Hidayat's LP2SI cleard of terror link<\/p>\n
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The U.S. government admitted on Thursday it had made a blunder --
\nlisting the address of Hidayat Nur Wahid's Al-Haramain
\neducational foundation as the headquarters of an alleged terror
\ngroup.<\/p>\n
Despite the mistake, no apology was forthcoming from the U.S.
\nAmbassador to Indonesia, Ralph Boyce, who met with the Prosperous
\nand Justice Party leader and presidential aspirant here on
\nThursday.<\/p>\n
The U.S. filed a petition to the United Nations early this
\nyear accusing an organization with a similar name to Hidayat's
\ngroup -- the Al-Haramain -- institution, as one that funded
\nterrorist groups. While the name of the organization was correct,
\nthe U.S. had erroneously listed the Hidayat group's address for
\nthe headquarters of the Jakarta branch.<\/p>\n
The Institution of Pesantren Services and Islamic Studies
\n(LP2SI) Al Haramain, which is lead by Hidayat, is located in
\nJatipadang, South Jakarta while the Indonesian branch of the
\nSaudi group Al-Haramain is in Duren Sawit, East Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"After our further review, which included a consultation with
\nthe government of Indonesia and clarifying information provided
\nby officials of LP2SI, the US government has decided to request
\nthe UN to make an appropriate technical change and remove the
\naddress of LP2SI from the UN's consolidated 1267 list,\" said
\nStanley Harsha, the press attache of the US embassy in Jakarta
\nwho represented the ambassador.<\/p>\n
The UN's consolidated list contains the names of all
\norganizations alleged to be linked with terrorism. Once on the
\nlist, an entity is subject to international sanctions such as
\nhaving their accounts frozen and loans denied.<\/p>\n
Harsha said the Indonesian branch of the Saudi-based Al-
\nHaramain organization -- also known as Al-Manahil -- would remain
\non the UN consolidated list.<\/p>\n
Boyce, who spoke with Hidayat for about half an hour, released
\na written statement. The release made no explicit apology to
\nHidayat.<\/p>\n
According to the statement, on Jan. 22, 2004, the U.S.
\ngovernment and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia jointly requested that
\nthe UN 1267 Sanction Committee designate the Indonesian branch of
\nSaudi-based Al-Haramain group as a terrorist group.<\/p>\n
\"This action was taken after consultations and coordination
\nbetween the U.S. and Saudi Governments,\" Harsha said while
\nreading the State Department press release.<\/p>\n
The joint U.S-Saudi designation requested that the Indonesian
\nbranch be included on the list. The designation also listed the
\naddress of LP2SI as an address for the Saudi-based Al-Haramain.<\/p>\n
\"The ambassador said in our meeting the correction would be
\nmade within a few days. However, we will wait until one week and
\ntake legal action if no correction is done. We will bring all
\nparties to court if they still continue to accuse us of being a
\nterrorist group,\" said Hidayat.<\/p>\n
The U.S. government has made many claims associating
\norganizations and countries with terrorism, but on many
\noccasions, they have failed to prove the accusations.<\/p>\n
In October last year, the U.S. proposed the British Charity
\nCommission, which oversees the operations of all U.K. charity
\nfoundations, freeze all accounts belonging to Interpal, a Muslim
\ncharity, because it was believed it channeled money to terrorist
\ngroups.<\/p>\n
A month later, the Charity Commission dropped its
\ninvestigations because the U.S. could not provide sufficient
\nevidence linking Interpal with terrorism.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/hidayats-lp2si-cleard-of-terror-link-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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