'Laskar Jihad' worry Bogor residents<\/p>\n
BOGOR (JP): Residents of the otherwise peaceful Munjul village
\nof Kayumanis in the Tanah Sareal district expressed on Sunday
\ntheir deep concern and fear over the presence of the military-
\nstyle training camp of the Laskar Jihad (Jihad Army).<\/p>\n
The army has been giving training there since April 6 to some
\n3,150 male Muslim youths who are taking part in the first phase
\nof a program which will end on April 16. The youths are scheduled
\nto leave for Ambon on April 23.<\/p>\n
\"These men came on Thursday (April 6) and set a camp on the
\nseven-hectare field, which is in this neighborhood unit. They go
\naround in military pants, some go around holding swords and
\ndaggers... we are scared,\" said the wife of Botong, chief of RT
\n(neighborhood unit) 006 of neighborhood community (RW) 05.<\/p>\n
The camp is located on a field owned by the Al Irsad
\nfoundation, in the midst of a thick forest area in the 006
\nneighborhood unit. It is filled with some 300 pink and blue
\ncolored tents, which stand on bamboo, cut off from the abundant
\nbamboo trees at the field.<\/p>\n
\"They don't say anything to us, but they really scare us. They
\nall wear white Muslim garb and turbans... but underneath it we
\ncan see the military-style pants and combat boots. Why have they
\ncome here?\"<\/p>\n
A housewife, Iin, said the men were very particular about
\ntraining.<\/p>\n
\"By dawn, they are already up and running... they run in
\nthousands, past the Kayumanis Military Subdistrict Command
\n(Koramil) and further. By 10 a.m. or 11 a.m. they are back. They
\ntrain again at their camp and go running again at about 2 p.m.,\"
\nIin told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
\"Nobody is allowed to enter their camp, except for Botong, and
\nkids. Women are just forbidden to enter.\"<\/p>\n
When the Post tried heading for the camp, which had a green
\nflag with Laskar Jihad Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jama'ah written on it
\nattached at the entry gate, they were stopped.<\/p>\n
\"Can't you read the sign: 'Reporters Not Allowed'?\" one member
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The Post heard commanders of the camp gathering their members,
\nmostly holding sticks, swords and white flags with huge black
\ncrosses on them, to assemble at the open field.<\/p>\n
Speaking via megaphones, the Post heard: \"Batalyon Enam...
\ndisini... Batalyon Tujuh... kesini (Battalion Six... here...
\nBattalion Seven ... here).\"<\/p>\n
The Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jama'ah Forum has planned to send 3,000
\nmen to Maluku at the end of April, commander Jaffar Umar Thalib
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Chairman Ayip Syafruddin said the group hoped to send 10,000
\npeople to Maluku eventually. The volunteers are being trained at
\nthe camp by men with experience in the Afghanistan, Bosnia and
\nMoro (Philippines) wars, Ayip said.<\/p>\n
According to a police source, the \"holy men\" were probably not
\nonly being trained by men with experience in the Afghanistan,
\nBosnia and Moro (Philippines) wars, but were also sent to Moro
\nand other countries, for training.<\/p>\n
The group's activities have drawn concern of the National
\nAwakening Party (PKB).<\/p>\n
Chairman of PKB faction at the House of Representatives
\nTaufiqurrahman Saleh called on the police to disband the camp and
\nseize their weapons.<\/p>\n
\"Instead of helping solve the problem (sectarian violence in
\nMaluku), they would only terrify people. They would also frighten
\noff foreign investors,\" Taufiqurrahman told the Post.<\/p>\n
He said the police should have confiscated the swords and
\nmachetes carried by demonstrators during a rally outside the
\npresidential palace on Friday.<\/p>\n
He believed the vast rally was funded by people who have their
\nown political agendas, including undermining the legitimate
\ngovernment of President Abdurrahman Wahid.<\/p>\n
Chairman of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Muslim Organization
\nHasyim Muzadi indicated that certain people or groups funded the
\njihad group.<\/p>\n
\"I suspect that a 'company' with huge funds and certain
\npolitical interests is providing financial aid to the group,\"
\nHasyim, who recently replaced President Abdurrahman as NU
\nchairman, said as quoted by Antara.<\/p>\n
He regretted the police's failure to arrest the leaders of the
\ndemonstrators although many of them carried swords and machetes,
\nduring the rally on Friday.<\/p>\n
He said NU had from the outset opposed the idea of a holy war
\nin Maluku to defend Muslims, saying that it would create other
\nproblems.<\/p>\n
House Speaker Akbar Tandjung has also asked the jihad group to
\ncancel its plan to send \"trained warriors\" to Maluku, saying that
\nit would create bigger problems.<\/p>\n
The group's chairman, Ayip Syafruddin, announced on Friday
\nthat some 3,000 volunteers were being trained in a camp in the
\nKayumanis area in Bogor.<\/p>\n
Ayip said the volunteers, who were being trained by men with
\ncombat experience, would be shipped to Maluku later this month.<\/p>\n
Separately, a Tablig Akbar (Mass gathering) of around 2,000
\npeople in Surakarta was held on Sunday, in a bid to show
\nresistance towards President Abdurrahman Wahid's proposal to lift
\nthe ban on communism.<\/p>\n
The gathering, held at Wisma Bathari, was attended by chairman
\nof the Indonesian Committee for World Muslim Solidarity (KISDI)
\nAhmad Sumargono, poet Taufik Ismail and Husein Umar of the Dewan
\nDakwah Islamiyah Indonesia (DDII) Muslim organization.
\n(21\/44\/edt\/jun\/ylt)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/laskar-jihad-worry-bogor-residents-1447893297",
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"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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