Interpol intensifies search for Hambali

Interpol intensifies search for Hambali

Yogita Tahilramani and Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The National Central Bureau of ICPO-Interpol is intensifying
its search for Islamic preacher Nurjaman Riduan Isamuddin alias
Hambali, who is wanted by Malaysian Police for his reported links
to international terrorist groups.

Hambali is also the prime suspect in the 2000 Christmas Eve
bomb attacks in some areas of Sumatra and Java.

The search for Hambali has been intensified, reportedly
following testimony given by militant suspects detained in
Malaysia to visiting Indonesian police detectives recently.

"Based on the evidence we have, our understanding for now is
that Hambali is alleged to have links with international
terrorist groups," National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said
on Thursday.

The Malaysian Police had earlier arrested 13 members of a new
wing of Muslim militant group, Kumpulan Militan Malaysia (KMM),
and were investigating the group's possible links with Zacarias
Moussaoui, the Frenchman who is the sole person being tried for
his alleged role in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United
States.

Inspector-General of Malaysian Police Tan Sri Norian Mai had
earlier said the 13 men were arrested in follow-up operations
conducted after the arrests of 25 other members of KMM, including
its leader Nik Mohd Adli Nik Aziz, a son of the Kelantan state
premier.

"We are still investigating whether there was a link between
Zacarias and any of the personalities we have arrested," Norian
said.

The new wing was different from the KMM group headed by Nik
Mohd Adli, though it was led by the same three "directing
figures".

The three "directing figures" were identified as Indonesian
Mujahiddin Council chief Abu Bakar Ba'asyir alias Abdus Samad,
independent preacher Hambali alias Nurjaman Riduan Isamuddin, who
also hails from Indonesia, and another independent preacher
Indonesian-born Mohamad Iqbal A.Rahman, who has been in detention
under the Internal Security Act (ISA) since last June.

The 13 men were arrested because they were believed to be
carrying out activities considered a threat to national security,
including holding secret meetings for the setting up of a daulah
Islamiah (Islamic government).

"There are plans to form a daulah Islamiah covering this
country, Indonesia and the southern Philippines, the majority of
whose people are Muslims, according to their own perception,"
Norian said.

National Police chief of detectives Insp. Gen. Engkesman
Hillep earlier said that Indonesian Police had been searching for
Hambali for the past year. Hambali was believed to have financed
and supplied the explosives for the Christmas terror bombings on
Indonesian churches, which left 19 people dead.

Married to a Malaysian woman, Hambali is an Indonesian raised
in Cianjur, West Java, who has residence rights in Malaysia.

"Singapore insists he is in Indonesia. We have tried to find him
everywhere and combed every place we believe he might be hiding
in Indonesia. The fact is, if a trained person really does not
want to be found ... it is difficult to find him," Engkesman
said.

According to Engkesman, the National Central Bureau of ICPO-
Interpol had requested the Saudi Arabian Police in February,
2001, to track down Hambali, who was then strongly suspected to
have been in Saudi Arabia performing a haj pilgrimage.

Hambali, along with another man identified as Imam Samudra, is
being sought in Indonesia after police found documents
implicating him in a series of bomb attacks on Indonesian
churches on Christmas Eve 2000. The documents said Hambali and
Samudra financed and supplied the explosives for the attacks.
Hambali was last seen in East Jakarta in October 2001.

Indonesia has lately come under intense pressure from its
neighbors to take tough action against alleged terrorist leaders.

Police have questioned Indonesian Mujahidin Council chief Abu
Bakar Ba'asyir over his alleged links to terrorist groups.
Ba'asyir has denied all allegations.

Singapore Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew last week made
unsubstantiated statements on terrorists roaming free in
Indonesia. His statements evoked fierce criticism from the
Indonesian government, which labeled Lee as being tactless for
making the statements without informing Indonesia beforehand of
any information Lee might have had on the presence of terrorists
in Indonesia.

Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals' Association (ICMI) chairman
Adi Sasono suggested on Thursday that Indonesia bring up the
issue of Lee's statements during a diplomatic session of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

"We believe diplomatic efforts and stricter action are needed
to prevent an escalation of this problem. The mechanism in ASEAN
must be upheld," Adi told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of a
meeting he had with legislators here.

The former minister said that Indonesia may have expressed its
stance on terrorism, but it still refrained from showing it
firmly and clearly when foreign countries, like Singapore,
launched accusations about terrorism against Indonesia.

"The Indonesian government takes no action when accusations
are made by Singapore," Adi said.