Indonesia Update
By Kenneth Conboy
During a 10 December swearing-in ceremony for two new provincial police chiefs, the head of the Indonesian National Police, General Bambang Hendarso Danuri, instructed all officers around the country to remain vigilant against Mumbai-style terrorist attacks. He offered no indication that the authorities anticipate any impending terrorist acts, in the Mumbai mold or otherwise.
In fact, the news on terrorism in Indonesia has been somewhat encouraging as of late. First, there was surprisingly limited public reaction to the execution of the three Bali bombers on 8 November apart from some fiery burial ceremonies in their respective home towns.
Second, the Indonesian populace responded with a collective yawn when al-Qaeda’s deputy commander, Ayman al-Zawahiri, praised the executed Bali bombers in an audio tape released on 1 December. He claimed that the three bombers “knew the price and paid it gladly with no struggling.” (Indonesians probably took issue with this last claim: while the three bombers certainly showed much bravado during their trial and sentencing, their efforts to exploit every possible legal loophole to prolong their date with destiny seemed to put the lie to their gladly paying the price with no struggling.)
Third, moderate clerics in Lumajang, East Java, issued public demands on 3 December that militant cleric Abu Bakar Ba’asyir, until recently the head of the Indonesian Mujahidin Council, not be allowed to head Idul Adha celebrations in their district this past weekend. Although Ba’asyir ultimately did go to Lumajang, his hard-line sermon attracted relatively little attention.
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