JP/2/UIN

More terrorist threats cannot be ignored, seminar says

Muhammad Nafik The Jakarta Post Jakarta

The threat of further terrorist attacks by Jamaah Islamiyyah (JI) is tangible, and could endanger peace and security throughout Southeast Asia and other regions across the globe, a three-day seminar concluded here on Thursday.

"The fact that there is a group of militant Muslims, namely JI that has the potential to perpetrate violence and commit acts of terrorism, cannot be ignored," said a statement read out on the final day of the seminar on Islamic Militant Movements in Southeast Asia.

"There is evidence that the group exists in Southeast Asia and could endanger peace and security of the region and the rest of the world as well," it added.

Authorities in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines have arrested dozens of suspects in terror incidents including the 2002 Bali bombings, who are believed to be JI members.

However, they and analysts believe that many other supporters and sympathizers of the regional terror group remain at large.

"JI or its new incarnation remains a force to be reckoned with," Sidney Jones, Indonesian project director of the International Crisis Group, told the seminar on Wednesday.

She said the existence of lethal skills, access to weapons and explosives and top-flight strategists with a jihadist vision suggest that JI's serious danger remains.

The statement read out by Murni Djamal, director of the Center for Languages and Cultures at the State Islamic University (UIN), said serious measures should be taken to curb the group's spread so as not to "harm the human civilization".

"There should also be a guarantee that civil liberties are preserved in attempting to minimize the potential danger of militancy," it added.

The seminar, organized by the Center, urged the Indonesian Military (TNI) to be more proactive in tackling the terrorist threats here.

However, elements within the military have been accused of protecting and using extremist groups to achieve their own political interests.

In a move to help counter imminent terrorist problems, the UIN unveiled a plan to conduct more academic research to shed more light on the inner workings and history of JI, provided it had the money to do so.

"We can carry out academic research on our own. But other agencies can support and cooperate with us," UIN rector Azyumardi Azra told The Jakarta Post later on Thursday.

"As an academic institution, we need do such a survey. So far, the investigation into JI has been conducted only with a security approach," he added.

The plan was also announced by Murni Djamal when closing the seminar.

He said an academic investigation is needed to "clarify and identify the membership, structure and networking" of JI in the southeast Asia region.

"Needless to say the State Islamic University is one of the most appropriate institutions to conduct research with support and cooperation from our partners," Djamal said.

He mentioned the partners, such as the Indonesia-Netherlands Islamic Studies (INIS), the Ford Foundation and the Asia Foundation.