Alleged al-Qaeda-linked network in Central Java
Alleged al-Qaeda-linked network in Central Java
Yogita Tahil Ramani and Kartika Bagus C., The Jakarta Post,
Jakarta/Surakarta
Several members of an Indonesian Islamic militant group with
reported ties to the al-Qaeda network, Jemaah Islamiya (JI), have
been spotted in Sragen, some 20 kilometers east of Surakarta, in
Central Java, authorities said.
According to Sragen police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Charles Himler
Ngili, some 30 members of JI had spread out in the districts of
Sambung Macan, Gondang Legi, Masaran, and Kali Jambe in the
Sragen regency.
"They carry out their extremist activities in the districts of
Sragen, but their main organization is based in Sukoharjo and in
Ngawi," Charles told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
He declined to say what the group members were doing.
Both Sukoharjo in Central Java and Ngawi in East Java are
located near Sragen.
Charles said that their presence in the area became known
following clashes in Ngawi, which involved members of the Forum
of Ngawi Muslims (FUIN) and Laskar Jihad. Dozens were arrested
after the rioting, which followed their raid on gambling dens in
Ngawi in November.
"Some of these JI members were involved in the riots. The (JI)
individuals in Sragen all live separately. When there are jobs to
do, they are called upon by their group from its respective cells
in Java," he said.
Charles added that he had received orders from the National
Police to monitor their routine activities more closely.
No arrests have been made following the discovery.
The Straits Times has reported that the JI sees itself as the
new Darul Islam, a group that tried to establish an Islamic state
in Indonesia in 1949.
In Jakarta, intelligence police intensified their questioning
of Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, asking him repeatedly if al-
Qaeda representatives had ever approached him as chief of the
Indonesian Mujahidin Council (MMI) -- or any of his members --
with offers of financial support.
Ba'asyir firmly denied this.
Ba'asyir's lawyer, Ahmad Michdan, said that, during Friday's
questioning, Sr. Comr. Bagus of the National Police Intelligence
also asked his client if he ever had any connection with al
Qaeda-linked suspect Abu Jibril.
"Ustad Ba'asyir admitted that he was well-acquainted with Abu
Jibril, a popular Islamic preacher in Malaysia. In the time Ustad
Ba'asyir was in Malaysia, he had encountered the preacher
personally on several occasions, since both worked spreading the
word of Islam," Ahmad told the Post during Ba'asyir's second day
of questioning.
"Abu Jibril's teachings were also the same as Ustad
Ba'asyir's ... and contained the teachings of jihad and mati
syahid," to die fighting in the name of the teachings of Islam,
he said.
The Straits Times said Abu Jibril was an MMI member on the run
from the Malaysian police, who suspected him as having been the
point man for the group's communications with al-Qaeda.
Ahmad professed shock upon hearing that Jibril was still a
fugitive, and added that, according to Ba'asyir and National
Police Intelligence officials, Jibril was in fact in the custody
of Malaysian police.
Ustad Abu Jibril was arrested under Malaysia's Internal
Security Act (ISA) "and is currently being held in a special
prison in the Perak area of Malaysia," Ahmad said.
Jibril is originally from Lombok, and not a Mujahidin, Ahmad
said.
Ba'asyir had been detained by Malaysian police last month,
along with 12 other militants believed by police to be KMM
members, including Indonesians Hambali and Mohammad Iqbal, for
allegedly trying to foment an Islamic government.
He was eventually released and deported to Indonesia after the
Malaysians found no evidence against him.
"Police here also asked him how well he knew Hambali ... he
said he was not well acquainted with him. Ustad was also asked
about a Muslim named Faiqh, who is allegedly being held on
charges of trying to go on a jihad. Ustad Ba'asyir said he knew
Faiqh well," Michdan said.
Ba'asyir's questioning session on Friday ended at 7 p.m.
To verify Ba'asyir's statements, National Police inspector-
general Comr. Gen. Ahwil Luthan will go to Malaysia on Saturday.
It was not immediately clear why Ahwil, better known as an
intellectual than a detective, was picked for the job.
Regarding Fathur Rohman, an Indonesian with alleged ties to
al-Qaeda who is currently in police custody in the Philippines,
Ahwil said he would be tried there.
"He committed his crime in the Philippines -- we will let
Fathur's case be processed by the legal system there," Ahwil
said.