Laskar Jundullah untouchable despite Makassar bombing

Laskar Jundullah untouchable despite Makassar bombing

Jupriadi, The Jakarta Post, Makassar, South Sulawesi

Shortly after two bombs exploded at a McDonald's restaurant and
in front of the NV Hadji Kalla automobile showroom in Makassar on
Dec. 5, 2002, the police launched raids on the radical Laskar
Jundullah group and arrested some of its activists.

As a result of the arrests, many people immediately assumed
that Laskar Jundullah was behind the deadly explosions.

However, three days after the blasts, South Sulawesi Police
chief Insp. Gen. Firman Gani said that neither Laskar Jundullah
nor the Committee for Islamic Law Enforcement (KPSI) were
involved in the bombings.

So, who then are the real actors behind the blasts?

In a series of briefings, the police identified the prime
actor behind the bomb blasts as a local terrorist group (the
KTL). This group is allegedly headed by Agung Abdul Hamid and is
believed to be connected with a Southeast Asian terrorist
network. Agung Hamid, who is still at large, has been declared
the chief suspect in the bombings, which killed three people and
injured 11.

Agung Hamid was reportedly helped by Ilham, Masnur and
Muchtar. The last two are allegedly bomb-making experts.
Meanwhile, the group's field operatives were Ansar Daeng Salam
and Usman. Ansar was blown up in the explosion.

Other members, Mirzal and Kahar Mustafa, supplied the
detonators while Suryadi was named as the financer of the
terrorist attacks.

Police in South Sulawesi estimated that the number of
identified members of the terrorist group would rise. Until now,
investigators have named 16 people as suspects in the bombings.

They are Ansar Daeng Salam, Muchtar Daeng Lau, Usman, Masnur,
Ilham, Agung Abdul Hamid, Hisbullah Rasyid, Dahlan, Suryadi,
Lukman, Abdul Hamid, Ihwal Hamid, Mirzal, Itang, Khaerul and
Kahar Mustafa.

Four of them, Agung Abdul Hamid, Mirzal, Hisbullah Rasyid and
Dahlan are still at large.

Eight of the suspects are activists in Laskar Jundullah and
the KPSI. Agung Abdul Hamid, Muchtar Daeng Lau, Ilham, and
Hisbullah Rasyid are members of Laskar Jundullah while Masnur,
Lukman, Usman, and Dahlan are members of the KPSI.

"The bomb blasts did not involve Laskar Jundullah, the KPSI,
or other religious organizations. This is purely the work of a
local terrorist group that has links to a national or
international (terrorist) network," Firman added.

Firman emphasized that his men were concerned with
investigating the involvement of individuals, not institutions.

The South Sulawesi Police's intelligence chief, Sr. Comr.
Achmad Abdi, emphasized that although many of the suspects were
members of Laskar Jundullah, this did not necessarily mean that
the group was behind the bombing.

This stance, of course, has aroused a lot of curiosity, if not
downright incredulity.

The police's hesitancy in pointing the finger at Laskar
Jundullah seems to be intended to avoid enraging the Muslim
community in the province.

Muslim leaders here have warned the police of a possible
backlash should they declare Laskar Jundullah to be the
mastermind behind the bombings.

"Don't try to wake up a sleeping tiger. The police chief must
remember that 90 percent of South Sulawesi's population are
Muslims. So, please don't make accusations lightly," said Muslim
leader Junus Tekeng.

The police have lacked the courage to confront the KPSI,
apparently because some of its members hold important positions
in South Sulawesi. KPSI leaders Sanusi Baco and Djamaluddin Amin
are members of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah
respectively. NU and Muhammadiyah are the two biggest Muslim
organizations in the country.

Sociologist from state-run Hasanuddin University (Unhas), M.
Darwis, said that the decision not to name the two organizations
as the masterminds behind the terrorist attacks was a strategy
designed to prevent a religious backlash.

According to Darwis, the police were trying to bust the
terrorist group from the lowest level operatives up to the
highest level leaders.

"Once the main actor is arrested, everything will become
clearer," he said.

Darwis disagreed with the view that the police lacked courage
in tracking down suspected terrorists, saying that they were just
being tactful.

Meanwhile, Laskar Jundullah's deputy commander Iswari Al
Farisy said that the police decision not to immediately finger
his group was designed to avoid controversy.

Iswari emphasized that it would be unwise for the police to
blame the deadly bombing on Laskar Jundullah, saying that his
group had no desire to create anarchy in the country.

He called on the police to conduct the investigation honestly
and transparently, adding that his group was ready to cooperate
with the police in solving terrorist crimes.

Separately, KPSI secretary-general Aswar Hasan said he
believed neither the KPSI nor Laskar Jundullah carried out the
deadly bombings.

It was inconceivable for the KPSI or Laskar Jundullah to have
bombed Muslims at a McDonald's outlet during the breaking of the
fast on the eve of the Idul Fitri festival, he said.

And it was also inconceivable for the KPSI to have bombed the
NV Hadji Kalla automobile showroom, which belonged to Jusuf
Kalla, as Kalla was an advisor to the KPSI.

Both Iswari and Aswar said that all the accusations against
the KPSI and Laskar Jundullah were designed to tarnish the image
of the organizations, prevent the implementation of Islamic law
in the province and discredit emerging militant Muslim activists.