[Kabar-indonesia] AT: Indonesia's Fizzling Terrorist Threat [+IHT; Disbanding Mass Groups; Bashir]

[JoyoNews at aol.com]

6 reports: 

- AT: Indonesia's Fizzling Terrorist Threat

- IHT: America's Message to the Muslim 
  World [incl: Indonesia]

- Interview - Indonesia cleric urges moderate 
  Muslims to speak up

- Indonesian government said planning 
  to disband anti-US Islamic mass groups

- Australian PM said to have cancelled 
  Indonesia visit over Ba'asyir's release

- Indonesian official: Decision not to freeze 
  Ba'asyir assets will affect UN ties

Asia Times
Thursday, June 22, 2006

Indonesia's Fizzling Terrorist Threat

By Bill Guerin 

JAKARTA - Within hours of his release from prison, Abu Bakar Ba'asyir wasted 
no time reiterating his jihadi mission. The firebrand Islamic cleric, 
identified by the United States and Australia as one of Southeast Asia's most 
dangerous terrorists, urged Indonesian Muslims to "unite behind the Islamic goal and 
strengthen the Islamic brotherhood and work to establish sharia" (Islamic law). 

Ba'asyir, 68, widely recognized as the spiritual head of the militant Jemaah 
Islamiyah (JI) organization, was convicted last year on conspiracy charges 
related to his role in the 2002 Bali bombing that killed more than 200 people. 
His early release after
serving 25 and a half months was criticized by US and Australian officials 
for being much too lenient, and some have warned it could re-energize the JI 
network he allegedly heads. 

But how much of a threat does JI really pose nowadays? Indonesia's US-trained 
and -equipped elite police counter-terrorism team, known locally as 
Detachment 88, has recently captured or killed more than 200 suspected JI-linked 
militants. The legal status of most of the detainees is unclear, though officials 
say they are being held under 2003 anti-terrorism legislation that allows for 
detention without trial. 

Indonesian police have recently made some high-profile hits. They ran down 
Malaysian geophysicist Azahari Bin Husin, JI's chief bomb maker, who allegedly 
designed the explosives for the 2002 Bali bombing, the Marriott Hotel bombing 
of 2003, and the 2004 bomb attack on the Australian Embassy in Jakarta. He blew 
himself up before security officials could nab him, though they did uncover 
evidence of plans for future bomb attacks. Indonesian authorities say that 
nearly all of the militant suspects in their custody have cited Ba'asyir as their 
inspiration. (Ba'asyir, for his part, has consistently denied that JI exists.) 

Ba'asyir's release could give a big boost to regional jihadists, US and 
Australian officials warn. Speaking to to a delegation of foreign creditors from 
the Consultative Group on Indonesia soon after the release, President Susilo 
Bambang Yudhoyono said, "Our national efforts to combat terrorism are not 
measured by the release of Ba'asyir. We are fully committed in continuing the fight 
against terrorism." 

Syamsir Siregar, head of the State Intelligence Agency (BIN), meanwhile, 
expressed his hopes after Ba'asyir's release that he will cooperate with terrorism 
investigators to nab militant suspects. 

Australia and the US have asked Indonesia to keep Ba'asyir under 24-hour 
watch, but the Justice Ministry has said his release was unconditional. Kevin 
Rudd, Australia's federal opposition spokesman on foreign affairs and trade, said 
it means that there is now an "anti-Australian, anti-Western mass murderer on 
the loose in Indonesia". 

A US Embassy spokesman said there was cause for concern: "We were deeply 
disappointed that a person convicted of a sinister conspiracy was given such a 
short prison sentence." 

Despite calls from Washington and Canberra, Jemaah Islamiyah still has not 
been banned in Indonesia. Yudhoyono, echoing Ba'asyir's line, says there still 
is not enough evidence to establish that the organization actually exists. 
Western terrorism experts and the Singaporean government have issued a series of 
in-depth research reports that chronicle JI's history, accomplished and foiled 
plots, and alleged members. Those reports, drawing on regional intelligence 
sources, say JI has a vision of carving out a new pan-Islamic state across 
Southeast Asia encompassing Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and parts of the 
Philippines and Thailand. 

What's unclear is whether that literature is now out of date. Some terrorism 
experts believe that the recent crackdown has severely dented JI's operations 
and splintered its leadership. According to counter-terrorism official 
Syamsir, JI is now controlled by three hardline Indonesians: Zulkarnaen, the alleged 
commander of the militant wing; explosives expert Abu Dujana; and operations 
chief Zuhroni. Noordin Mohamed Top, a Malaysian accused of orchestrating a 
series of JI-inspired bombings in Indonesia, is still at large and allegedly takes 
his orders from the top three, according to Siregar. 

Terrorism experts say that the 2003 arrest of JI operations chief Riduan 
Isamuddin, or Hambali, in Thailand was a major blow to JI's organization and 
operations. Hambali, who has been dubbed by the US Central Intelligence Agency 
(CIA) the Osama bin Laden of Southeast Asia, is being held at an undisclosed 
location by US officials. 

Indonesian officials point to the lack of any significant terrorist attacks 
over the past 18 months as evidence that JI's potency has been reduced as a 
result of the recent crackdown. 

Pleasing the West

Indonesia's strategic significance to the United States assumed a new and 
urgent dimension after the September 11, 2001, terror attacks. Southeast Asia was 
soon thereafter identified by Washington as its second front of the "global 
war on terror". US officials have since worked hand-in-hand with regional 
security forces, particularly in the Philippines, Thailand and Singapore, to track 
and apprehend suspected terrorists. 

Indonesia, with its complex political dynamics and fractured internal 
security apparatus, was until recently viewed by the US as the weakest link in its 
regional counter-terrorism campaign. Washington had frequently warned of 
terrorist cells and planned attacks, including intelligence reports that presaged the 
2002 Bali bombing. 

Former US ambassador to Indonesia Ralph "Skip" Boyce had frequently chastised 
president Megawati Sukarnoputri's government for failing to neutralize the 
terrorist threat. After repeated US warnings fell on deaf ears, Washington 
threatened to withdraw its diplomatic presence in Jakarta apart from essential 
staff members. 

Megawati's inaction was rooted in her concerns about a possible nationalist 
backlash and breakup of her fragile coalition government - members of which, 
notably the vice president, were sympathetic to fundamentalist Islamic causes - 
if she launched a crackdown on suspected Islamic militants. Moreover, a 
crackdown would have handed the military new powers at a time Megawati was striving 
to end the military's dominant role in politics. 

Washington drastically changed its tune after the election of Yudhoyono in 
September 2004. During an official visit to Indonesia in March, US Secretary of 
State Condoleezza Rice referred to the country as a model of democratic and 
moderate Islam. Following up, B Lynn Pascoe, the current US ambassador to 
Indonesia, said, "I am struck by the dramatic changes in the US-Indonesian 
relationship. Our presidents have met three times during a short period for substantive 
discussions of bilateral and global issues." 

Last year the US resumed military-to-military contacts with the Indonesian 
military (TNI) after nearly a decade's suspension because of human-rights 
issues, including the TNI's involvement in the devastation of East Timor in 1999. 
More recently, Washington has also dangled the prospect of a bilateral 
free-trade agreement with Jakarta, similar to the pacts it has signed or is negotiating 
with regional strategic allies in Singapore, Australia and Thailand. 

Washington has supported Yudhoyono's quiet, yet tough, tack. The US Embassy 
in Jakarta quietly vets potential members of the Detachment 88 
counter-terrorism unit it supports for their individual human-rights records. And Yudhoyono's 
government's gradual arrest of more than 200 suspected militants has so far 
failed to generate major media or human-rights groups' attention. 

Instead, counter-terrorism officials have focused on the few high-profile 
catches. The key actors responsible for the Bali attacks have been identified, 
caught and tried. Three of them were sentenced to death. Last September, 
suspected JI militants Ahmad Hasan and Iwan Darmawan Mutho were also given death 
sentences for their alleged roles in the 2004 Australian Embassy bombing. 

Publicly moderate, privately tough

A retired army general and former top security minister, the US-trained 
Yudhoyono clearly fits the mold of Washington's idea of a model Muslim leader: 
publicly moderate but behind-the-scenes tough on terrorism. Those credentials 
apparently helped to assuage the US administration's previous concerns about the 
Indonesian military's spotty human-rights record. In February 2005, just five 
months into Yudhyono's term, the US lifted long-running restrictions and 
resumed full International Military Education and Training (IMET) for Indonesian 
armed forces. 

In his meeting this month with US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, 
Yudhoyono said he wanted to establish a permanent military relationship with the US. 
He has a friend in Rumsfeld, but detractors in Congress. Asked about 
human-rights reforms in Indonesia's military, Rumsfeld said he did not believe that the 
ban on US military assistance should have been imposed in the first place. "I 
am not one of those people who believe that every country should be like the 
United States," he said. 

Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Hassan Wirayuda noted a "growing and 
accepted view in the US to see Indonesia in a much broader context than in 
snapshots of events like human-rights violations ... and military reform". 

Of course a politically stable, US-friendly Indonesia serves Washington's 
broad foreign-policy objectives of combating terrorism and consolidating its 
military positions in the region - notably at a time China's influence is growing. 
The US is particularly concerned about possible terrorist threats to the 
Malacca Strait, the waterway separating Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore that 
links the Indian and Pacific Oceans and through which half of the world's oil 
supplies and a third of global commerce flows. 

Piracy is rampant in the Malacca Strait, and US and Southeast Asian 
intelligence services are reportedly investigating possible links between pirates and 
terrorist groups, particularly JI. The terror rationale: a strike on shipping 
lanes would cause massive political and economic disruption and make vulnerable 
the United States' security installations in the region. A bigger US naval 
presence in the Malacca Strait also conveniently puts Beijing on edge, as most 
of China's fuel imports travel through the narrow shipping lane. 

The US has been pushing to play a bigger role in counter-terrorism patrols, 
which some Association of Southeast Asian Nations members, particularly 
Malaysia, have at least privately resisted. 

Indonesian Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono also warned Rumsfeld that the US 
should not interfere too much in regional counter-terrorism efforts. 

"The primary responsibility for security and anti-terrorism measures should 
lie with national governments, rather than the US forcing its will on other 
countries," Sudarsono said. "As the largest Muslim country, we are very aware of 
the perception ... that the United States is overbearing, which creates a 
sense of threat for many groups." 

For Washington, a closer relationship with a democratic and moderate 
Indonesia is an important confirmation that the "war against terrorism" is not a 
confrontation with Islam, even though there has definitely been an upsurge in 
Islamic extremist groups in Indonesia since the fall of president Suharto in 1998. 

Islamic groups are lobbying to transform the historically secular country 
into an Islamic state, while others like JI allegedly still want to pursue jihad 
against the West. The majority of Southeast Asia's Muslims, including in 
Indonesia, have widely rejected Islamic radicalism at democratic polls - a point 
Washington has only belatedly awoken to. 

Any indication that Washington is somehow backing state-sponsored 
human-rights abuses in the pursuit of counter-terrorism policies would hand Indonesia's 
radicals an important victory - as it has in Iraq. As the US and Yudhoyono's 
administration draw closer together in fighting the "war on terror" and beyond, 
there is still a deep sense of mistrust among even moderate Muslims about 
Washington's intentions. 

Therein lies the rub behind Ba'asyir's release, which was done in spite of 
shrill US and Australian objections. If and when the radical cleric resumes his 
intolerant, anti-US rhetoric, his speeches will be closely monitored. And if 
the bombs start to blast again, he'll be the first suspect called in for 
interrogation. But increasingly, it seems that Ba'asyir and JI - at least for now - 
are shadows of their former larger selves, and that behind the public 
posturing the US and Australia couldn't be happier with Yudhoyono's counter-terrorism 
policies. 

Bill Guerin, a Jakarta correspondent for Asia Times Online since 2000, has 
worked in Indonesia for 20 years, mostly in journalism and editorial positions. 
He has been published by the BBC on East Timor and specializes in 
business/economic and political analysis related to Indonesia. He can be reached at 
softsell at prima.net.id. 

-------------------------------------------

International Herald Tribune
June 21, 2006

Op-Ed Contributor

America's Message to the Muslim World  

Craig Charney and Steven A. Cook 
The Boston Globe

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice shocked Indonesia during a recent trip. 
Instead of focusing on familiar U.S.-Indonesia issues - terrorism, business and 
military ties - Rice promised funds for an Indonesian version of the 
children's television program "Sesame Street." The Muslim nation saw her unveil 
America's newest agent abroad - a big red puppet named Elmo. A local blogger wrote, 
"This is one export the United States can be truly proud of."
 
The news from the Muslim world is not that anti-Americanism has grown - 
that's old hat. The real news is that America's image in Muslim lands is starting 
to get better. Government and corporations are retooling U.S. public diplomacy 
in the Middle East, South Asia and Southeast Asia, with encouraging results. 
Still, America's efforts remain paltry compared with private-sector marketing 
campaigns. Puppet diplomacy can help, but restoring America's image will take 
much more.
 
Although Americans have seen numerous reports of growing anti-Americanism in 
Arab and Muslim countries since 2001, this is not the whole story. In focus 
groups conducted for the Council on Foreign Relations in Egypt, Morocco and 
Indonesia, people still admired American education, science, economic strength and 
law. Moreover, polls show that immediate local issues - education, political 
change, corruption and job opportunities - concern most Muslims more than Iraq 
and the West Bank.
 
These findings suggest bases for a more effective public diplomacy. The U.S. 
message in the Muslim world should be that America is a partner in development 
and democracy. Since Karen Hughes became under secretary for public diplomacy 
and public affairs last year, she has begun to craft a message about reform 
and change.
 
Rice's speech to Jakarta intellectuals stressing partnership in education and 
health care was another notable change. The U.S. Agency for International 
Development has begun a pilot program plugging its good works in Indonesia. The 
recent earthquake there was followed by widely reported American relief 
efforts, too.
 
Together with America's generous, well-publicized relief after the 
devastating 2004 tsunami, these efforts have turned around perceptions of America among 
Indonesians. The latest poll shows 44 percent are favorable to America and 41 
percent unfavorable. That's quite a shift from the 85 percent unfavorable to 
15 percent favorable ratio found in a 2003 poll.
 
Realizing that anti-Americanism is bad for business, the private sector is 
also getting involved. Hughes encouraged U.S. business leaders to contribute 
$100 million to earthquake-stricken Pakistan, while ExxonMobil, McDonald's, 
Microsoft and other big companies formed Business for Diplomatic Action, which 
seeks to rebuild bridges overseas.
 
This good news is obviously welcome, but much remains to be done. The 
worldwide U.S. public diplomacy budget is only $350 million - one-fifth of Coke's 
global ad spending for its products.
 
Of course, a new American approach to communicating with Muslims faces 
obstacles. One cause of Muslim outrage is the gap between America's democratic 
rhetoric and the reality of Washington's support for authoritarian leaders in the 
Islamic world. American talk of democracy and reform will not be credible if it 
is just spin; it must be reflected in deeds, too.
 
Moreover, there are limits to even the best communication effort. Policy 
differences over Iraq, and the war on terror (which, to many Muslims, looks like a 
war on Islam) affect how Egyptians, Pakistanis and other Muslims see America.
 
Nevertheless, the evidence indicates that renewed U.S. efforts have started 
to change Muslim minds about America. Greater success will take more public and 
private resources, along with tact and creativity. Reaching the Muslim world 
demands a more serious effort by America to put its best foot forward - even 
if it is a red and furry one. 
 
Craig Charney is president of Charney Research, a polling firm, and a 
consultant to the Council on Foreign Relations, where Steven A. Cook is a fellow.
 
-------------------------------------------

Interview - Indonesia cleric urges moderate Muslims to speak up

By Achmad Sukarsono and Jerry Norton

JAKARTA, June 21 (Reuters) - Islamic moderates must speak out to
counter extremism and terrorism, the chief of the largest Muslim group
in Indonesia said on Wednesday.

Hasyim Muzadi of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) also criticised the media in
Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, as well as
internationally for giving undue attention to radicalism and violence
and exaggerating their influence.

Speaking on the sidelines of an international conference sponsored by
the 40 million-strong group, Muzadi said political freedom in newly
democratic Indonesia has opened space for the emergence of
ultra-conservative and liberal ideas of Islam.

Over excited Muslim liberals have made many traditional Muslims feel
threatened and look to extremism, he said.

"Only moderates can hold back this right-wing radicalism and filter
the liberalisation of ideas which may not be able to receive
acceptance among the majority of Muslims," he said.

Liberalisation's impact is one of the examples of terrorism stemming
from political and economic factors rather than simple theology,
Muzadi told Reuters in an interview.

"Terrorism has become widespread only in the past seven years. If
terrorism is truly based on religion, it should have been existing for
centuries. This shows that there are additional factors than
religion."

"... there are many other reasons behind it like backwardness,
poverty, injustice or attacks against Islamic communities which may
not be an attack on religion," Muzadi said.

Muslim extremists pushing for the state to enforce Islamic law often
misunderstand their religion, he said.

"There must be a clarification on what naturally is Islam."

Part of the problem is with the media, Muzadi said, which gives
insufficient attention to Muslim moderates. "The post-reform media in
Indonesia likes conflict. They say bad news is good news. People with
reconciliatory ideas have become less interesting."

While he criticises violence blamed on militant Islamic groups such as
the 9/11 attacks and the 2002 bombings in Bali which killed 202
people, Muzadi, like many Indonesians, also condemns U.S. policy in
Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East.

U.S. military action is often seen as part of a crusade to impose
Western values, he said.

Arguing that such policies are themselves examples of a type of
extremism, he said groups like NU as well as moderate Christian
organisations which have condemned U.S. actions can act as a bridge
between the radicalism of the East and of the West.

"Major religions realise that their names should not be used for
criminal acts. In Islam, there is a similar spirit to cleanse the
religion of the hitchhikers."

More than 85 percent of Indonesia's 220 million population are Muslims
and most are generally moderate in their views. However, the country
has a radical fringe that is loud and growing in visibility,
attracting ample coverage from the media.

-------------------------------------------

BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific
June 20, 2006
Source: Republika, Jakarta, 
in Indonesian 19 Jun 06

Indonesian government said planning 
to disband anti-US Islamic mass groups

Jakarta: The Indonesian government's plan to issue new legislations to
disband radical mass organizations has been criticized for seeking to
fulfil US interests. It was seen to be a strange decision by the
government because political party supporters who had conducted
anarchic actions in the name of democracy would not be targeted by the
legislation.

"Obviously, this is part of an attempt to curtail anti-US Islamic mass
organizations," a legal practitioner, Mahendradatta, told Republika in
Jakarta on 18 June 2006.

Mahendradatta said that governments in Indonesia had been attempting
to pass such legislation for quite some time. The most recent attempt
by the government was triggered when former President Abdurrahman
Wahid was rumoured to have been kicked out of a discussion meeting in
Purwakarta, West Java, by members from a certain Islamic mass
organization for insulting the Koran.

"This is not the only reason. There has been an accumulation of
incidents that has driven the government to take such measures,"
Mahendradatta said.

Human right activist, Munarman, also viewed the government's plan to
disband radical mass organizations as a plan that was prepared very
systematically. "This is an extremely systematic plan that will lead
us towards a situation of civil war, like what has taken place in
Somalia," said the former chairperson of the Foundation of the
Indonesian Legal Aid Institute.

Mahendradatta continued that there were indications during the recent
visit to Indonesia by US Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, which
took place prior to the release of the leader of the Indonesian
Mujahidin Council (MMI), Ustadz Abu Bakar Ba'asyir.

Mahendradatta, who is also the chairperson of the Muslim Lawyers Team,
believed that accusations against Ba'asyir, who was believed to be
linked to Jemaah Islamiyah, were actually also directed at MMI. "In
their accusation, the public prosecutors said that apart from Jemaah
Islamiyah, Ba'asyir was also a member of MMI," he said.

Mahendradatta also said that up to now no one knew who had prepared
the general guideline for Jemaah Islamiyah's struggle. However, he was
surprised to find that it was similar to the guideline used by MMI.

"It means, the government has hastily decided to accuse Jemaah
Islamiyah of using the same guideline as MMI. However, the government
has just made it up and has used MMI's guideline for struggle,"
Mahendradatta said.

He revealed that the Indonesian and US governments were only targeting
one or two organizations. "It is not the person but it is the
organization which they are trying to disband," Mahendradatta added.

Referring to a Time magazine article, only three organizations had
been targeted initially, namely Laskar Jihad (who had only been trying
to protect Muslims in conflict areas), MMI (which is against US
imperialism) and the Islam Defenders Front (which fights against
immoral industries).

"Learning from recent developments, it seems Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia
(HTI) will also be the next target although they are not considered
radical," Mahendradatta said. HTI had been known for its campaign to
implement Shari'ah law and for its demonstrations against the US human
rights violations in Muslim countries.

Referring to Law No.8/1985 on the governing of mass organizations,
Mahendradatta reminded that a bigger sin would be committed if the law
was eventually implemented. "The law says that the government would
dissolve all mass organizations unless they complied with the ideology
of Pancasila. A huge number of organizations would be affected. At the
end of the day, the government should not be hypocritical," said
Mahendradatta.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific
June 20, 2006
Source: Republika, Jakarta,
in Indonesian 20 Jun 06

Australian PM said to have cancelled 
Indonesia visit over Ba'asyir's release

Excerpt from report by Indonesian newspaper Republika on 20 June

Jakarta: Prime Minister John Howard was alleged to have pressurized
the Indonesian government following the release of militant Muslim
cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir. Howard was rumoured to have cancelled his
plans to attend the meeting with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono,
which had been scheduled to be held in Batam on Monday 26 June 2006,
probably to put pressure on the Indonesian government.

The rumoured cancellation of Howard's visit was circulating in Jakarta
on Monday 19 June 2006. However, Foreign Affairs Department Spokesman,
Desra Percaya, claimed not to have received any information on the
cancellation. "Who said that?" he asked in Jakarta Monday 19 June.
According to Percaya, the venue and the agenda of the meeting was
still being deliberated.

Meanwhile, some DPR [House of Representatives] members expressed their
disappointment over pressure from Australia. DPR Commission I
Chairman, Theo L. Sambuaga, said that even if Howard and Yudhoyono
met, they should discuss efforts to restore bilateral ties between the
two countries. They should also discuss the granting of temporary
protection visas to the 42 Papuan asylum seekers. However, Sambuaga
said that it was not necessary for them to discuss the Ba'asyir issue.

If Howard insisted on making an issue of Ba'asyir's release, Sambuaga,
who is from the Golkar faction, said that Indonesia must reject it.
"Everyone must respect the legal process in Indonesia," Sambuaga said
during a hearing with the Minister for Communications and Information,
Sofyan Djalil, in the DPR on 19 June.

A Commission I member from the United Development Party (PPP) faction,
Tosari Wijaya, said that the release of Ba'asyir had demonstrated the
government's clear stance on the leader of the Indonesian Mujahidin
Council (MMI). Therefore, if Howard continued to raise an issue on
Ba'asyir at the meeting in Batam, the meeting would not be effective.

A DPR member from the National Awakening Party (PKB) faction, A.S.
Hikam, saw the meeting in Batam as an opportunity for the leaders of
the two countries to improve the bilateral ties and they should no
longer discuss the Ba'asyir case because Indonesia could not be blamed
for Ba'asyir's release. [passage omitted: repetitive]

Meanwhile, former chairman of the Muhammadiyah Central Executive
Council, Ahmad Syafi'i Ma'arif, called on the government not to make
efforts to appease other countries like Australia and the US with
regards to the Ba'asyir issue. "If the legal facts dictate that he
must be released, he has to be released. As a sovereign country we
don't have to satisfy anyone. We must respect the court's ruling," he
said at the launch of his autobiography in Jakarta on 19 June.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific
June 20, 2006
Source: Tempo Interaktif website, 
Jakarta,in Indonesian 20 Jun 06

Indonesian official: Decision not to freeze 
Ba'asyir assets will affect UN ties

Text of report by Dimas Adityo, Erwin Daryanto, carried by Indonesian
Tempo Interaktif website on 20 June

Jakarta: The government has not yet frozen Abu Bakar Ba'asyir's assets
or restricted his activities. Ansaad Mbai, Head of the Anti Terror
Department at the Ministry of Political, Legal and Security Affairs,
said that Ba'asyir is now a free man though the UN has listed him as a
terrorist. "According to UN resolution Number 1267, those who are
classified as terrorists must be stopped from conducting certain
activities and have their assets frozen," Ansaad said yesterday [ 19
Jun] in his office.

In addition to Ba'asyir, there are 11 other Indonesians classified as
terrorists by the UN Security Council. As a UN member, Ansaad said,
Indonesia is required to carry out the mandate of the resolution." As
far as the resolution is concerned, we've taken no action as yet," he
said.

Ansaad acknowledged that he does not really know the government's
reason for not executing the resolution. "Though it's an obligation,
we decide whether or not to exercise it," he said. Despite the absence
of sanctions, he is convinced that this will affect Indonesia's
international relations.

Meanwhile, police headquarters has stated that they will not limit
Ba'asyir's movements. "He (Ba'asyir) remains free to go wherever he
likes," police spokesperson Brigadier General Anton Bachrul Alam said
yesterday.

Two months prior to Ba'asyir's release, a US news website reported
that four persons suspected as Jemaah Islamiyah members were forbidden
to enter the US. They were Ba'asyir, Gun Gun, Abdullah al-Ansori and
Taufik Rifki. Anton said that the police will not be influenced by the
US policy.

Ba'asyir walked free from Cipinang Prison after serving a sentence of
two years and two months.

------------------------------------------
Joyo Indonesia News Service
------------------------------------------