[Kabar-indonesia] Indo News - 10/10/05

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Newsweek International
Looks Can Be Deceiving
-- SBY vows to crack down on extremists but hasn't yet acknowledged that a
major terrorist group exists. Will he speak out?
By Joe Cochrane
Oct. 17, 2005 issue

Last week Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono showed why more
than 90 percent of his countrymen rate him a good leader. The retired Army
general, who has broad shoulders and a stern gaze, inspected the sites of
multiple suicide-terrorist attacks that killed 22 people on the resort
island of Bali on Oct. 1. Looking visibly angry, Yudhoyono described the
acts as inhuman and vowed tough action. "It is obvious that we need to
take more-effective action to anticipate suicide bombings," he told
reporters.

That decisive air is precisely why voters elected Yudhoyono, who will mark
his first year in office next week. After years of waffling leadership
from the half-blind Abdurrahman Wahid and timid Megawati Sukar-noputri,
Indonesians craved a president with a democratic bent but military
bearing—someone who could restore the stability and economic growth of the
Suharto years, without the epic corruption. And indeed Yudhoyono,
popularly known as SBY, has shown flashes of resolve, most recently by
lifting fuel subsidies that were critical to millions of poor Indonesians
but were busting the budget. The much-maligned Indonesian police have done
a remarkable job of hunting down the terrorists thought responsible for
three previous attacks in the country, including the 2002 Bali bombings
that killed more than 200 people.

But looks are deceiving. While analysts call his raising of petrol prices
by nearly 90 percent on Oct. 1 one of the most profound economic reforms
enacted within the country in decades, Yudhoyono acted only after months
of hesitation; the sudden shock caused violent protests that might have
been avoided with a more gradual increase. Similarly, while he has
actively supported intelligence cooperation with the United States and
Australia to tackle the Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiah (JI) terrorist
organization, thought to be responsible for the previous bombings, he has
yet to admit that JI formally exists for fear of alienating voters in the
world's largest Muslim-majority nation. And though he has sought to
promote a more moderate form of Islam in keeping with the country's
laissez-faire traditions, SBY has also not yet attempted to reform the
hard-line Islamic schools that have proliferated in recent years. Salim
Said, a Jakarta-based political analyst, says the president needs to
revamp his leadership style. "He has to be more forceful," says Said.
"People are starting to get restless. They expect him to be tougher in the
near future."

Dealing with terrorism has been a bumpy road for Yudhoyono. Although the
Oct. 1 attacks were the first on his presidential watch, he was the
security minister under Megawati and oversaw the investigation of the 2002
Bali bombing. Prior to that attack, the government and public had been in
denial about radical Islamic groups operating in the country—despite
repeated warnings from the United States and other Western nations. Even
after Bali I, some politicians, citizens and newspapers blamed outsiders,
including the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, for the crime. Yudhoyono,
as security minister, was the first government official to publicly
acknowledge that Indonesia was under threat from Islamic terrorists.
Feeding off his leadership, Indonesian police have made 270
terrorism-related arrests and secured 170 convictions since the first Bali
bombing, including those involved in more recent attacks on a Western
hotel and the Australian Embassy in Jakarta.

But SBY, like his predecessors, has failed to go for the jugular. In
private conversations, Indonesian police, military and counterterrorism
officials say that JI was behind the 2002 bombing and two subsequent
attacks. And they suspect that the same group is responsible for the most
recent Bali bombing. Indonesia's courts have referred to numerous
terrorist defendants as JI members, and several jailed suspects have
admitted to belonging to the radical group, whose goal is to create a
Pan-Islamic state in Southeast Asia. Yet the Indonesian government's
official line is that JI doesn't exist because it's not registered as a
mass organization with the Ministry of Justice.

Yudhoyono himself is not in denial. A few months ago he publicly warned
that unnamed terrorists were plotting more attacks, and ordered police to
step up surveillance and manhunts for known JI suspects. But the president
has to weigh the political consequences of speaking out. Linking terrorism
with Islam is a very sensitive issue in Indonesia, where Jemaah Islamiah
means "Islamic community." There is a small but very vocal radical Muslim
minority, and no shortage of clerics who regularly lash out at the West.
Antiterrorism officials told NEWSWEEK that Yudhoyono could face a backlash
from Muslim-based political parties and perhaps even the public if he
condemns Islamic groups, despite the fact that secular parties have won
every election since 1959. "There is a danger of him being labeled as
siding with the West," says Brian Watters, senior technical adviser of
AGI, a Jakarta-based security and business-intelligence firm.

The problem is not merely one of semantics. Ansyaad Mbai, coordinator of
the government's counterterrorism office, complains that the government's
silence is hampering the police. Without political cover, investigators
won't dare speak out about Muslim terrorist groups. "They are waiting for
a clear political stance from the highest levels of this government," he
says.

SBY may never have a better opportunity to speak out. Despite the fuel
protests, his popularity remains nearly as high as when he steamrolled to
the presidency in September 2004 with more than 60 percent of the vote.
"All it takes is a little bit of guts to take back control of this issue
from radical Muslim organizations," says Sidney Jones, the director of the
International Crisis Group in Jakarta. She says the most recent bombings
have cut into any support the radicals may have among the populace. "He's
got enough stature where he could take prime time on Indonesian television
and explain the nature of the threat, that it's JI... and it's time to
deal with it," Jones adds.

That may be easier said than done. Last Monday, Nur Wahid, chairman of the
People's Consultative Assembly, the nation's highest legislative body,
reportedly said that the latest Bali bombings were not related to religion
but to international competition for tourism development. During an
interview with NEWSWEEK the following day, Wahid said that government
trust was an issue. He asserted that former presidents Sukarno and Suharto
fabricated bombing incidents, and then blamed them on Muslim groups, to
gain political advantage. Wahid added that successive Indonesian
governments had never presented proof that JI even existed, so they had no
right to publicly accuse the group of terrorism.

Unless he can change such attitudes, SBY will have a hard time imposing
the tough measures needed to prevent future attacks. Yudhoyono last week
ordered his armed forces to be more active in hunting terrorists, and
antiterrorism officials told NEWSWEEK they will recommend that police be
allowed to arrest anyone publicly inciting violence or glorifying
terrorism. If he wants to take the gloves off, SBY will first need to get
the public on his side. "It's time for Muslims to get angry," says one
Jakarta-based security analyst, who spoke only on background out of fear
of insulting the government. "The threat will never be destroyed until
there's this self-awareness." And the time to start is now.
-- © 2005 Newsweek, Inc.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Newsweek
'You Have to Move Forward'
-- As Indonesia recovers from the latest terror attacks in Bali, victims
of earlier attacks set an example for the survivors--and officials who
spread poisonous lies.
Web-Exclusive Commentary
By Joe Cochrane
Updated: 5:31 p.m. ET Oct. 6, 2005

Oct. 6, 2005 - Even by Indonesian standards, it was an early start. Tens
of millions of people woke up at 3 a.m. Wednesday for Sahur--a light meal
of tea and cakes that would have to suffice from sunrise until sunset. On
the first day of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, faith, duty and
purpose bound Indonesia's 190 million faithful.

But sadness and confusion also bound them. Television, radio and
newspapers shout the latest details of the investigation into Saturday
night's multiple suicide bombings on the resort island of Bali. Newspapers
in the capital, Jakarta, ran photos of three severed heads that police
believe belong to the bombers. That way the authorities hope to learn
their identities and find their accomplices.

The weekend blast brought back horrifying images--a Saturday night sent
askew, torn corpses and suffering victims, the tears of relatives. Three
years ago, I caught a Sunday morning flight from my base in Bangkok to
cover the 2002 Bali bombings. The carnage was indescribable, as was the
agony. On the plane I met Mark Weingard, a Briton who handed out fliers
asking for help finding his missing Swedish fiancé, Annika Linden. He
later learned she died in the blasts. I tracked him down by telephone in
Spain on Wednesday. His anger endures. The new bombings, he said, "will
affect all people of Indonesia--whether Hindu, Christian, Muslim--in a
negative way. It's stupid, senseless, ridiculous. It's hard to see what
they're trying to do because they're only causing problems for their own
people."

The latest attack was the fourth in three years. Its probable authors, the
terrorist group Jemaah Islamiah, will strike again, despite the efforts of
some serious Indonesian investigators. That's hard to accept. As I rode in
a cab through central Jakarta with my Indonesian assistant, Natasha
Tampubolon, we talked about the 2002 Bali bombers, now on death row. I
blurted out, "Have they executed those a--holes yet?" For the next hour,
Nur Wahid, the respected speaker of Indonesia's People's Consultative
Assembly, told me there's no evidence that Jemaah Islamiah carried out any
of Indonesia's terrorist attacks. The army, or a foreign government, could
be to blame, he said. Another Indonesian politician reportedly said an
unnamed country in the region, jealous of Bali's tourism industry,
directed the attack. Fazan al-Ansari, spokesman for the Mujaheddin Council
of Indonesia, a group of radical preachers, told me that Jews and
Westerners carried out every terrorist act for the last four years in
order to smear Islam. "It's true," he said.

That kind of cant can be infuriating. How does one deal with the anger?
Mark Weingard started a foundation in memory of his slain fiancé. It helps
victims of terrorism in Bali and poor Thai villagers. "In life you have to
take what happens, you have to move forward," he told me. "It's nice to do
things in [Annika's] name. Her spirit lives on." Indonesia needs more than
good deeds to end terrorism. But it helps when victims stand up to the
horror. And it might give Indonesian Muslims some food for thought during
the monthlong Ramadan fast.
-- © 2005 Newsweek, Inc.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Washington Post
In Indonesia, Songs Against Terrorism
By Kyai Haji Abdurrahman Wahid and C. Holland Taylor
Friday, October 7, 2005; Page A23

The latest suicide bombings on the resort island of Bali appear to have
been carried out by young Indonesian Muslims indoctrinated in an ideology
of hatred. Once again the cult of death has proved its ability to recruit
misguided fanatics and incite them to violate Islam's most sacred
teachings in the very name of God. The only way to break this vicious
cycle is by discrediting the perverse ideology that underlies and
motivates such brutal acts of terrorism.

One of us, Abdurrahman Wahid, was Indonesia's president when tragic
violence inundated the eastern region of Ambon and the Malukus six years
ago. A seemingly trivial argument between a Christian bus driver and a
Muslim passenger in early 1999 triggered a bloody religious war that
eventually claimed 10,000 lives and drove a half-million Christian and
Muslim inhabitants from their homes. Radical Muslims from throughout
Indonesia flocked to the region to wage jihad on Indonesian Christians,
backed by powerful Islamist generals and plenty of money.

The largest such group was Laskar Jihad ("Warriors of Jihad"), led by an
Indonesian of Arab descent whose ancestors came from the same province in
Yemen as those of Osama bin Laden. Jafar Umar Thalib is a veteran of the
Afghan jihad and knows bin Laden personally. Backed by spiteful generals
close to the disgraced Suharto regime, Thalib sounded the call to jihad,
and thousands of young Muslims flocked to his green banner to slaughter
Indonesian Christians in the name of God.

Enjoying powerful clandestine support, Laskar Jihad had actually
established a military training camp less than 60 miles from the capital,
Jakarta. When national police broke up the camp, Thalib promptly announced
that Laskar Jihad would sail for Ambon and wage jihad there. I (Wahid)
ordered the army generals in East Java to prevent them from sailing and
ordered the navy to intercept them if they did. I also ordered the
governor of East Java to guard the docks and prevent Laskar Jihad from
boarding. But these presidential orders were ignored by a military that
refused to accept civilian control in the newly democratic Indonesia. An
unholy alliance of fundamentalist jihadists, Islamist generals and people
close to the Suharto family ensured that thousands of Laskar Jihadists
poured into Ambon and the Malukus.

Once there, they spread out in the Muslim communities and launched
devastating raids on neighboring Christian enclaves, burning and
desecrating churches; destroying homes; and slaughtering thousands of men,
women and children.

All of Indonesia knew what was happening. It was in the news day and
night. Laskar Jihad became a symbol and a byword for the suffering
inflicted upon that region. The goal of its clandestine backers -- and
those in parliament itself -- was to create chaos and block the reform
that desperately needed to occur in the Indonesian government. They
succeeded; the process of reform ground to a halt.

Then came the first Bali bombing in 2002, with jihadists incinerating a
popular club and more than 200 people, mostly foreign tourists. Although
that attack was the work of a different jihadist group, Jemaah Islamiah,
it was obvious that the military -- by then in the hands of "red," or
nationalist, generals allied to my successor, Megawati Sukarnoputri --
would crack down on all active jihadist groups. Immediately afterward,
Thalib announced that Laskar Jihad had served its purpose, and he recalled
its warriors to Java. Thousands of battle-hardened jihadists returned to
Java's towns and villages to await his further call.

One of the people watching this tragedy unfold was a brilliant young
musician named Ahmad Dhani. Leader of the immensely popular rock band
Dewa, Dhani began to use his musical platform to influence millions of
fans in Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia to resist the tide of religious
extremism.

In response to Laskar Jihad's atrocities, and to discredit the appeal of
fundamentalist ideology, Dhani composed the best-selling album "Laskar
Cinta" ("Warriors of Love"). Released in November 2004, it quickly rose to
the top of the charts as millions of young Indonesians embraced its
message of love, peace and tolerance.

Dhani and the other members of Dewa have presented Indonesia's youth with
a stark choice, and one easy for the vast majority to answer: Do they want
to join the army of jihad, or the army of love? In response, numerous
radical Muslim groups have accused Dhani -- who is a devout Sufi, or
mystically inclined Muslim -- of being an infidel, an apostate (code words
inciting violence) and a Zionist agent. They have hauled him into court on
charges of defaming Islam and seek to ban his use of rock music to promote
a spiritual and progressive interpretation of Islam that threatens the
appeal of their own Wahhabi-inspired extremism.

Yet rather than be intimidated, Dhani recently announced to the Indonesian
press his plan to launch another "ideological smart bomb" -- in the form
of a song that uses the revelatory tone of the Koran to declare: "Truth
dwells in the hearts of those who love and are free of hatred; the hearts
of those who hate . . . are possessed by Satan."

Dhani and his group are on the front lines of a global conflict, defending
Islam from its fanatical hijackers. In a world all too often marred by
hatred and violence committed in the name of religion, they seek to rescue
an entire generation from Wahhabi-financed extremists whose goal is to
transform Muslim youth into holy warriors and suicide bombers. For every
young Indonesian seduced by the ideology of hatred and fanaticism --
including those responsible for the recent, awful attacks in Bali --
countless others see through the extremists' web of lies and hatred, in no
small part thanks to the visionary courage of people like Ahmad Dhani. For
as they listen to Dewa's music, the hearts of millions of young
Indonesians have been inspired to declare: "No to the warriors of jihad!
Yes to the warriors of love!"
-- Kyai Haji Abdurrahman Wahid is a former president of Indonesia. From
1984 to 1999 he headed Nadhlatul Ulama, the world's largest Muslim
organization, with nearly 40 million members. C. Holland Taylor is
chairman and chief executive of Libforall Foundation, a nonprofit that
works to reduce religious extremism and discredit the use of terrorism.
Dhani serves on the foundation's board. The authors can be reached
atmedia at libforall.org.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Townhall.com
Why Bali?
Oct 6, 2005
by Clifford D. May

The latest suicide-bombings in Bali should make us stop and think: What
did the people of Bali do to so anger Militant Islamists?

Balinese troops are not battling Baathist insurgents and al-Qaeda
terrorists in Iraq. Bali was not involved in toppling the Taliban in
Afghanistan. Bali hasn't sided with India over disputed Kashmir or with
Israel over the disputed West Bank.

Indeed, Bali's foreign policy can hardly be regarded as objectionable by
anyone – because Bali has no foreign policy. The predominately Hindu
island is not independent. It is part of Indonesia which happens to be the
largest Muslim nation in the world.

Yet Bali has now been struck twice by terrorists, the first time three
years ago. There also have been two attacks in the Indonesian capital of
Jakarta, one outside the Australian Embassy last year, the other at a
hotel in 2003.

What do the Islamists want? The purpose of terrorism is to terrorize – to
frighten, to intimidate. The Islamists want relatively liberal democratic
Indonesia to knuckle under.

Like the Nazis and Communists, Militant Islamists are totalitarians – they
despise democratic societies. The difference is that where Nazis saw
democracy as decadent, and Communists viewed democracy as bourgeois,
Militant Islamists regard democracy as blasphemous: It awards to citizens
powers that belong to God -- as interpreted by them, of course.

Islamists also are offended by Indonesia's traditional tolerance of its
religious minorities. In the militants' view, Hindus, Christians, Jews and
other groups living in “Muslim lands” can aspire only to be dhimmis --
second-class citizens who are grudgingly endured and whose faiths are
aggressively discouraged.

And, of course, Bali hosts Australians, Americans and other infidels who
sit on beaches wearing skimpy clothing, drinking alcohol and engaging in
additional behaviors of which Islamists disapprove. The Indonesian
journalist Sadanand Dhume wrote last week that “Saudi and Gulf
petrodollars” have been used in recent years to undermine the country's
“easy-going” Islamic traditions while indoctrinating young Muslim men to
react with violence to “the sight of a beer bottle, a church steeple or a
woman's bare head.”

Indonesia is not the only Muslim country the Islamists are targeting. In
August, scores of bombs rocked Bangladesh. Only a few people were killed
and the international community shrugged. But Bangladeshis got the message
loud and clear: “Become more like us, more Muslim – as we define the term
-- or we will make you suffer. No one can protect you. No one will even
try.”

Similarly, and again with little attention from the U.N., the media or
just about anyone else, southern Thailand has become the bloodiest killing
ground for Muslims after Iraq. Although most Thais are Buddhists, Muslims
predominate in three southern provinces. There, bombings, beheadings and
drive-by shootings have killed more than 1,000 people, including moderate
Muslims and Buddhist monks and teachers.

One conclusion should be obvious: If nations such as Indonesia, Bangladesh
and Thailand can not make themselves inoffensive to Militant Islamism
there is no way that the United States could perform such a feat, no
matter which policies we changed or how much our public diplomacy
improved.

Americans received no credit in the eyes of Islamists for their assistance
to Muslims rebelling against Soviet domination of Afghanistan, their
rescue of Kuwait from Saddam Hussein's clutches, their intervention on
behalf of Muslim communities in Kosovo and Bosnia.

But, as Vice President Cheney pointed out in a speech to Marines in North
Carolina this week, the militants did take note when Hezbollah suicide
bombers chased American forces out of Lebanon in 1983, and when terrorists
caused U.S. forces to flee Somalia ten years later. In these and many
other instances, Cheney said, “the terrorists hit America and America did
not hit back hard enough.”

The Islamists believe they now have a real chance to drive America out of
Iraq, thereby demonstrating that Lebanon and Somalia were not isolated
events but the unfolding of a historical pattern of American defeat and
retreat under fire.

Combine that with the pressure the Islamists are exerting in such places
as Indonesia, Bangladesh and Thailand and you begin to see how a new
geo-political reality could take shape.

In time, Islamists believe, they will become the dominant force throughout
Southeast Asia, across the Middle East, into Africa and beyond. They
intend to create – they would say re-create – an empire, a caliphate, that
will challenge the Great Satan, the “Crusaders,” the “unbelievers,” the
Zionists, and the Muslim “apostates” as well.

The Islamists are convinced that the stronger they become, the less they
will be resisted and the more they will be appeased. Who can say for
certain that they are wrong?
-- Clifford D. May is the president of the Foundation for the Defense of
Democracies, a policy institute focusing on terrorism and a Townhall.com
partner organization.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sydney Morning Herald
Indonesia's terrorist underground mutates
October 8, 2005
-- Jemaah Islamiah is adapting its strategy. Using smarter and smaller
weapons, it is also drawing from a wider pool of suicide bombers, reports
Marian Wilkinson.

A few months before the latest Bali bombings, the Indonesian
counterterrorism taskforce, Detachment 88, had under surveillance a string
of suspects it hoped might lead it to the veteran bombmaker Dr Azahari
Husin and his cohort, Noordin Mohammed Top. The two are the most wanted
men in Indonesia and involved in every significant attack on Western
interests since the first Bali bombings in 2002.

But an apparent breakdown in communication within the Indonesian police
scuttled the surveillance operation. Another police unit moved in to
arrest one of the targets, a militant called Abdullah Sunata, who was
linked with a charity in the strife-torn region of Ambon. With that
arrest, the counter-terrorism squad was forced to move in on the other
suspects but, security sources say, several escaped and the hunt for the
senior Jemaah Islamiah fugitives was set back.

A terrorism analyst, Dr Zachary Abuza, who followed the arrests, said
Sunata was picked up after he had sent a letter to a senior JI figure in
the Philippines, discussing the dispatch of suicide bombers to Mindanao.
That communication was also reported by Associated Press last month.

In the raids that followed Sunata's arrest, Indonesian police made several
disturbing discoveries, including bomb-making equipment that appeared to
point to small devices that could be used as suicide bombs. But the main
players, Azahari and Noordin, were nowhere to be found.

There is no hard evidence to link the discoveries in the June and July
raids to last weekend's suicide bombings in Bali. But the Balinese police
chief, I Made Mangku Pastika, has confirmed that Azahari and Noordin are
on the list of prime suspects being sought in connection with the
bombings. The material gathered in those earlier raids is being raked
over.

Soon after those raids, JI's reputed spiritual leader, Abu Bakar Bashir,
was interviewed in the visitors' room at the Cipinang prison in Jakarta,
where he set out his religious justification for suicide bombings. "The
consideration is this: if I do this, will Islam benefit or lose? If I must
die, and without my dying Islam will not win, then my dying is allowed 

because to die in jihad is noble."

Bashir is serving a 30-month sentence after being convicted on conspiracy
charges over the 2002 Bali bombings, which killed 202 people, including 88
Australians. He has already received a cut in his sentence and another is
pending, much to the outrage of the Australian Prime Minister, John
Howard.

The probing interview about Bashir's sympathies for suicide bombing was
designed by an American terrorism analyst, Dr Scott Atran, whose
Indonesian colleague, Taufiq Andrie, persuaded the cleric to answer
questions about jihad, the first Bali bombings and his frank sympathy for
Osama bin Laden's "struggle".

Flanked by two bodyguards, who were convicted over other terrorist attacks
in Indonesia, Bashir claimed he had never met bin Laden but hoped to when
he was released from prison.

"I don't agree with all of his actions," said Bashir. "Osama believes in
total war. This concept I don't agree with. If this occurs in an Islamic
country, the fitnah [discord] will be felt by Muslims. But to attack them
in their country is fine."

While Bashir repeatedly distanced himself from any specific attacks, and
continues to deny even the existence of JI, when the interview was over,
Atran had little doubt he supported the methods of the suicide bombers and
the attacks on Western interests across South-East Asia.

Bashir, Atran said, "believes martyrdom is an individual obligation and
the suicide mission cannot be trumped".

Just days before the Bashir interview, Atran's sources in JI had told him
about a new group set up outside the command structure of the organisation
to conduct suicide bombings across the region. The group, he was told, was
the brainchild of Azahari, who learned his advanced skills in Afghanistan,
and Noordin. Both have been tied to the three main attacks in Indonesia
using suicide bombers: the first Bali bombings and the Marriott hotel and
Australian embassy bombings in Jakarta.

"After the Marriott bombing, Dr Azahari and Noordin Top had bigger and
better plans," said Atran, a professor of psychology who works in Paris,
lecturing on suicide terrorism.

"They decided to set up a suicide squad called Thoifah Muqatilah -
literally 'fighter group' - for large actions against Western interests."

Like many other terrorist experts, Atran was not surprised by the latest
bombings. One week before the attacks, a terrorism analyst from the
Australian National University, Dr Greg Fealy, warned that Jemaah
Islamiah, or more likely one of its splinter groups, was still targeting
Australians in Indonesia and around the region.

"Police investigations in Indonesia have shown that JI-linked operatives
such as Azahari, Noordin Top and Zulkarnaen are actively engaged in
assembling teams and bombs for new attacks. Police have found explosive
materials and detonator components in several of Azahari's former
hide-outs, indicating his determination to continue with bomb attacks,"
Fealy said.

The raids in Indonesia came just days before the London suicide bombings
on July 7, and their significance was overlooked. In Australia, the
Government and the public switched their attention to disturbing news that
"cleanskin" locals had perpetrated the bombings on the London transport
system. The Howard Government stepped up efforts for a security crackdown
at home, including plans for sweeping security laws.

But the news from Jakarta was equally disturbing. The raids not only
confirmed that Azahari and others were planning new attacks. They also
pointed to evidence that JI-linked operatives were deepening their
relationship with terrorist operatives in the bloody religious warfare in
Indonesian regions such as Ambon and Central Sulawesi, and the
Philippines.

Meanwhile, debate grows over whether JI has split, with operatives such as
Azahari wanting to pursue large-scale terrorist attacks while others in
the movement are encouraging proselytising and education. The hardliners
have maintained links with other terrorists through the region. But the
concern is about whether these links have deepened since the first Bali
bombings, not diminished.

The bombing outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta in September last
year exposed this trend. Azahari and Noordin were both named by police as
key suspects in the organisation of that operation. But their cohort,
Rois, had much wider links than just JI.

An expert on Indonesian terrorism, Sidney Jones, from the International
Crisis Group, delved into Rois (aka Iwan Darmawan Mutho), who was
sentenced to death last month for his role in the embassy bombing.

Jones said a "network of terror" that is not limited to JI was being
created. The network was expanding - largely through personal contacts,
through shared experience in jihad - from Afghanistan to Ambon, or Poso or
the southern Philippines.

Since the Australian embassy bombing, this broad network has been involved
in numerous terrorist attacks, resulting in scores of deaths and injuries.
But because the victims were not Western, they did not make headlines in
Australia. On June 1 a nervous US embassy warned of "plans by extremists
to conduct bomb attacks targeting the lobbies of hotels frequented by
Westerners in Jakarta".

This was underscored by the Indonesian police chief, General Da'i
Bachtiar, who warned of terrorists "intensively planning to launch more
attacks". He added: "We think Azahari and his people are just outside
Jakarta."

But in Australia, the fears about terrorism stayed focused on a domestic
attack in the aftermath of the London bombings. While travel warnings for
Indonesia were updated leading up to the anniversary of the first Bali
bombings, there was no sense of imminent danger from another attack.
Indeed, the federal Minister for Health, Tony Abbott, arranged to spend
the school holidays in Bali.

Yet when the suicide bombers struck, it was not in Sydney or Melbourne,
but once again in Bali. The day after the attacks, an exhausted Australian
Federal Police commissioner, Mick Keelty, expressed his frustration that
the terrorist networks in Indonesia had not only survived to stage another
attack, but had once again turned to suicide bombers.

"The whole thing demonstrates the difficulty where suicide bombers are
enlisted. It is the same difficulty that was faced by the UK," he said.

"It is a very difficult thing to police, and it does require enormous
intelligence resources to try and keep on top of it."

As Australian police help their Indonesian counterparts in the search for
the links of these latest bombers, they are only too aware of the effort
it will take to keep on top of these deepening networks.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Crisis Centre Diocese Of Amboina
Jalan Pattimura 32 - Ambon 97124 - Indonesia
Tel 0062 (0)911 342195   Fax 0062 (0)911 355337
E-mail crisiscentre01 at hotmail.com

Ambon, October 9, 2005
The Situation In Ambon / Moluccas – Report No. 488

1. Recounting Refugees – Authorities will recount the number of displaced
people in Ambon to help smooth the distribution of delayed financial
assistance to them. Thus is reported by The Jakarta Post newspaper.
Contradictory refugee counts have caused delays in the distribution of aid
in the form of building materials to help displaced people, such as in the
Poka and Rumahtiga area, on the shore of the Bay opposite the city of
Ambon. According to data from the provincial administration, there are
1,000 displaced families in the Poka and Rumahtiga area, whereas data from
the district show that 2,200 houses have been burned down during the
conflict. So where are the uncounted families staying, whose houses were
also burned down?

Another problem is the often poor quality of the resettlement houses built
by contractors that are assigned by the government. "I am doubtful about
the work of the contractors who were only interested in making big
profits. The houses are not fit for people to live in, maybe for animals.
However, if we refuse to live there where else will we stay?" thus was
said to The Jakarta Post by Hartaty Mulyaty, a displaced woman from
Larier.

An assistant to the Maluku provincial secretary, Rahman Soumena, who also
heads the Maluku Refugee Relief Agency, promised to prosecute unscrupulous
contractors who pilfered refugee funds.

2. Stiff Verdict on Firearms Trafficker – According to The Star newspaper,
a 33-year-old Indonesian Islamic militant, named Umar Chipto Sumarto, was
found guilty of trafficking in firearms and ammunition aboard the ship
“Semoga Makmar” within Malaysian waters four years ago. He now has been
sentenced to death by the High Court in Tawau (Malaysia). The firearms
were believed to be for use in Ambon. In sentencing Umar, Justice Linton
Albert said the court must take firm action to prevent Malaysia from
becoming a haven or transit point for firearms traffickers intending to
take the lives of people in neighbouring countries.

3. Possible  Death Sentence for Terrorist Suspects – Two terrorist
suspects went on trial in Ambon District Court and could be sentenced to
death if convicted. The more notorious of them is Idi Amin Thabrani
Pattimura, alias Ongen Pattimura (35). Perusing our own reports on this
Ongen Pattimura, we find his name as a suspect of the April 3, 2002, bomb
blast in the Yan Paays Street, Ambon, which cost the lives of seven people
and caused 52 people being injured. However, he escaped being arrested
then (Reports 254, 258 and 261).

Ongen is believed to have been involved, too, in masterminding the
February 14, 2005, armed attack from a speedboat on Villa Kareoke in
Wailete, Hative Besar village, on the shore of the Bay of Ambon, which
left two people dead and another person wounded (Reports 466, 475 and
479).

On May 16, 2005, Ongen was arrested, at last, in connection with the
attack – early in the morning of that same day – on a police security post
in Loki, a village on the south coast of  West Ceram island, resulting in
five Brimob police personnel being killed. He has been found guilty of
plotting this attack, though not actually participating in it.

It is not impossible that Ongen will get the death sentence.

Another who may face the same fate is Asep Djaja alias Aji or Dahlan or
Yahya. He was involved in an attack on Wamkana village (South Buru) on May
5, 2004, which claimed two lives (Report 431). Asep was also a participant
in the earlier mentioned attack on a police security post in Loki. In the
late evening of that same day, he could be arrested in the Batumerah area
of the city of Ambon. Asep and several others had undergone military
training at Moro, Philippines.

4. Prosperous Development in Kasui – In December 2004 it could reasonably
be expected that – at last – the christian refugees from the much
afflicted island of Kasui, situated to the S.E. of Ceram island, could
prepare themselves to return from the Kei Islands to their own island. The
reason for postponement was the uncertainty about whether sincere
reconciliation could be established between the local Muslim and Christian
communities (Report 455). However, on 30 May, 2005, their return became a
fact (Report 480) Both in paving the way for this homecoming and for
coping with the first physical obstacles (housing, food, health, all kinds
of tools and utensils) they owe very much to the JRS (Jesuit Refugee
Service). We received a detailed report – enhanced by photographs – of the
successful first three months of their rebuilding their villages and
facilities.

C.J. Böhm msc
Crisis Centre Diocese of Amboina