Indonesian Military now drafted into antiterror war<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Military (TNI) has joined the government's
\ncampaign against terror following new indications that link
\ngroups in Indonesia with international terrorist organizations.<\/p>\n
TNI chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto told reporters that the
\nArmy's counterterrorism unit, which had been virtually dormant
\nsince the military officially lost its power over internal
\nsecurity affairs in 2000, had now been drafted in to assist the
\nNational Police and the National Intelligence Agency (BIN).<\/p>\n
The TNI has at its disposal a well-equipped and trained
\nantiterrorist unit, Endriartono said.<\/p>\n
It lost its mandate and authority to oversee internal security
\nwhen the National Police were separated from the TNI in 2000, and
\nthe military's job was redefined as dealing solely with external
\nthreats.<\/p>\n
Endriartono was one of 11 senior officials who briefed the
\nmedia about the government's campaign against terrorism.<\/p>\n
He stressed that the threat of terrorism in Indonesia existed,
\nbut proving the connection with international terrorist groups
\nlike Al Qaeda would be difficult.<\/p>\n
The government's campaign received a boost with the discovery
\nof a collection of videos in the possession of Seyam Reda,
\ndescribed by the police as a German national of Arabic descent,
\nwho was arrested and is now under investigation.<\/p>\n
The videos showed young men undergoing military training, and
\nthen receiving their weapons. Police were still investigating
\nwhere and when the videos were made.<\/p>\n
Endriartono cautioned against making light of the videos.<\/p>\n
"The weapons were Uzi, high precision and very sophisticated.
\nSome of the training was very vigorous, the sort that only
\nprofessionals go through," he said.<\/p>\n
National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar told the briefing
\nthat the police had asked the German authorities for help in
\nuncovering the activities of Seyam Reda in Europe.<\/p>\n
Police were also monitoring the activities of people named by
\nthe Singaporean and Malaysian governments as being the leaders of
\nJemaah Islamiyah (JI), which they believe to be the local branch
\nof, or to at least have links with, the Al Qaeda group.<\/p>\n
Da'i pointed out that while the terrorist suspects arrested in
\nMalaysia and Singapore had named Abu Bakar Ba'asyir as the JI
\nleader, his name never came up whenever they were questioned
\nabout who gave the orders and instructions for the attacks that
\nthey carried out or were planning to carry out.<\/p>\n
Instead, the suspects always referred to a certain Hambali, an
\nIndonesian with Malaysian residency status, who is now at large
\nand was last heard of in Pakistan, he said.<\/p>\n
Police are also looking for a man identified as Iman Samudra,
\nwhose name had also been mentioned by the suspects in Singapore
\nand Malaysia.<\/p>\n
The government, however, has rejected international pressure
\nto arrest Ba'asyir, the chairman of the Indonesian Mujahiddin
\nCouncil, on the grounds that there is insufficient evidence.<\/p>\n
Da'i said Indonesia had requested the Singaporean government
\nto hand over two of the suspects because they were wanted in
\nconnection with the 2000 Christmas bombings in Pekanbaru and
\nBatam, Riau province.<\/p>\n
Singapore had not responded to the request, he said, adding
\nthat the Indonesian government would consider the possibility of
\nprosecuting the two men in Singapore as an alternative.<\/p>\n
The National Police have also received a green light from
\ntheir American counterparts to question Omar Al Faruq, a man who
\nwas deported by Indonesia in June and subsequently detained by
\nthe United States on charges of terrorism.<\/p>\n
"We're just arranging for the appropriate time," he said.<\/p>\n
Faruq reportedly confessed about plans to strike at American
\ntargets in Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries around
\nthe time of the first anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist
\nattacks on the United States. His confession prompted Washington
\nto close down its missions in Indonesia and other Southeast Asian
\ncapitals.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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