Al-Qaeda network has 'toehold' in Indonesia, U.S. warns

Al-Qaeda network has 'toehold' in Indonesia, U.S. warns

Belinda Goldsmith, Reuters, Canberra

A top U.S. security official said on Thursday there was evidence
that Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda militant network had established
a toehold in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation.

Paul Fujimura, the U.S. State Department's counter-terrorism
officer for East Asia and the Pacific, said the hardline Islamic
network was creating new bases after fleeing Afghanistan during a
U.S.-led assault to retaliate for the Sept. 11 air attacks.

He said the fragmented geography of Indonesia, a nation of 210
million people spread over 13,667 islands, and the presence of
some terrorist sympathizers was ideal for al-Qaeda militants.

"We know that in Indonesia there are conditions on the ground
that make it an attractive place to al-Qaeda and...other
terrorist groups," Fujimura told journalists in Australia during
a two-way video conference from Washington.

"We are learning things every day but there is evidence of
some presence, of some foothold or toehold, (but) we are not sure
of the exact nature of their presence there."

His warning came after the State Department released its
annual global terrorism report on Tuesday, cautioning the battle
was far from over against al Qaeda, suspected of masterminding
Sept. 11's hijacked airliner attacks on New York and Washington
which killed over 3,000.

Southeast Asian nations, grouped in the Association of South
East Asian Nations, have battled to shed an image as a haven for
militancy since evidence emerged of regional links to al-Qaeda.

Indonesian officials generally deny there is proof of a
current al-Qaeda presence in the sprawling archipelago. But
officials and diplomatic sources have said foreigners linked to
the group have been expelled from Indonesia on several occasions
and the national intelligence chief suggested at one point there
may have been a temporary al-Qaeda base on an outer island.

Terrorist organizations with cells linked to al Qaeda were
uncovered by Singapore and Malaysia late last year.

Singapore detained 13 members of the Islamic militant group
Jemaah Islamiyah last December, disrupting a plot to bomb the
U.S. embassy and other targets in Singapore, while Malaysia
arrested at least 60 terrorist suspects last year.

Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, the three countries
with the region's largest Muslim populations, have signed an
accord to fight terrorism and crush militant groups seeking to
create a pan-regional, conservative Muslim state.

But Indonesia has drawn flak for its lack of arrests as
neighbors, notably Singapore, say ringleaders of a suspected
regional network are based there.

Fujimura said he was satisfied with the cooperation the United
States was getting from Indonesia but there were still concerns.

"When you look at some of the arrests that have been made, at
different groups such as JI (Jemaah Islamiyah) -- they have
admitted al-Qaeda ties -- and with some Indonesian individuals
are known to have ties to al-Qaeda, again these are indications
to us," he said.

Fujimura urged greater regional cooperation to combat the
ongoing threat of terrorism.

"We hope to promote regional cooperation in Southeast Asia and
in other parts of the world...if we can leverage our resources
and our efforts, it will be more effective," he said.