Indonesian Islamists hold fire

Anti-US demonstrations have been small

BBC Jakarta correspondent Richard Galpin reports on the activities of radical Islamic groups in Indonesia since the 11 September attacks on America.

So far their bark has been far worse than their bite.

The radical Islamic groups which shot to prominence in Indonesia last month had initially threatened to physically attack American facilities and citizens here if Washington went ahead with military strikes against Afghanistan.

A senior member of one group, the Islamic Youth Movement, told the BBC three weeks ago they would kill the American ambassador and burn down the embassy in Jakarta if missiles and bombs began falling on their fellow Muslims in Afghanistan.

Another organisation, the Islamic Defenders' Front - already well-known for raiding bars and night-clubs in the capital - warned it would hunt down American and British expatriates across the country and expel them.

No action

But so far none of these threats has been carried out. Even the demonstrations organised by the Islamic extremists in what is the world's largest Muslim nation, have been small, usually involving hundreds rather than thousands of people.

The initial fears of the expatriate community that the security forces were not taking the issue seriously have proved unfounded

And although occasionally they have turned violent, the riot police guarding the embassies in large numbers have been able to control the situation with relative ease.

They have been quick to use water-cannon and teargas to disperse crowds which have posed any kind of threat to the American embassy or other strategic buildings.

The initial fears of the expatriate community that the security forces were not taking the issue seriously have proved unfounded.

Random attack

The only serious incident reported in the capital so far has been an apparently random attack on an Australian man near a mosque just before Friday Prayers earlier this month.

Police have stepped up security at the US embassy

According to reports from reliable sources a group of men came out from the mosque and began smashing his car before trying to hit the man himself.

He managed to drive away without suffering any serious injuries.

But even though the threats of the radical Islamic groups have for the most part remained rhetorical, the Indonesian Government has been forced onto the defensive.

Government shifting

President Megawati Sukarnoputri has been gradually shifting her position. Initially it was made clear the government neither condemned nor supported the American air strikes.

Megawati sent a warning to Bush

But in a more recent speech which was delivered at the country's largest mosque, the president indirectly warned Washington its self-proclaimed war on terrorism did not give it the right to attack another sovereign country.

Megawati is acutely aware that although very few people support the views of the extremists, there is considerable anger amongst ordinary people about the American attacks on Afghanistan.

She also needs to ensure the continuing support of the conservative Muslim parties within her coalition cabinet.

It is this which has given the small Islamic extremist groups the opportunity to drive the agenda, even though they represent only a tiny proportion of the overall population.

But their sudden propulsion from relative obscurity into the media spotlight has been a double-edged sword. They themselves are now coming under scrutiny over possible links with Osama Bin Laden's organisation, al-Qaeda.

The issue first emerged when American officials hinted to journalists in Washington that the war on terrorism might broaden to include extremist groups in South-East Asia.

Afghan links

In interviews carried out by the BBC with leaders of the main radical organisations in Indonesia, several said they did have links with Afghanistan.

Now it has become all the more urgent for these governments to uncover the extent of the network and whether there really are links with terrorist organisations further afield

For example Jafar Umar Talib, head of the most feared extremist group, Laskar Jihad, said he had fought alongside the Afghan Mujahedin in the late 1980s.

He apparently met Bin Laden in the Pakistani city of Peshawar at that time, but did not like him as, he claims, Bin Laden was not a genuinely devout Muslim.

But even so he admitted that a senior al-Qaeda official had visited Laskar Jihad's offices in the Moluccan islands less than three months ago.

He was allegedly offering them assistance for the conflict with the Christian community there in which thousands of people have been killed over the past three years. According to Mr Jafar the offer was turned down.

But eyewitnesses say they have seen Afghans and other foreigners arriving in the Moluccan islands and being greeted by members of Laskar Jihad at the airport. It is assumed they are volunteers for the Jihad or Holy War against the Christians.

A senior member of another radical organisation, Darul Islam, told the BBC he believed Al Qaeda and other members of the International Mujahedin Association had been providing assistance to Muslim fighters in the Moluccan islands.

The man, Al Chaidar, said the assistance included transportation, communication equipment, weapons, ammunition and training. But he did not provide any evidence to back this up.

Other groups such as the Islamic Defenders' Front say they have been sending volunteers to train or fight in Afghanistan.

Regional co-operation

Also of concern to both the American and Indonesian governments are possible links between the radical groups here and those in the Philippines and Malaysia.

A former senior Indonesian Government minister has told the BBC he believes last year's attempted assassination of the Philippines ambassador to Jakarta was carried out by extremists from both the Philippines and Malaysia.

The issue of radical Islamic organisations cooperating across the region had already been raised by President Megawati during a visit to member states of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) before the 11 September attacks on the United States.

Now it has become all the more urgent for these governments to uncover the extent of the network and whether there really are links with terrorist organisations further afield.