Indonesian Military now drafted into antiterror war

Indonesian Military now drafted into antiterror war

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Indonesian Military (TNI) has joined the government's
campaign against terror following new indications that link
groups in Indonesia with international terrorist organizations.

TNI chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto told reporters that the
Army's counterterrorism unit, which had been virtually dormant
since the military officially lost its power over internal
security affairs in 2000, had now been drafted in to assist the
National Police and the National Intelligence Agency (BIN).

The TNI has at its disposal a well-equipped and trained
antiterrorist unit, Endriartono said.

It lost its mandate and authority to oversee internal security
when the National Police were separated from the TNI in 2000, and
the military's job was redefined as dealing solely with external
threats.

Endriartono was one of 11 senior officials who briefed the
media about the government's campaign against terrorism.

He stressed that the threat of terrorism in Indonesia existed,
but proving the connection with international terrorist groups
like Al Qaeda would be difficult.

The government's campaign received a boost with the discovery
of a collection of videos in the possession of Seyam Reda,
described by the police as a German national of Arabic descent,
who was arrested and is now under investigation.

The videos showed young men undergoing military training, and
then receiving their weapons. Police were still investigating
where and when the videos were made.

Endriartono cautioned against making light of the videos.

"The weapons were Uzi, high precision and very sophisticated.
Some of the training was very vigorous, the sort that only
professionals go through," he said.

National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar told the briefing
that the police had asked the German authorities for help in
uncovering the activities of Seyam Reda in Europe.

Police were also monitoring the activities of people named by
the Singaporean and Malaysian governments as being the leaders of
Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), which they believe to be the local branch
of, or to at least have links with, the Al Qaeda group.

Da'i pointed out that while the terrorist suspects arrested in
Malaysia and Singapore had named Abu Bakar Ba'asyir as the JI
leader, his name never came up whenever they were questioned
about who gave the orders and instructions for the attacks that
they carried out or were planning to carry out.

Instead, the suspects always referred to a certain Hambali, an
Indonesian with Malaysian residency status, who is now at large
and was last heard of in Pakistan, he said.

Police are also looking for a man identified as Iman Samudra,
whose name had also been mentioned by the suspects in Singapore
and Malaysia.

The government, however, has rejected international pressure
to arrest Ba'asyir, the chairman of the Indonesian Mujahiddin
Council, on the grounds that there is insufficient evidence.

Da'i said Indonesia had requested the Singaporean government
to hand over two of the suspects because they were wanted in
connection with the 2000 Christmas bombings in Pekanbaru and
Batam, Riau province.

Singapore had not responded to the request, he said, adding
that the Indonesian government would consider the possibility of
prosecuting the two men in Singapore as an alternative.

The National Police have also received a green light from
their American counterparts to question Omar Al Faruq, a man who
was deported by Indonesia in June and subsequently detained by
the United States on charges of terrorism.

"We're just arranging for the appropriate time," he said.

Faruq reportedly confessed about plans to strike at American
targets in Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries around
the time of the first anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks on the United States. His confession prompted Washington
to close down its missions in Indonesia and other Southeast Asian
capitals.