Helping a Muslim Democracy

Thursday, September 20, 2001; Page A34

THE PARADE of presidents and ministers through Washington this week, from Britain, France, Germany, Russia and Saudi Arabia, among others, is confronting the Bush administration with some critical choices about the alliance it wants to forge in its war against terrorism, and the compromises it is prepared to make to achieve it. Some of the choices are about what action, military or otherwise, can or must be carried out through an alliance. Other decisions have to do with setting aside disputes with other nations in order to win support for the counterterrorism campaign. Hard questions have to be faced soon about Pakistan, a country that still suffers from extensive U.S. sanctions but now is being asked for far-reaching cooperation against Afghanistan. And some equally pressing issues came into view yesterday about Indonesia, a predominantly Muslim country of 200 million people whose new president, Megawati Sukarnoputri, met at the White House with President Bush.

Mrs. Megawati's claims on Mr. Bush's attention are multiple and complex. She is the leader of the largest state on earth that is both overwhelmingly Muslim and democratic, and that is in that sense a natural and valuable partner. Moreover, there is considerable evidence that Osama bin Laden, the leading suspect in last week's attacks, has fostered an extremist network inside Indonesia -- meaning that Mrs. Megawati's government has a potentially vital role to play in dismantling his organization. But Indonesia's democracy, only two years old, is very fragile; so is Mrs. Megawati's government, which took power only last month after a previous president, the leader of a large Muslim movement, was removed for incompetence. Though Mrs. Megawati condemned the terrorist attack and expressed cautious support for measures against terrorism, the ousted president and Mrs. Megawati's own vice president have both publicly suggested that the United States deserved what it suffered. More extreme Muslim groups have promised violence if Indonesia supports the United States in an attack on Afghanistan.

A logical response might be to offer Mrs. Megawati strong political, economic and military support as a way of strengthening her administration. But here too there are problems; the Indonesian military has an ugly record of human rights violations and is already using excessive force in its effort to put down separatist movements in the provinces of Aceh and Irian Jaya. Legislation passed by Congress last year banned military sales or training for Indonesia until officers guilty of crimes are prosecuted and other reforms carried out. The administration has moved toward resuming some contacts with the military, but until Sept. 11 had little impetus to do more.

The Bush administration may now face a choice of pushing Congress to allow new military aid for Indonesia despite its failure to meet past conditions -- or asking Mrs. Megawati's government to take the domestic political risk of helping the United States fight Osama bin Laden while continuing to endure U.S. sanctions. The dilemma can be dodged in part with economic support -- and the administration announced a substantial package of development aid yesterday. But if Mrs. Megawati proves willing to fully commit her government to America's cause, President Bush and Congress should be prepared to offer even stronger support in return. Though the United States should not aid a further military crackdown on Indonesia's restive provinces, its inclination should be to respond favorably to requests for help from an allied country's democratic leader.