Pity Poor Megawati
The leader of the world's most populous Muslim nation must tread carefully in the wake of the U.S. terrorist attacks  
BY ROBERT HORN

Time Asia, September 20, 2001 

Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri is a woman of few words. That's considered a virtue in Indonesian culture. Those invested with the aura of true power don't prattle on about issues and events. They act. Silence is a sign of strength.

In the aftermath of the tragedies that took place in New York and Washington D.C., silence will not serve Megawati well. On Wednesday, she met with U.S. President George W. Bush in Washington. Bush was looking for a strong statement of support, and possibly intelligence and logistical assistance, from his Indonesian counterpart. While she expressed her remorse and condemned the acts of terrorism, little else about Indonesia's position on an U.S.-led anti-terror coalition was made clear.

Pity poor Megawati. As leader of the world's most populous Muslim nation, she is walking a knife's edge. Indonesia is a nation of stunning cultural and intellectual diversity, breathtaking natural beauty and a wealth of natural resources. It is a nation with great strengths. It is also facing some terrible problems -- economic distress, separatist violence threatening to sunder the state, and endemic corruption.

In dealing with these difficulties, one of Indonesia's great weaknesses is extremism. Among the country's mostly modest and moderate 210 million people are a disturbing number of militants. Politicians engage militias to intimidate and wreak violence upon opponents; military and intelligence operatives use them to perpetrate atrocities against ethnic groups with legitimate grievances. And then there are the Islamic extremists. They are a decided minority to be sure, but they are already threatening to attack Americans in their country should the U.S. retaliate against those who unleashed terror in New York and Washington.

These Islamic extremists could cause intractable problems for Megawati should she come out in support of the U.S. The President, however, has little choice. Still reeling from the economic collapse of 1997 and its near pariah status stemming from its state-sponsored violence in East Timor in 1998, Indonesia would serve itself well by joining with the mainstream of the international community as it assembles a coalition to combat terrorism. But if Megawati chooses this path she risks an increase in terror in her own country, already wracked by violence and chaos, from extremist groups.

The people of Indonesia supported Megawati's rise to power because they believed she could heal the deepening rifts within their country. She may yet be able to accomplish that. In these tenuous times, however, this woman of few words will have to choose her words with extreme wisdom and caution.