EDITORIAL - When will Megawati act?

The blast was horrific, destroying two nightclubs and several vehicles parked on the street in Bali’s popular Kuta area. But the bombing that was described as the worst terrorist attack in Indonesia was not entirely unexpected. The United States shut down its embassy in Jakarta in the days before the first anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks amid reports of possible attacks on US targets by Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network, which is believed to have sympathizers in Southeast Asia. Indonesia is home to the Islamists believed to head al-Qaeda’s Southeast Asian affiliate, Jemaah Islamiyah.

What must have been surprising to Jakarta was that the attack was perpetrated in Bali, Indonesia’s popular island resort. Bali has escaped much of the social unrest that has rocked Indonesia, including the wave of violence that swept the country in the months leading to the fall of strongman Suharto. Most of the victims in the bombing yesterday – 187 as of early evening, with over 300 wounded – were tourists, many of them Australians. Understandably, tourists started leaving the island in droves yesterday. As Filipinos have learned, it may take awhile before frightened tourists can be lured back.

The bombing can only aggravate the numerous problems besetting Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri. But if the bombing was truly the handiwork of Jemaah Islamiyah, Megawati must share part of the blame. The intelligence community has long identified the leaders of JI, starting with Muslim cleric Abubakar Ba’asyir, who lives in the Indonesian town of Solo. Other JI members are believed to be in hiding in Indonesia, protected by Islamic fundamentalists. Megawati is surely aware of JI attempts to attack American, Australian and Bri-tish targets in Singapore last year, but she has not lifted a finger against the organization. When several Indonesians were arrested in the Philippines and linked to terrorist attacks in Metro Manila and Mindanao, her government demanded the release of the suspects and their return to Indonesia. Yesterday the Philippine consulate in Manado, in Indonesia’s North Sulawesi, was also bombed. In this part of the world, Indonesia is turning into terror central.

Megawati fears confrontation with the fundamentalists, who have many sympathizers in the world’s most populous Muslim nation, fearing they could move to topple her administration. But if she does not move quickly against the terrorists, they are bound to lead her country to ruin. The bombing in Bali should open her eyes to this growing threat.