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.