Security situation here much improved: Jones<\/p>\n
Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Future terror attacks in Indonesia may be less professional and
\neven less well-executed than in the past, with Jamaah Islamiyah
\n(JI) facing dissension over how to achieve its objectives, says
\nSidney Jones, a leading authority on the terror group.<\/p>\n
She said that most followers of JI, blamed for a series of
\ndevastating blasts in Indonesia over the past years, had
\nabandoned the strategy of launching bomb attacks, particularly on
\nWestern targets, as it was diverting the regional terror network
\naway from its major objective of setting up an Islamic state in
\nSoutheast Asia.<\/p>\n
Jones, the Southeast Asia project director of the
\nInternational Crisis Group (ICG), said JI's leadership realized
\nthat the strategy had cost the network too much, with the arrest
\nof over 200 of its members and outrage among the public.<\/p>\n
\"There won't be another attack that's as big as the Bali
\nbombings. JI's alive, consolidating, actively recruiting, but
\nmost of its leadership is no longer interested in bombing Western
\ntargets as it's wasting time, funds and human resources,\" she
\ntold the sixth Asian-European Editors Forum in Jakarta on
\nTuesday.<\/p>\n
However, she stressed that JI still posed a significant threat
\nas it was building up a secure base in which an Islamic
\nfundamentalist community could flourish, while simultaneously
\nupgrading its military capacity to fight for the creation of a
\nregional Islamic state in the future.<\/p>\n
\"And there's still a small faction within JI that endorses
\nbombing, including (fugitive Malaysian bomb-makers) Azahari and
\nNoordin Moh. Top,\" said Jones, who in June last year was forced
\nby the Megawati Soekarnoputri government to leave Indonesia due
\nto her \"disruptive\" work and reports.<\/p>\n
The Brussels-based ICG is known for its authoritative, and
\nfrequently critical, reports on various security issues here,
\nranging from Aceh to JI.<\/p>\n
\"This marginalized faction is still seriously dangerous as
\nthey can still recruit through family and school ties, joint
\nmilitary training and shared combat experience,\" explained Jones,
\nwho said her review was based on a combination of interviews,
\ninterrogation depositions and sources close to radical networks.<\/p>\n
She said such networks would likely form a new organization to
\ncontinue their global war on the West, although they would face
\ngreater difficulties in recruiting people, including suicide
\nbombers, from outside the JI due to a reduction in funding
\navailability.<\/p>\n
\"There are smaller groups in Poso (Central Sulawesi) and Ambon
\n(Maluku) who terrorize through bombs. There are still 18 known JI
\nschools in Indonesia, which the government can't just close,
\nalthough we know the addresses and the curriculum, because
\nthere's no criminal activity going on in there and it's
\npolitically impossible,\" said Jones.<\/p>\n
Putting hurdles in the way of the recruitment process,
\naccording to Sidney, was one of the keys to the success of
\ncounterterrorism efforts, and this involved identifying persons
\nvulnerable to being recruited.<\/p>\n
\"Looking at previous experiences, those who are recruited, for
\nexample, have family connections with former Darul Islam rebels.
\nOr in Poso, they are former thugs or people whose families lost
\nfortunes and relatives during the conflict there,\" she said.<\/p>\n
While commending efforts to stamp out terrorism, Sidney said
\nthe government still needed to improve its intelligence while at
\nthe same time avoiding arbitrary legislation and abuses of power.<\/p>\n
\"I don't think that the danger is over nor that terrorism can
\never be fully eradicated, but I think in this region we are in
\nmuch better shape than three years ago,\" she said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/security-situation-here-much-improved-jones-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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