Counter intelligence bolstered following U.S. fears

Counter intelligence bolstered following U.S. fears

Further signs of a new breed of terrorism have been linked to
last Tuesday's attack on America. The Jakarta Post's reporter
Tiarma Siboro talked to former defense attache at the Indonesian
Embassy in the United States (1997-1998) Maj.Gen. Sudradjat, now
director general of defense strategy at the Ministry of Defense.
A former secretary to then military chief Gen.(ret.) Benny
Moerdani, he graduated in 1971 from the military academy and
served as the military attache in Britain (1994-1997). Sudradjat
was also the military's information officer from 1999 to 2000.
The following is an excerpt of the interview:

Question:What kind of network is needed for the management of
such international-scale terrorism?

Answer: Such highly skilled methods need relatively large
funds for transportation, mobility and communication. And of
course all moves would have to be of the greatest secrecy. It
seems that these terrorists have large, but still limited funds.
However, they have deeply fanatic, extreme people with a very
strong conviction in what they're doing.

People like this are highly capable of maintaining
confidentiality and this has led to difficulty in tracing them by
our intelligence people. Terrorism is largely clandestine and the
only way to overcome them is through counterintelligence, either
by countries like ours or the U.S. and other states.
A number of groups have claimed credit for last Tuesday's attacks
like Japan's Red Army, organizations in Palestine and even
Israeli intelligence, Mossad. Which group could be the most
likely to have been involved in last week's tragedy?

Such organizations act individually and have their own
motives. But when one of them carries out one action, others reap
the benefit, mainly as a chance to proclaim their existence,
because once people are scared of them, they can dictate their
will to the public, a state or a group.

The evil thing is that whatever the motives, political or
ideological, terrorist acts destroy human security and thus
become the enemy of human security and civilized modes of
behavior such as abiding by the law and ethics and values of
humanity and democracy, and not merely the enemy of their target
country.
How do you see the accusations against Osama bin Laden?

He is thought to have substantial funds and has declared war
against Israel and the U.S. Theoretically he is an enemy of the
U.S. and investigations will develop, though we'll never know
until there is evidence of the mastermind behind these attacks.

So could last Tuesday's attacks spread elsewhere?

The attacks in New York and Washington were carried out by
terrorist groups against the U.S. They will surely try to disrupt
U.S. interests. But there are also many terrorists against the
governments of Turkey, Israel or the Philippines, for instance.

The terrorists who hit the U.S. may not target other
countries, unless they are aiming at U.S. interests in other
countries. Of course we'll have to watch for the likelihood of
this happening in Indonesia, so it is in our interest to
anticipate and overcome this threat.

The Central Intelligence Agency reportedly told the U.S.
Congress last year that international terrorists would thrive in
countries in transition such as in Indonesia, particularly given
the world's largest Muslim population here. Your comment?

Until now there has not been any accusations from the U.S.
government that what happened in Washington and New York was
"Islamic terrorism."

I personally do not see the relationship either ... Indonesia
has officially condemned these actions. There are indeed
indications that the actors have Arabic names and are of Arabic
ethnicity. This doesn't mean Islam, although the actors could be
Muslim ...

We're also approaching religious leaders at the pesantren
(traditional Islamic boarding schools) to make them more aware of
the outside world ...

But Indonesia and other countries in Asia have been said to
show indications as potential breeding grounds for terrorism.

International terrorism is widespread, such as seen in the
actions of Japan's Red Army, a radical movement with nothing to
do with their religion. Acts of terror indeed often use the
Islamic banner to attract sympathy, hence the fears that they
seek support from Muslim societies including Indonesia, given the
large Islamic population.

For instance the bombing at the Atrium (in Jakarta). The
actors were from Malaysia and used the Islamic banner, but
instead it was an insult to Islam. Indonesians have reacted
strongly against such acts of terror and are against their
country becoming a breeding ground for terrorism.
But we cannot ignore the above assumptions from the U.S. What has
been done in anticipation of such possibilities?

Regarding the earlier appeal of the U.S. Embassy, or the U.S.
government (that the Indonesian government provide tighter
security for the U.S. presence here) our security people have
already been on the alert; Muslims here have also been on guard
to prevent any facilitation to terrorists.

Some time ago Indonesia faced terrorist acts such as the
(1981) hijacking of the Woyla aircraft in Thailand. This is one
form of terrorism that we've experienced, which was condemned by
all Muslims here.

The indications raised by the U.S. reflect fears of its
government. Indonesia has actually long engaged in
counterintelligence ... against those involved in international
terrorism.

With this confirmation from the U.S. Indonesia has increased
its counterintelligence activities. Of course this has to be done
through cooperation with other countries, including regional
cooperation.
What forms of terrorism must we look out for in Indonesia?

The forms of terrorism here are disruptions to security such
as bombs; the political motives have not become quite clear yet.
There are a number of cases related to the Free Aceh Movement,
which has the aspiration that Aceh should be an independent
country, and issues of justice -- the main ground for terrorism.

To prevent the growth of domestic terrorism we must promote
justice. The second basis of terrorism is political divisions.
We're experiencing political problems in Aceh, also in Irian Jaya
and to a lesser degree we have the social gap in Ambon (Maluku).

Of course we must be able to overcome all these through
counterintelligence, a firm upholding of the law and a stable
political environment.
The military and police, such as in Aceh, have also been
considered a source of terror. Your comment?

As in Aceh, the military and the police are doing their job in
line with Presidential Decree no. 4/2001 (issued by former
president Abdurrahman Wahid to restore order in Aceh).

Some people may get the image that the military/police
presence is a form of terror. This is not entirely right because
what's happening there is a multifarious issue. In Aceh obviously
much of the terror involves the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) whose
members sometimes disguise themselves as military/police members.
They're strong in information warfare and people could succumb to
their campaigns and accuse the military and police of terror.
However the murders in Idi Rayeuk (in August this year when at
least 20 died in the district south of East Aceh's capital,
Langsa) were clearly extraordinary acts of terror that involved
GAM.

The presence of the military and police is to capture armed
people in Aceh. Of course this involves small-scale combat, when
their actions are on a par with those of GAM; they frighten
people and make them think there is terror among them.