Asian Islamic militants pose growing threat: Downer

Asian Islamic militants pose growing threat: Downer

Alan Wheatley, Reuters, Kuala Lumpur

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said on Monday the capacity of Asian militants linked to al-Qaeda was well-developed and although their numbers were not increasing, their extremism posed a mounting threat.

Downer singled out the regional Islamic militant Jemaah Islamiah (JI) as a group with links to chief Sept. 11 attack suspect Osama bin Laden, but stopped short of saying its alleged leader should be charged. He said this was an issue for the Indonesian government to assess.

"The organization we're most concerned about... is a loose- knit group called Jemaah Islamiah," Downer told a news conference in Kuala Lumpur on the sidelines of a meeting of the World Economic Forum.

"There isn't any doubt in our mind that JI has links with the al-Qaeda network," he said.

"JI was behind the potential attack on ours, the British and American embassies in Singapore in December and has been involved in a number of terrorist activities -- or planned terrorist activities -- before and since."

Australia had been working very closely with Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore to ensure the threat of JI was addressed "as quickly as possible", he said.

Indonesia was optimistic it could push anti-terrorist legislation through parliament, he said, and was cooperating with neighbors, particularly the Philippines where the threat was underscored by the killing of a U.S. soldier in a bomb blast last week.

Downer stressed the danger from more terror attacks in Asia, but said he believed the number of extremists was not growing.

"It's a big problem for the region.

"But my view is that Islamic extremism in Southeast Asia is not spreading. That is, extremists may be becoming more extreme but the numbers of people who are extremists is not expanding," Downer said, speaking amid a plethora of reports of aborted attacks planned from jungle-shrouded training camps.

"The average voter in Southeast Asia is not looking for extremist political parties to vote for. But those who are already extremist are becoming more activist and threatening."

International terrorism experts say the 2000 attack on the USS Cole in Yemen was believed to have been planned from Malaysia, training camps linked to al-Qaeda may exist in Indonesia and may have sent instructors to the Philippines.

Downer voiced anxiety about the activities of Indonesian Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asir who has been accused by neighboring countries of involvement in regional terrorism.

"We have no doubt that Abu Ba'asir is a significant figure associated with JI. JI is an organization we have enormous problems with," Downer said. "We think it's a terrorist organization."

Australia had information about Ba'asir that was a source of great concern, he said.

"But to say I'm concerned about him and his activities is one thing. To say the Indonesians should immediately lock him up requires the Indonesians to have a basis for charging him under Indonesian law," he said.

A Time magazine article last month quoted a Central Intelligence Agency report as linking Ba'asir to an Arab, Omar al-Faruq, who the CIA report said had allegedly confessed to plotting attacks on U.S. embassies in Southeast Asia.

Al-Faruq has also been linked to JI, which the United States is considering calling a terrorist organization. Malaysia and Singapore have accused Ba'asir of being a key leader of JI, something he denies, insisting the organization does not exist.

Jakarta has been criticized as southeast Asia's weakest link in the war on terror. While it has cooperated in seizing foreign suspects here, it has avoided going after local militants.

Some 85 percent of Indonesia's 210 million people are Muslim, with the overwhelming majority holding moderate views.