Government urged to move against JI affiliates, members

Government urged to move against JI affiliates, members

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Once the United Nations declares Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) a
terrorist group on Saturday, Indonesia should move quickly
against suspected members, leaders and any affiliate
organizations of JI in Indonesia, observers have suggested.

Kusnanto Anggoro, an international relations expert and
military observer, nevertheless, cautioned the government to be
precise in determining whether particular people and
organizations were linked to JI. Otherwise, it would risk a
backlash from hard-line groups.

"A local organization could be suspected as being part of JI
if they both have the same ideology, have the same goals, and
have collaborative and financial links. If the organization only
has a similar ideology to JI, I don't think it can be classified
as a JI affiliate," Kusnanto told The Jakarta Post.

Hikmahanto Juwono, an international law expert at the
University of Indonesia, also warned that even when the UN
declared JI to be a terrorist organization, the government could
not take any measures against individuals or groups other than
JI, unless it had hard evidence that they were connected.

"The government must be very careful about declaring an
individual or a local organization as being linked to JI," he
told the Post.

Similar warnings have also been expressed by various parties,
including the country's two largest Muslim organizations -- the
Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah. They warned that the
government should have strong evidence before making any move
against certain radical organizations or their leaders.

Nevertheless, both the NU and Muhammadiyah have stated that
they would support government moves against radicals if they were
supported by evidence.

So far, the presence of JI in the country has been denied by
local officials. Coordinating Minister for Political and Security
Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has claimed that JI did not
exist as an organized group in the country.

He nevertheless confirmed reports from Malaysia and Singapore
that Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, currently under police
detention for his alleged involvement in a series of bombing
outrages around the country, was the JI's spiritual leader.

The Indonesian government reportedly submitted on Wednesday a
letter to the United Nations to express its support for the
proposal to include JI on the UN list of international terrorist
organizations.

The United Nations is expected to list the group as a
terrorist organization as early as Saturday, setting off domestic
legislation making membership of the movement illegal.

Reports say that JI has links to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda
terrorist network.

With the naming of JI as a terrorist organization, the
government is obliged to take measures against the JI terrorist
network and its members, according to international law expert
Hikmahanto.

The obligation arises from Indonesia's support for the
inclusion of JI on the UN terrorist list, he said.

According to UN Security Council Resolution 1373 (2001), all
states shall take measures against terrorist groups, their
members and their associates by, among other things, freezing
without delay their funds and financial assets, banning them from
entering or leaving the country, and prosecuting those who are
involved in terrorist activities.

Unlike UN conventions, a UN resolution is actually not binding
on members. A member state can either support or reject the
resolution, Hikmahanto said.

"However, supporting the resolution will show the world the
country's seriousness in combating terrorism," he said.

The UN Security Council separates individuals and groups on
its terrorist list.

Some 80 individuals and 87 organizations have already been
included on the list.