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World>Terrorism & Security
posted September 15, 2004, updated 11:40 a.m.

The terrorist vote 'down under'

Terrorism and national security become the central issues in Australia's national elections.

by Jim Bencivenga | csmonitor.com

When Australia elects its next prime minister on Oct. 9, terrorism and national security will hold center stage for both Labor Party leader Mark Lathan and Conservative Party leader and Prime Minister John Howard.

"If anyone wants evidence that the war on terrorism has changed Australian domestic politics, the past few days provide it," reports Melbourne's The Age.

"Australia is, for the first time, the clear and specific target of Indonesian-based terrorists", editorialized the Sydney Morning Herald.

The car bomb detonated outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta last Thursday prompted concerns that militants could be using what the BBC calls a " Madrid tactic," by trying to target the outcome of the general election.

It was the third major strike by terrorists in Indonesia in the past two years, following the Aug. 2003 suicide bombing at Jakarta's JW Marriott Hotel, in which 12 people perished, and the Oct. 2003 Bali attacks that killed 202.

Indonesian officials believe the car bomb was likely the act of the terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah, reports the BBC. Nine people, all Indonesians, were killed.

Both Mr. Lathan and Mr. Howard suspended campaigning in reaction to the bomb attack.


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The issues, played out in the heat of a national political campaign, resonate with the presidential election in the United States and look familiar to Americans.

Australian analysts have said that Howard could be punished by voters who fear Australia's involvement in Iraq has made the country more of a target for extremists. On the other hand, Australians may feel that during this time of great uncertainty, they may again turn to Howard, who has guided the country through the aftermath of 11 September and the Bali bombings, reported the BBC.

Claims earlier this week that two Australians had been taken hostage in Iraq ( still not officially confirmed), and demands by their captors for Australia to get out of Iraq, crystalized what pundits said had already taken place - terrorists were trying to influence the upcoming elections.

Iraqi terrorists directed a statement to Howard: " tell the infidels of Australia that they have 24 hours to leave Iraq or the two Australians will be killed," The Age quotes the terrorists as stating. Howard should announce the pull-out "if he is concerned about his two citizens."

In a recent debate between Howard and Lathan, Howard was asked if Australia's role in Iraq had raised Australia's profile as a terrorist target. He said:

Australia had been a target long before its Iraq involvement; that the idea we suddenly became a target because of Iraq 'is false'; and that 'the day this country allows terrorists to determine things like that is the day we lose control over our future.'

However, he did not directly comment on the original question as to whether participation in the Iraq war increased the risk of attack in Australia, observed columnist, Michelle Grattan in The Age.

And while the embassy bombing comes just prior to the Australian election, it is even closer to Indonesia's landmark presidential poll on September 20. There is likely linkage in terrorists efforts to effect the outcome of that election as well writes columist John Hughes in The Christian Science Monitor.

It was not an Australian embassy in Singapore or Manila that was targeted, but the embassy in Indonesia. That choice, too, is significant and points to a clear political design behind the planning.
Indonesia is one of those countries - like Pakistan and Turkey - that are Muslim but not Arab. In fact, Arabs make up less than a fifth of the Muslim world. The observance of Islam in Indonesia - with a population of 216 million, the largest Muslim country in the world - is far less radical than it is throughout the Arab world.

Urging solidarity and cooperation with Indonesia in the face of possible political extortion, the Sydney Morning Herald editorialzed that Australians should anticipate a positive outcome from the upcoming Indonesian elections:

The frontrunner, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, is an articulate, outward-looking reformist, who is far more comfortable with Australia than his rival, the incumbent, Megawati Sukarnoputri. Regardless of who wins, the election represents substantial progress in Indonesia's transition to democracy. This suggests good prospects for a maturing bilateral relationship, extending far beyond the co-operation forged through the tragedy of terrorist attacks.

The Age reminded its readers in an editorial that the means to a national consensus on terrorism and national security is as important as the consensus itself.

Whenever terrorists take hostages, political leaders carry a heavy burden of responsibility. While all of them must remain clear about not buckling to terrorists, they also need to acknowledge the legitimacy of political differences about the best ways to tackle an evil and complex threat.