Page 2 of 2 New terrorism front opens in
Indonesia By Bill Guerin
Sulawesi province and aim for
targets on the main island of Java. The report
also raised the possibility that certain leading
militants have already crossed into Java to link
up with JI operational leader Noordin Mohammed
Top, currently the most wanted terrorist in the
region, who is believed to be holed up somewhere
in Java.
Australia, Thailand and the
Philippines have all since issued advisories
warning their citizens against travel not just to
Sulawesi but to Indonesia as a whole, citing
unconfirmed intelligence
reports that Indonesia-based
terrorists were in the advanced stages of planning
new attacks. There are concerns among certain
security analysts that JI might attempt to stir
violence in Poso on par with the shadowy and
destabilizing insurgent operations now seen in
southern Thailand.
The government's
operations in Poso are galvanizing known Islamic
radicals. Firebrand Islamic cleric Abu Bakar
Ba'asyir, who was convicted (but soon thereafter
released) on conspiracy charges related to his
role in the 2002 Bali bombings, and who has been
tagged by both Australia and the US as one of the
region's most dangerous terrorists, has called on
all Muslims to stop serving in the government's
counter-terrorism forces in Poso. Ba'asyir has
consistently denied the charges against him and
has frequently denied that JI even exists.
Still, he has recently called his
followers to violent action. "If necessary, we
must organize a jihad," said Ba'asyir to a group
of angry protesters who had gathered outside the
National Human Rights Commission to protest the
government's handling of the Poso raids. "If
Muslims are being killed, then we must fight
back," he added. Counter-terrorism chief General
Mbai has recently claimed publicly that Ba'asyir
serves as a mentor for many JI militants in Poso.
According to intelligence sources,
Ba'asyir's followers in Solo several years ago set
recruitment activities and training camps in
firearms near Poso. Among those alleged JI
recruits was Hasanuddin, who experienced fighting
in the southern Philippines, moved to Poso in
September 2002 and later became the reputed leader
of Mantiqi III.
He has been implicated in
several acts of communal violence and was finally
arrested last May for the gruesome crime of
beheading three Christian schoolgirls. During
interrogation, he has allegedly provided the names
of several other JI operatives in the region that
Detachment 88 is now hunting.
Those
operations, however, threaten to inflame the
historically restive region into new violence.
Last month, Vice President Jusuf Kalla called a
meeting of several influential Islamic figures to
discuss the conflict in Poso. So far these
discussions have only highlighted criticism of the
government's handling of the situation, which the
Islamic leaders say is only serving to mobilize
extremist sentiments and pave the way for militant
recruitment.
For instance, Tifatul
Sembiring, chairman of the Muslim Prosperous
Justice Party (PKS), was quoted in the local press
saying police should be more selective in deciding
on the targets of their security operations. Jafar
Umar Thalib, a former radical militant who once
headed the now-disbanded Laskar Jihad group, was
closely linked to the fighting in Sulawesi in 2000
and 2001.
He recently met with Kalla and
thereafter told Adnkronos International in an
interview that although JI in Central Sulawesi
would likely be defeated by the army within the
next six months, "holy war" could spread to other
parts of Indonesia. Whether Thalib was privy to
inside information from Poso cells is unclear, but
his predictions sent a chilling warning.
As Indonesia girds itself for a potential
full-blown insurgency in Poso, the US has offered
Jakarta an unprecedented helping hand in its
counter-terrorism operations. Police chief General
Sutanto recently confirmed that US authorities
have agreed to allow Jakarta access to
Indonesia-born terror suspect Riduan Isamuddin, or
Hambali, whom the US captured in Thailand in
August 2003.
According to Western and
regional intelligence agencies, Hambali is the
mastermind behind the 2002 Bali bombings and JI's
alleged point man with al-Qaeda. Until recently
the US held Hambali at one of the Central
Intelligence Agency's secret prisons, and over the
past three years had denied Jakarta's requests to
interrogate the suspect in person. Earlier, the US
would only permit Indonesia to submit questions to
be asked by US interrogators at the secret
location.
Three and a half years since his
arrest, Hambali's knowledge of JI's current plans
is probably minimal. And if the situation in Poso
escalates, as many fear, Indonesian authorities
are going to need all the inside knowledge and
outside help they can get.
Bill
Guerin, a Jakarta correspondent for Asia Times
Online since 2000, has been in Indonesia for more
than 20 years, mostly in journalism and editorial
positions. He specializes in Indonesian political,
business and economic analysis, and hosts a weekly
television political talk show, Face to
Face, broadcast on two Indonesia-based
satellite channels. He can be reached at
softsell@prima.net.id.
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