This time last year, we were welcoming East Timor as the newest nation. Now, on the first anniversary of East Timor's independence, this week's feature article takes on an unresolved conflict in Indonesia taking place in the Aceh province and also looks at other hot spots in the sprawling archipelago of more than 13,000 islands. News Highlights provide a quick review of events in the past week, from continued insecurity in Afghanistan and Iraq to the violence in the former Zaire, now known as Democratic Republic of Congo.

CONTENTS:

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK:

1. World
2. Africa
3. Americas
4. Asia Pacific
5. Europe
6. Middle East
7. South Asia
8. Cyberterrorism and Information Warfare
9. Finance
10 Human Rights
11. Law and Legal Issues
12. Narco-terrorism
13. Transportation
14. Weapons of Mass Destruction
15. Recently Published

FEATURE ARTICLE:
Hot Spot Indonesia, from Aceh to Sulawesi

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK

1. World

The crisis over North Korea's nuclear program remains unresolved. Japan and South Korea have taken a firm stance against a nuclear peninsula, and South Korea has agreed to ship rice to the North next month. The US position is still unclear, threatening "tough measures" but offering no specificity on how to proceed. Clarification of the US policy is needed at once.

The United Nations Security Council voted to lift sanctions that had been in place against Iraq for more than twelve years. This opens the way for legal sales of oil that could help subsidize, though not fully cover the costs of reconstruction. Restoring Iraq's economy is much in the future. Security must come first, and only then can restoration of basic infrastructure begin in earnest.

Security and basic services have not been restored in Afghanistan, either. Amid increasing violence around the country and a resurgence of Taliban and al Qaeda the government has asked for urgent assistance including funding of $15 billion.

Unfortunately, Afghanistan is not the only crisis the developed world has forgotten. The G8 summit this week is deadlocked before it starts on crucial issues of land and agricultural reform. Rather than agreeing that the developed west will stop dumping agricultural exports on Africa, the US is leading the way in denying that agricultural subsidies hurt the poor and blaming opposition to genetically modified crops as the source of hunger. This position is negligent at best and will exacerbate the problems already facing the developing world, particularly the African continent that is already struggling with HIV/AIDS, economic stagnation, corruption and political violence.

Just as it looked as if Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) was coming under control, new cases in Canada have been found and travel restrictions and quarantines have been re-instituted. The virus is now believed to have jumped from the civet cat into the human population. SARS has led to greater international cooperation at a time that even more new diseases are expected to emerge.

2. Africa

Algeria's search for 15 European believed held by Islamic militants has been apparently interrupted, first by sandstorms and then by a devastating earthquake.

Democratic Republic of Congo has experienced another week of violence, focused on murderous attacks by rival militias in Bunia left in the wake of Uganda's troop withdrawal. Uganda's brutal occupation of the region and their funding of both Hema and Lendu ethnic militias has ended, but the power vacuum left behind opened the way for brutal mass murders atrocities including renewed reports of cannibalism. Two UN peacekeepers were brutally murdered. The small local observation force is outnumbered by the warring factions and in any case has no mandate to intervene with force. The UN Security Council has been unable to respond to the circumstances in a timely manner, but the violence is on both sides and has not yet turned into a genocide.

Eritrea has marked its tenth anniversary of formal independence, gained on May 24, 1991.

Ivory Coast's new government of national reconciliation has met in a rebel stronghold in another effort to rebuild security as the armed rebellion comes to an end. French and West African troops have arrived to help enforce the ceasefire and move forward with the peace agreement. Special attention will be paid at the Liberian border, which has seen the worst violence and looting and where Liberian refugees have been mistreated.

Liberia's main timber export port of Harper is now under rebel control. It was captured by a new group, the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL). The head of the UN's refugee agency visited Liberia and has suggested that President Charles Taylor, whose government is already heavily sanctioned, should step down. Liberia has still not released the body of indicted war criminal Sam Bockarie for positive identification and it is suspected they are sheltering another wanted fugitive, Paul Koroma. Both Bockarie and Koroma are wanted for their role in atrocities committed in Sierra Leone.

Morocco's investigations of the coordinated suicide bomb attacks last week has revealed the attackers are Moroccan, not foreigners, tracked to the disaffected residing in Casablanca's slums. The government has arrested dozens of suspected militants in raids on shantytowns around the country. Two of the suspects have admitted links to international organizations.

Nigeria's opposition presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, has asked the Court of Appeal to nullify the results of last month's election due to vote rigging, violence and other irregularities.

Puntland, the self-declared autonomous region of Somalia, has signed a peace agreement among the two rival sides.

Somalia, making little progress among the warring clans and warlords, faces a new tactic of civil disobedience in which for the first time a general strike shut down the capital as activists called for peace and justice.

South Africa is trying 22 alleged members of the Boermag for treason. The start of the trial, expected to last two years, has been delayed for a week to address problems with legal aid.

Sudan's latest round of peace talks has ended with no new progress, making it unlikely that a final agreement will be reached by June as previously hoped. Both sides have agreed to establish monitoring and verification mechanisms for the ceasefire.

Uganda launched a major action against foreign nationals to identify illegal immigrants and terrorism suspects. Of 200 initially detained, around 70 are still in custody.

3. Americas

Colombia's proposed anti-terrorism legislation has been criticized by human rights representatives. They say it violates basic human rights and that actions, such establishing an emergency war zone, have failed to stop the violence. A counter-terrorism unit of more than a hundred soldiers stands accused of stealing and sharing out at least $14 million found during a raid against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) last month. Fighting against the FARC killed around 29 rebels and one soldier, and several hundred indigenous people from the jungle were abused and forced to flee.

Prisoners detained at the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, may soon face military commissions. The Pentagon has appointed a chief prosecutor and defense counsel. The final decision regarding trials of the roughly 680 detainees awaits President Bush's decision.

The terrorist threat level in the US was raised to Orange "high risk" following the series of worldwide al Qaeda attacks last week. The increased risks have been seized on as political fodder by some opposition Democratic party members.

All visitors to the US required to have a visa will be photographed, have their fingerprints taken, and their movements will be monitored.

In Venezuela, an anti-government demonstration became violent. One person was shot dead and 15 were injured.

4. Asia Pacific

Australia has issued additional advice regarding safety in the event of terrorist attacks and plans to set up a new office to coordinate homeland security efforts. Australia and other US allies in the war against Iraq were named as targets in a recent al Qaeda taped statement. The opposition Labor party has said that the money spent in Iraq served only to make Australia a bigger target.

Burma and Thailand celebrated the foundations of a new bridge to link the two countries. Shortly thereafter four explosions at the border town where the bridge building agreement was signed killed at least four people. The small existing bridge is under higher security. Responsibility is unknown but may be the work of local ethnic rebels of the Shan State Army.

East Timor celebrated its first anniversary as an independent nation on May 20. For background see https://terrorismcentral.com/Newsletters/051902.html. The UN support mission in East Timor has been extended for another year.

Brigadier General Tono Suratman, former commander of Indonesian troops in East Timor responsible for the 1999 massacres, has been acquitted by Indonesian court of crimes against humanity.

Indonesia has launched a massive assault against Aceh rebels of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM). See the Feature Article, below, for background and details.

Philippine troops have launched an assault against separatist rebels of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), killing at least sixty and forcing some 14,000 civilians to flee their homes.

5. Europe

Belgium has begun prosecution of 23 alleged Islamic extremists suspected of planning and executing attacks throughout Europe.

French authorities have arrested four suspected Islamic militants.

A court in the Netherlands has freed four suspected Islamic militants suspected of links to al Qaeda because the time they had already spent in custody was greater than the sentences requested by the prosecution. Eight others will be sentenced later, but the serious charges of aiding the enemy has been dropped, so none are likely to receive heavy sentences.

Norwegians were unsettled this week when they were mentioned as a terrorist target in a recent recorded broadcast from al Qaeda. Norway was singled out along with the US, UK and Australia.

Chechen warlord Abdallakh Shamil Abu-Idris (Shamil Basayev) has claimed his supporters undertook the May 12 suicide bombings.

In municipal and regional elections today, the Spanish have voted against the ruling party, demonstrating their opposition to support for the US-led war in Iraq.

A female suicide bomber at a cafe in Ankara, Turkey killed herself and injured one other. She belonged to the leftist Revolutionary People's Liberation Army (DHKP-C) and it is thought that the bomb was prematurely detonated.

The UK has strengthened security measures around government offices and other potential terrorist targets amid heightened warnings of new attacks.

The first set of suspected terrorists detained in the UK without trial under the 2001 Anti-Terrorism and Security Act, are having their appeals against indefinite detentions without charge heard in court. Meanwhile, the nine men who hijacked an Afghani plan in 2001 were freed on appeal. The conviction was overturned because the men were fleeing Taliban persecution.

6. Middle East

Last week five Hamas suicide bombings in three days seemed set to derail the Middle East roadmap and render the idea of peace talks irrelevant. Instead, for the first time, the Israeli cabinet has narrowly approved a plan that explicitly specifies an independent Palestinian state. They have attached conditions to the approval, but it does nonetheless mark progress. Hamas may now offer a ceasefire.

In Iran, members of parliament have issued an urgent request to the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to break the intensifying political deadlock around the reform process. These calls come as tensions rise between the US and Iran stemming from US charges that Iran is sheltering al Qaeda operatives. Contacts between the US and Iran have stopped and members of the US administration have called for "regime change" in Iran using active attempts to destabilize the government, already torn between reformers and conservatives. Iran has denied harboring al Qaeda members and points to having expelled around 500 suspected terrorists in the past year.

In Lebanon, a review of the status of Palestinian refugees is underway after seven people were killed and 21 wounded, many civilians, in fighting between Yasser Arafat's Fatah and the Islamic group Osbat al-Nour that has been linked to al Qaeda.

Saudi Arabia has arrested four men suspected of helping the bombings of residential compounds in Riyadh. Some of the weapons used in that attack were traced to Saudi National Guard supplies, and the possibility of illegal arms sales is under investigation.

7. South Asia

Afghanistan's president Hamid Karzai has asked for another $15 billion for reconstruction. For details on the extent of the damage to infrastructure and the massive security problems, see Peter Oborne's excellent article "On the roads of ruin" in The Observer, May 25. http://www.observer.co.uk/review/story/0,6903,962905,00.html

President Karzai has reached an agreement with famed warlord General Abdul Rashid Dostum who has been appointed a special advisor on security and military affairs. Provincial governors have also agreed to hand over customs revenues to the central government. Four Afghan soldiers were shot dead outside the US embassy by American troops who mistook them for attackers. Demonstrators protested with banners and stone-throwing. UN aid organizations are being accompanies by troops to help prevent continued attacks against them.

In the Indian state Tripura there were several abductions last week in which rebels of the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) have targeted government administrators and contractors. One of the kidnappings, of a local farmer, led to mob violence in which several houses were set fire. In Tamil Nadu state an opposition politician has been assassinated.

In Indian-administered Kashmir, unidentified militants killed four women and two children asleep in their mountain village. There were a number of battles between militants and the Indian army: three members of Hizbul Mujahideen were shot dead, two soldiers were killed in two gunfights, and twelve suspected rebels were killed as they tried to cross in from Pakistan.

Pakistan has asked to begin nuclear disarmament talks but, despite improved relations, India has said it is not yet ready for such discussions. A politician and his nephew were assassinated in Karachi, possibly by the rival Mohajir Qaumi Movement (Haqiqi).

The peace process in Sri Lanka has a major setback as the Tamil Tigers have called for a new interim administration in the north as a precursor to resuming talks. President Kumaratunga said that she would dismiss Prime Minister Wickremesinghe if she felt he was making too many concessions to the Tigers.

8. Cyberterrorism and Information Warfare

British government figures reported that from 1999-2002 there were 11,500 passports lost in the mail.

The Washington Post has published a three-part series on internet crimes by Ariana Eunjung Cha, May 18-20. It "details the case against two hackers from the Russian town of Chelyabinsk, where many residents have had trouble finding work comparable to what was available before the collapse of the Soviet Union". http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2619-2003May17.html

A new worm called Palyh disguises itself as a Microsoft technical support message.

9. Finance

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) will assume responsibility for terrorist financing investigations. As currently constituted, Operation Green Quest (conducted by the Customs Service and now part of the Department of Homeland Security) will be closed.

Police in Northern Ireland have uncovered a DVD and CD counterfeiting operation possibly linked to loyalist paramilitaries.

The US administration has imposed a 2-year ban against North China Industries Corp (Norinco) for alleged sales of military technology to Iraq. The charges have been denied. Norinco is one of China's largest firms.

Saudi Arabia has announced new guidelines to crackdown on unregulated charitable contributions. This has already had a negative effect on al Barakaat, the major financial organization (a hawala) in Somalia.

10. Human Rights

A report to the US House Judiciary Committee has found that new powers given to the Justice Department under the Patriot Act to fight terrorism have instead often been used for crimes unrelated to terrorism, including fraud, theft and narcotics use. http://www.house.gov/judiciary/news052003.htm

Australian police are investigating new claims of abuse at the notorious Woomera refugee camp form which the residents have now been removed.

It is the tenth anniversary of the war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

11. Law and Legal Issues

Kostas Avramidis has been arrested in Greece on suspicion of aiding the November 17 terrorist group.

Mukhtar al-Bakri joined six of his colleagues in an alleged al Qaeda terror cell in Buffalo New York in pleading guilty to supporting terrorism by attending an al Qaeda training camp.

Adil Charkaoui has been arrested in Canada on suspicion for ties to al Qaeda.

Amrozi's trial in Indonesia for his role in the Bali bombing will continue now that defense claims that the indictment was invalid have been rejected.

Jingling Hen ("Ms Ping") and seven colleagues are on trial in the Netherlands for their role in a human trafficking operation that arranged for thousands of illegal immigrants to be transported to the UK. Nine people have already been jailed for shipping 58 people who died in the back of a refrigerated truck.

Sayed Abdul Malike was arrested in New York on charges of false statements and drug possession in connection with allegedly attempting to purchase explosives and other items.

The war crimes trial of Slobodan Milosevic continued this week, entering the fourth year since the indictment. The judge has given the prosecution a deadline of 100 more days to complete the case for genocide against him.

Dragan Obrenovic pleaded guilty at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia to a crime against humanity in connection with the 1995 siege of Srebrenica.

Imam Samudra, alleged senior member of Jemaah Islamiyah, has been charged in a 43-page indictment with planning the Bali bombings.

Brigadier General Tono Suratman, former commander of Indonesian troops in East Timor responsible for the 1999 massacres, has been acquitted by Indonesian court of crimes against humanity.

12. Narco-terrorism

The big increase in Afghanistan's heroin trade was the subject of a 2-day conference that included delegates from more than 50 countries who discussed ways to stop smuggling and cut back demand.

13. Transportation

Due to budget cuts, the Transportation Safety Administration will reduce the number of security screeners.

The US General Accounting Office has released a report on rail transportation, calling for increased security, particularly to safeguard hazardous materials as they await delivery. "Rail Safety and Security: Some Actions Already Taken to Enhance Rail Security, but Risk-based Plan Needed" GAO-03-435, May 23 http://www.gao.gov/audit.htm

All visitors to the US required to have a visa will be digitally photographed, have their fingerprints taken, and their movements will be monitored. This involved an estimated 23 million visitors per year.

14. Weapons of Mass Destruction

International Atomic Energy Administration (IAEA) experts are returning to Iraq to investigate the effect of widespread looting and disruption of radiological and nuclear materials.

The US administration is moving forward with a plan to develop tactical nuclear weapons for battlefield use.

An agreement by Russia, Sweden and France has been reached to clean up the nuclear waste left over from Russia's dismantled nuclear submarines.

The US Congressional Research Service has issued a report that finds US gun laws can be exploited by international terrorists who can easily obtain assault weapons and explosives.

15. Recently Published

Juval Aviv, "The Complete Terrorism Survival Guide" Juris Publishing

Jennifer Lee Carrell, "The Speckled Monster: A Historical Tale of Battling Smallpox" Dutton

Michael Ignatieff, "Empire Lite: Nation Building in Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan" Minerva

Bernard-Henri Levy, "Qui a Tue Daniel Pearl?" Grasset (in French)

Stuart Poole-Robb and Alan Bailey, "Risky Business: Corruption, Fraud, Terrorism and Other Threats to Global Business" revised edition. Kogan Page.

Marjane Satrapi, "Persepolis" Pantheon (graphic novel, account of Iranian childhood)

Fareed Zakaria, "The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad" Norton

FEATURE ARTICLE: Hot Spot Indonesia, from Aceh to Sulawesi

Indonesia is the world's largest archipelago, spanning nearly two million square kilometers in area, containing more than 13,000 islands. Indonesia hosts the world's largest Muslim population and people speak more than 300 languages. The largest ethnic groups are the Javanese (45 percent), followed by Sundanese (14 percent), Madurese (7.5 percent), coastal Malays (7.5 percent) and a mixture of other groups comprises 26 percent.

This sprawling area of well established, sophisticated kingdoms was pulled together under one government by the Dutch, beginning in the 17th century as the Dutch East Indies. During the second World War, the Japanese invaded and at the end of the war helped Sukarno, the independence leader, to return from internal exile and declare independence, that was finally achieved only after four years of guerilla warfare. Sukarno's daughter, Megawati Sukarnoputri, is now the fifth president of Indonesia.

Years of instability have followed independence, stemming from development problems whose root causes include the disparate, polyglot population; secessionist movements; low levels of regional security; and weak legal and financial systems.

Political violence in the new Indonesia began in the 1950s when the Moluccan Islands (formerly the Spice Islands) declared independence and fought an unsuccessful separatist war. The Mollucas were stable until violent sectarian conflict broke out in 1999 between Christians and the majority Muslims, sparked by economic dislocation, demographic changes, and the emergence of the militant Laskar Jihad. This conflict was ended after three years by a peace agreement in February 2002.

1999 was also the year of the East Timor massacres. East Timor had not been part of the Dutch East Indies but was instead a Portuguese colony. It was granted independence in 1975 and Indonesia, that ruled western Timor, invaded. East Timor was annexed as a province, a move that was violently opposed by the independence movement until free elections were finally held in a UN-sponsored referendum in 1999. The vote for independence was met with brutal suppression imposed by Indonesian troops and the militias they supported. (For details of this see https://terrorismcentral.com/Newsletters/051902.html)

East Timor was one of the casualties of a legacy of authoritarianism and military rule that had characterized Indonesia since 1965, when General Suharto seized power from Sukarno. His policies fostered corruption and led to severe human rights abuses that helped to increase simmering ethnic conflicts. By 1998 the damage was so bad that rioting forced him from power.

Suharto has never been brought to justice and his economic and political tactics have continued to encourage simmering conflicts around Indonesia, particularly in the provinces of Riau, Kalimantan, Papua, Sulawesi, Bali and Aceh.

Riau is on the island of Sumatra. As one of the largest suppliers of Indonesian oil, the people have demanded a greater share of the wealth. The disparity between the oil wealth and a 30 percent poverty rate led to calls for independence to allow more economic control. Indonesia has responded to these demands by increasing Riau's share of the proceeds gained from their natural resources. There have been no major outbreaks of violence.

Kalimantan takes up most of the island of Borneo; a third is part of Malaysia. Here, the indigenous Dayaks are fighting immigrant Madurese from Java, brought in under a government land program. The conflict is centered on the use of natural resources, including timber. Inter-ethnic violence began in 1997 and reached its height in 2001 when 500 Madurese were killed and some 100,000 fled.

Papua is the largest but most undeveloped of Indonesia's provinces, with huge oil, timber and mineral reserves. Papuans are Melanesians and the province was only incorporated into Indonesia in 1969, originally as the Irian Jaya province. Papuans point to the ethnic and historic differences as grounds for independence, but the real motive to control of natural resources. The Papuan Presidium Council is pursuing independence through political means while guerillas of the Free Papua Movement (OPM) are taking the route of armed struggle. The Indonesian military has responded brutally, and Papua has also suffered from repeated human rights abuses.

Sulawesi is a remote fishing- and agriculture-based region. Militant Islamic group Laskar Jihad is active there and has fought against Christians, including a militant group called Red Force. A disarmament program last year has so far ended the violence.

Bali was a tourist destination until last October, when it became a tool for Islamic militants to use against western interests. The Bali bombings killed more than 180 people, mostly tourists. Jemaah Islamiyah is believed the most likely group responsible for this bombing.

Then we have Aceh. Aceh was a prominent independent Sultanate before becoming part of the Dutch East Indies. Its identity is constructed around the memories of being a pre-colonial power. The separatist Free Aceh Movement (Gerakan Aceh Merdeka, GAM) was founded by a descendant of the last sultan, Hasan di Tiro, in 1976.

Over nearly three decades of violence, at least 10,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed.

Aceh is another province rich in natural resources. As it did elsewhere, the Indonesian government kept most of the proceeds of the rich oil and gas resources. They controlled dissent with military force, including many human rights abuses. For example, in the 1990s, the Indonesian army designated Aceh as a special combat zone and killed more than 2,000 civilians.

Even after Suharto's fall, military violence and human rights abuses continued. The military attacked human rights groups while GAM imposed war taxes and attacked foreign gas installations. In 2001 Indonesian troops launched a major military offensive that lasted several months. President Sukarnoputri, newly elected, apologized for past human rights abuses and attempted peace talks that failed. With help from an outside mediator, the two sides agreed to look for interim solutions (including the introduction of Sharia law) and to schedule elections. In December, GAM and the Indonesian government reached a ceasefire agreement.

The peace agreement included terms for the immediate ceasefire, free elections for an autonomous but not independent government in 2004, disarmament and a military withdrawal to defensive positions. It also agreed that the provincial Aceh government would keep 70 percent of oil and gas revenues.

In the past five months, there have been repeated breaches of the ceasefire. The rebels have not given up their weapons and the military has not withdrawn.

On May 12, Indonesia withdrew from the ceasefire. The Indonesian army claimed it could defeat GAM within six months. On May 18, GAM refused to accept the government ultimatum to disarm and renounce independence. That was the end of the peace talks.

The government has now mounted a military offensive against GAM and imposed martial law. As many as 45,000 Indonesian troops are now at battle against fewer than 5,000 GAM guerillas. The offensive began with warships, fighter jets, rocket attacks and paratroopers landing on the island.

Dozens of rebels have been killed or captured. But GAM casualties pale before those of the civilian population. Soldiers are going door to door, beating and threatening villagers and shooting them in their beds and in their backs. By mid-week 300 schools had been burned down, displacing 23,000 or more children. Public transportation has been paralyzed and tens of thousands are fleeing the battle on foot. There are further reports of arbitrary executions by Indonesian soldiers, including children and villagers fleeing the fighting.

Unfortunately, these reports are all too plausible. The Indonesian army has a long record of abuses and there is no reason to believe it would behave better than it has in past conflicts. There is also no reason to believe that the military action will resolve the conflict.

The independence movement lasted for 27 years, despite repeated military efforts, because it offers a focus for popular dissent against the central Indonesian government. Troops have already committed enough civilian atrocities in this offensive to ensure that the prospect of winning over the population is utterly unrealistic.

Worse still, the military action against Aceh's conservative Muslim population will also lend additional weight to Islamic militant groups across the region and internationally.

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