Laskar Jihad members start to upset Papuans: Thaha

R.K. Nugroho and Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura/Yogyakarta

Separatist leaders have rejected the presence of the Java-based Laskar Jihad militant group in the troubled province of Papua, which they said had sparked disquiet among local people.

At least 200 members of Laskar Jihad arrived in Jayapura six months ago from Jakarta and have since then been conducting religious activities in at least three regencies, Sorong, Fak Fak and Manokwari, areas which play host to Muslim migrants from other provinces.

Ayip Syafruddin, spokesman for the militant group, said on Thursday that the arrival of its members was so as to expand "the organization's wings" in Papua.

"They have set up six regency branches there including ones in Sorong, Jayapura and Manokwari," he told The Jakarta Post in Yogyakarta.

He said they were also engaged in propagating Islam and educational activities, and were publishing bulletins and a tabloid news sheet for Muslims in the province.

But Muhammad Thaha Al Hamid, secretary general of the pro- independence Papua Presidium Council (PDP), told the Post that Laskar Jihad had started to upset Papuans, mostly Christians, as they were distributing VCD cassettes depicting sectarian fighting in the Maluku islands.

Laskar Jihad has been blamed for further worsening the sectarian conflicts in Maluku and Poso regency in Central Sulawesi, conflicts which killed thousands of people and forced thousands of others to flee.

Thaha warned that the presence of Laskar Jihad could damage the close relations between Muslims and Christians, who had been living together peacefully in the province.

"It's 38 years since Papua became a part of the Indonesian Republic and there has never been a conflict between Muslims and Christians. Such a situation should be allowed to continue," he asserted.

He said that Laskar Jihad's presence in Papua would only disadvantage the Muslim community itself as it could eventually spark hatred between Muslims and non-Muslims.

Thaha refrained from calling on local security authorities to expel Laskar Jihad from the country's easternmost province.

Papua Police chief Insp. Gen. Made Mangku Pastika denied that Laskar Jihad had entered the province, but said: "Those coming into Papua are members of the Ahlis Sunnah Waljamaah group".

Ahlis Sunnah Waljamaah is a militant Islamic group of which Laskar Jihad is a part. Its headquarters are in the tourist city of Yogyakarta.

Pastika said their presence in Papua had officially been reported to the authorities in the regencies.

He also denied reports that Laskar Jihad was conducting combat training in Papua.