Labor to replace rhetoric with action
24sep03
Labor's shadow foreign minister Kevin Rudd has called for a more assertive Australian leadership role in South-East Asia as part of a comprehensive counter-terrorism strategy. Rudd's critique is that Australia is fooling itself about the gravity of the regional terrorism threat. He argues that the Howard Government, despite its rhetoric, has made neither the financial nor diplomatic commitment demanded by our national security interest. "If there is any country with a massive stake in combating the immediate terrorist threat in Indonesia and the long-term danger from militant Islam then it is Australia," Rudd told this paper.
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Rudd calls his plan a "quantum shift" for Australia. It mirrors a more pessimistic view of the terrorist threat than conceded by the Howard Government and the conviction that it must be tackled at the socio-economic level as well. He argues that al-Qa'ida is linked in Indonesia to a number of terrorist groups including Laskar Jundullah, MMI (Mujahidin Indonesia) established by Abu Bakar Bashir as well as the better-known Jemaah Islamiah. "Terrorism analysts have concluded that there is a close ideological and organisational relationship not only between MMI and JI but also between MMI and up to 10 other radical and potentially terrorist organisations within Indonesia," Rudd says. "Despite the inroads made into al-Qa'ida globally it is estimated that anywhere between 200 and 2000 JI activists, operatives and supporters remain across Indonesia." Their recruiting grounds are the universities and a small number of Islamist pesantren (of 14,000 pesantren most such schools are controlled by the moderate Islamic bodies). But the radical pesantren have increased enrolments due to the collapse of central government school funding and the demise of the Suharto regime. Religious subjects tend to be taught in Arabic not Bahasa; long-term unemployment is linked to radical Islamist's ideological and theological appeal.
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The first task is to strengthen the Indonesian Police, set up only in 2000, and poorly trained and resourced. Rudd says that the US is providing about $US45 million ($66 million) trying to professionalise this force. If Australia is serious it "must become the leader not the follower" in this effort. But the Howard Government's level of financial support is inadequate and "just plain wrong". Australia should be "leading an international consortium of donors" to help upgrade Indonesia's police. Australia's second Colombo Plan for Indonesia should involve improved teacher training, reform of the teacher accreditation system, inspection of curricula and proper school textbook resourcing in English and Bahasa. For Rudd this is a "bold idea". He rejects the notion that Jakarta would see it as too interventionist. There would be support for this concept provided it was "helping the Indonesian Government achieve what it wants to achieve". Australia's partner in this effort must be the Indonesian Education Ministry.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/printpage/0,5942,7354970,00.html