iran keeps all its options
Next     : When hospitality makes up for glitches