Minister joins call on U.S. to explain terrorist allegations
Minister joins call on U.S. to explain terrorist allegations
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Pressure escalated on Monday for the United States to produce
evidence of its recent allegation that cells of Osama bin Laden's
al-Qaeda terrorist network were operating here, with some of the
country's high-ranking officials joining in the chorus.
A noted analyst, however, urged security officials to follow
up on the reports and stop making a fuss over the information by
suggesting that stories were fabricated to discredit the country.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda said on Monday
that there was an urgent need for the U.S. to explain to
Indonesians about its intelligence findings that terrorist cells
were operating in the country.
"They understand the urgency (to explain to the public) and I
hear they are planning to do that," Hassan said when asked
whether it was important for the U.S. to clarify its terrorist
allegation.
Hassan said that he believed Washington fully understood that
the current public opinion about their claims of a terrorist
network may provoke widespread resentment against the U.S. and
other western countries.
Following the arrest of Omar al-Faruq in Indonesia in June,
U.S. magazine Time carried stories based on CIA reports about the
operation of terrorist cells in Indonesia.
Omar al-Faruq is said to be a senior operative of al-Qaeda, a
terrorist network associated with bin Laden, who is accused by
the U.S. of masterminding the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in
Washington and New York, which claimed more than 3,000 lives.
But security officials here have yet to find any strong lead
that suggests the presence of the al-Qaeda network in the
country, with National Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief AM
Hendropriyono as the only official admitting to the existence of
terrorist cells in Indonesia.
Last week, Hendropriyono provided eight-minute video footage
of an alleged al-Qaeda training camp in Indonesia for a group of
legislators.
One of the legislators watching the video said it showed about
30 men in masks, carrying Indonesian Military (TNI) standard
issue rifles, jumping around with al-Faruq suddenly pulling off
his mask.
Hassan said that the government would not buy the information
from the U.S., but instead choose to conduct its own
investigation.
"We are not going to take the information as it is, that is
why we are conducting further investigations," Hassan said.
People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Amien Rais also
warned on Monday that the country should not dance to the same
beat as the U.S. and to be more cautious to any information
provided by that country.
"The more we react, the happier the U.S. will be seeing our
foolishness. We should set our own terms," Amien told Antara in
Palu, Central Sulawesi on Monday.
He said that the CIA had a long history of messing up
Indonesia, "so the government should not quickly believe any
information they provide".
Analyst Bara Hasibuan, however, said that the government
should follow up on information about terrorist cells in the
country.
"There is a possibility that the reports are all lies but
security officials should conduct a thorough investigation
regarding the information," Bara said.
"Their information could be an early indication of an al-Qaeda
connection in the country and we cannot deny the fact that there
is terrorism in Indonesia. Look at the Christmas bombings," Bara
said referring to the string of bomb attacks during Christmas
2000.
Meanwhile, French Ambassador to Indonesia Herve Ladsous said
in a news conference on Monday that so far he did not receive any
specific information regarding possible threats to his citizens
here.
"In the meantime there is no specific information regarding
such a threat. So far, there are no security complaints from our
citizens here," he said.