Robert Go, Jakarta – The anti-US backlash in Indonesia is approaching a feverish pitch.
Dr Amien Rais, Speaker of the country's top legislative body, wrote yesterday in his nationally syndicated column which appeared in many newspapers, that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has cooked up "misleading information in order to provoke trouble in Indonesia".
After Monday's grenade explosion in a car travelling near a US-embassy house, the widely read Rakyat Merdeka yesterday speculated that "America plotted bomb in Menteng", and suggested that the United States engineered the blast to convince people that terrorists are after US targets in Indonesia actively.
"Parliament denounces US", a lead story in the popular Koran Tempo talks about Indonesian legislators' petition to refuse "American arrogance", and urges President Megawati Sukarnoputri's government to stand up and defy US demands.
Events seem to be playing out as a number of moderate Muslim leaders and secular analysts have warned in recent weeks – pushing Indonesia too hard and too fast on the terror issue risks sparking demonstrations and inflaming anti-American sentiments.
National pride and sovereignty issues are serious business here. The people and their political leaders are quick to pounce when they think other countries are trying to push Jakarta towards one policy or another. The reaction is especially quick and acute when that "other" country is the US.
Religion is also a powerful political tool, and the country has several political leaders who are experts at using their Islamic identities to attract voters. Among them were Vice-President Hamzah Haz and Justice Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra, both leaders of popular Islamic political parties.
Mr Hamzah, who opposed Ms Megawati's earlier bid for the presidency because of her sex, was also quick to embrace Jafaar Umar Thalib after the police arrested him for allegedly stirring up religious strife in riot-torn Maluku province.
These factors may explain why Indonesians choose to reject evidence suggesting that their country has become a regional base of operations for international terrorists.
It may well be that Indonesia has a terrorism problem on its hands. But getting the authorities to act will require convincing the public that any such move is not an anti-Islam one, and that Jakarta is acting in its own best interest.