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.