Ja'far demands deployment of militias in Ambon<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Members of Laskar Jihad Ahlus Sunnah Wal
\nJamma'ah said on Wednesday that their detained commander, Ja'far
\nUmar Thalib, had instructed the deployment of 100 reinforcements
\nfrom the Muslim militia group to the Maluku capital of Ambon.<\/p>\n
Chief of the Laskar Jihad communication center, Ayip
\nSyarifuddin, said after visiting Ja'far at the National Police
\nHeadquarters that the group's fighters would be tasked with
\npreventing any kind of blasphemy or criminal acts against Islam.<\/p>\n
\"Despite the fact that our commander is in police custody, he
\nstill cares about the nation. He spoke to us like a teacher
\nspeaks to his students,\" Ayip said.<\/p>\n
Police officials could not hide their surprise upon learning
\nthe message Ja'far had conveyed to his supporters.<\/p>\n
\"Just because Ja'far is in police custody, this does not mean
\nthat we have stopped observing the Laskar Jihad forces. We will
\nalways keep an eye on them,\" National Police spokesman Insp. Gen.
\nDidi Widayadi said.<\/p>\n
Police arrested Ja'far last week on charges of inciting hatred
\nagainst a religion and passing down a sentence applied in Islamic
\nlaw, under which one his followers was stoned to death.<\/p>\n
Dressed in white and other bold uniform colors, some 200
\nLaskar Jihad members visited Ja'far on Wednesday. They met with
\nhim in groups of 30, under tight security.<\/p>\n
Unusually, the talks were held in the National Police
\ndetectives' office main hall.<\/p>\n
A police officer supervising the visitation said that
\nconversations between Ja'far and his supporters were conducted in
\nArabic.<\/p>\n
Didi said that \"security purposes\" was the rationale behind
\nthe choice of venue for the meetings.<\/p>\n
He also revealed that police officers found 26 steel rods,
\neach about 60 centimeters long, and a bullet-proof vest in one of
\nthe vans carrying the visiting Laskar Jihad supporters.<\/p>\n
The Suzuki Carry van had transported Laskar Jihad members from
\nSurakarta, Central Java.<\/p>\n
Only after confiscating the possible weapons did police allow
\nthe Muslim group's members to visit Ja'far.<\/p>\n
Didi had earlier said that police had observed Ja'far closely
\nwhen he mobilized militia movements from Tanjung Priok in North
\nJakarta to riot-torn Ambon in 1999.<\/p>\n
Over two years of communal violence in the Maluku provinces
\nhas resulted in nearly complete devastation for the more than 2
\nmillion people living there.<\/p>\n
At least 8,000 people were killed in the conflict, which
\npitted Muslims against Christians.<\/p>\n
The arrest of Ja'far was lauded by several scholars who have
\nconducted research in Maluku in a bid to establish peace,
\nincluding sociologist Lambang Trijono of the Gadjah Mada
\nUniversity in Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n
\"It has gradually been revealed that the presence of the jihad
\nforces in Maluku only sharpened the ongoing conflict between
\nChristians and Muslims,\" Lambang said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Lambang said the relationship between Laskar Jihad Ahlus
\nSunnah Wal Jamaah and local jihad forces had been severed
\nfollowing a plan by Ja'far to bomb a prostitution den in the
\nAmbon area of Galunggung, which was opposed by his local
\ncounterparts. (ylt\/44)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jafar-demands-deployment-of-militias-in-ambon-1447893297",
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