Boyce tells RI to 'do even more' to fight terrorism
Boyce tells RI to 'do even more' to fight terrorism
Muhammad Nafik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
United States Ambassador to Indonesia Ralph L. Boyce urged the
Indonesian government on Monday to "do even more" in countering
terrorism as no suspects linked to the al-Qaeda network had so
far been arrested by security authorities here.
"We are pleased with the steps Indonesia has already taken in
this regard, and we encourage the Indonesian government to do
even more," he told a seminar titled "Islam vs Terrorism",
organized by the National Awakening Party (PKB).
Ambassadors and diplomats representing at least 11 countries
here were present.
The statement comes as the U.S. Embassy here and its consulate
in Surabaya reopened for business on Monday after four working
days of closure due to a "credible and specific threat".
However, it appeared to contradict his remarks in July when he
said that he was quite satisfied with Indonesia's response to the
war against terrorism.
Boyce said Indonesia and other nations had to play a major
role in the U.S.-led global campaign against terrorism. "A
campaign that is waged on many fronts -- through diplomacy, law
enforcement, intelligence, and yes, sometimes even military
force," he added.
He said law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and in many other
countries had broken up terrorist cells, arrested hundreds of al-
Qaeda operatives, frozen terrorist assets and disrupted their
sources of funding.
"And (they) have greatly degraded the operational capacity of
al-Qaeda and similar radical networks," he added.
The ambassador stopped short of saying that Indonesia should
do the same as other countries.
Boyce also remained tightlipped over the specific terrorist
threat to the U.S. missions in the world's biggest Muslim
country.
"The threat of terrorism has not passed, and it is clear that
terror cells continue to plot further death and destruction, not
just against Americans but against all people who value freedom
and decency," he said.
The National Police have repeatedly denied allegations that
they have not taken enough action against terrorists and radical
groups.
"Without hard evidence, we cannot arrest members of any of the
extremist group other countries have accused of being connected
with the al-Qaeda network," Brig. Gen. Aryanto Sutadi, the
National Police's general crimes director, said after addressing
the same seminar on Monday.
He said that the United Nations had issued a list of assets
the Indonesian authorities had to freeze because of their owners'
alleged links with al-Qaeda, but added that none of the suspected
assets could be found in the country.
Aryanto admitted that Malaysia had been more aggressive than
Indonesia in dealing with terrorism, using its Internal Security
Act, under which prima facie evidence gathered by an intelligence
agency can justify the arrest of suspects.
"In Indonesia, after the subversion law was scrapped, we can
no longer easily take legal action against suspects until we come
up with sufficient proof to charge them," he explained.
Aryanto claimed that most of the suspects blamed for a series
of bombings across Indonesian over the past two years had been
arrested with some of them going to prison. However, he admitted
the police had been unable to uncover the masterminds and the
motives involved.
In an effort to help counter radicalism in Indonesia, the U.S.
is intensifying its moves to embrace moderate Muslims by sending
them to the U.S. on "enlightenment" programs.
A group of 13 Muslim boarding school or pesantren) leaders
from across the country are to leave for America on a three-week
visit later this month to discuss Islam, pluralism, democracy and
education with a number of academics, government officials and
private experts there.
"The group is one of two groups we are sending this month, and we
will be sending other pesantren leaders in the months to come, as
well as scholars from Islamic schools and universities," Boyce
said.