Govt confirms terror suspect Taufik is Indonesian-born

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The mystery about the citizenship of detained terrorist suspect Taufik Rifki has been uncovered after Indonesian diplomats met with the detainee at Aquinaldo Camp in Quezon City, Manila, Philippines on Thursday.

Spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Marty Natalegawa said on Friday that Taufik, arrested in Southern Philippines early October, was Indonesian-born but fell short of saying that he was an Indonesian citizen.

"There are no legal documents to prove his citizenship, but we agree that he is an Indonesian and will provide legal assistance for him," Marty said.

Earlier, Marty expressed regret over the decision of the Philippines to name Taufik as an Indonesian without sufficient data to back its claim.

The conclusion, according to Marty, was reached after Indonesian diplomats in Manila interviewed Taufik, who entered the Philippines illegally in August 1998.

He also said that Taufik had been told not to sign any legal documents from the Philippine authorities without the presence of defense lawyers.

The government was still trying to provide a lawyer for Taufik, to help him through the legal proceedings, Marty said.

"However, this does not mean that we want to interfere with the ongoing legal proceedings, we will only fulfill our obligation to provide assistance for him as our citizen," he said.

He underlined that the assistance was aimed at ensuring that Taufik received proper treatment during the interrogation.

"With the confession and other proof, there are indications that he may have involved in actions that violate the Philippine law," Marty said.

Indonesian Consulate staff managed to meet Taufik on Thursday for more than three hours at the Philippine armed forces intelligence office.

In the interview, Taufik told the consulate staff that he was a member of Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) and served as treasurer of one of the network's cells.

Born in Surakarta, Central Java in Aug. 9, 1974, Taufik along with nine other Indonesians entered the Philippines illegally in August 1998 and met with another seven Indonesians in Cotabato City.

Taufik confessed that the journey was organized by an Indonesian from Surabaya. Unconfirmed reports said that they were recruited by an Indonesian, known as a JI leader in East Java.

The group then went to Udaydiyyah camp, around three-hours drive from Cotabato, to join military training.

"This was full military training, where they were trained to assemble and use explosives, use heavy arms, read maps and other training," Marty said.

Taufik said that there were around 30 Indonesians in the camp including him and those who traveled with him.

"He said the late Fathur Rohman Al-Ghozi was one of the instructors in the training site," Marty said, referring to another convicted Indonesian terrorist who was shot dead in an armed encounter in the Philippines.

Al-Ghozi was sentenced to 17 years in prison by a district court in Manila for illegally possessing explosive material. He escaped from prison early this year and was shot dead after a long manhunt.

Marty said that in the interview, Taufik mentioned the names of nine others traveling with him from Surabaya to the Philippines in 1998.

Based on Taufik's confession, Indonesian and Philippine authorities are currently tracking down the other Indonesians who joined the military training.

"We still do not know whether these people have already returned to Indonesia, remained in the Philippines or moved to another country," he said.