Government steps up anti-terrorist campaign
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Indonesia, called by foreign countries a safe haven for terrorists, is now beginning to step up measures against the al- Qaeda network which has allegedly conducted a series of activities in the country, despite official denials for months.
After admitting to have deported a senior al-Qaeda operative Omar al-Faruq, officials here said that another man is being questioned on similar charges.
National Police Chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said on Wednesday the man, identified as a German citizen of Arabic descent, had been in custody since Tuesday night.
"We found documents in his house related to various problems across the country and other terror activities," Da'i said after a meeting on terrorism with President Megawati Soekarnoputri.
"There are indications that the suspect was involved in a number of conflicts in Indonesia. He was arrested in Jakarta," the police chief said.
The government is also pursuing reports of Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, who foreign intelligence agencies have accused of being one of the top terror masterminds in Southeast Asia, possibly linked to al-Qaeda.
"We are still investigating him, and so far we do not have enough evidence to arrest him," Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said after the meeting.
The minister admitted there had been activities by foreigners and Indonesians that violated the law, but refused to admit that any al-Qaeda remnants existed in the country.
"The information (regarding the presence of al-Qaeda) may be true, or it may not," Susilo remarked.
Indonesia has come under fire from neighbors in Southeast Asia for not doing enough against many suspected terrorists, including Ba'asyir.
Following the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on New York and Washington last year, dozens of Indonesian citizens were arrested by Singapore, the Philippines and Malaysia for their alleged links to terrorism.
The most high-profile figures are Fathur Rochman Al-Ghozi and Agus Dwikarna in Manila, who were arrested for illegal possession of a large amount of explosive materials and alleged involvement in radical Muslim movements based in Indonesia.
The latest arrest made against four Indonesians by the Philippine authorities last week in General Santos city.
"The four Indonesians are suspected members of a terrorist group, that's why they were arrested," armed forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Eduardo Purificacion said Wednesday as quoted by AFP.
The Philippines authority said one of the four was part of a militant Southeast Asian Islamic group behind the deadly bombing of a shopping mall in the southern Philippines earlier this year.
Susilo said the embassy in Manila had sent a team to meet the detainees and to determine their nationality.
The minister has admitted there was an intelligence operation to arrest and deport al-Faruq in June to United States authorities. He is currently at the U.S. military base in Afghanistan.
Al-Faruq, who is married to an Indonesian woman, reportedly planned to murder Megawati, which has many asking, therefore, why he was deported if he committed crimes against the government here.
Earlier Vice President Hamzah Haz and both the police and military chiefs claimed they had no knowledge of his arrest.
"These activities serve as solid proof that our security is working. We will follow up on all information that we receive from other countries," Susilo said on Wednesday.
The minister underlined that the government would conduct the investigation according to the country's law.
Susilo further said that he hoped for better cooperation and access from other countries to follow up on alleged terrorist activities.