Police to monitor foreign citizens
Rendi A. Witular and Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The police will intensify security measures at home, including by closely monitoring foreign citizens entering the country, as a precaution to prevent new terrorist attacks following the escape of international terrorist Omar al-Farouq from a U.S. detention facility.
"Of course we'll be vigilant. It means that we'll take measures to prevent negative incidents from occurring in Indonesia. Hopefully, he (al-Farouq) will not reenter this country," National Police chief Gen. Sutanto announced on Monday.
"Basically, we'll boost security measures, including (by monitoring) foreigners entering the country," he added.
Sutanto said that the police would also continue to monitor the activities of al-Farouq's family and friends here.
"We have questioned his (Indonesian) wife, but she claims she doesn't know anything."
Al-farouq, one of the leaders of the al-Qaeda terror network, and three other inmates escaped from a U.S. maximum security military prison in Afghanistan in July, but it was only fully revealed to the media recently.
A lieutenant of Osama bin Laden, Al-farouq was captured by Indonesian authorities in 2002 in Bogor, West Java, and handed over to U.S. authorities. Prior to his capture, Al-farouq married an Indonesian woman, 27-year-old Mira Agustina.
The escape of al-Farouq has raised concerns that he might take retaliatory measures by launching new attacks on Indonesia. There has been warnings from other countries that terrorists might make new strikes in the country before year-end.
Elsewhere, Sutanto said that the Indonesian government had used diplomatic channels to seek an official explanation from the U.S. about al-Farouq's escape.
"A diplomatic approach has been taken to obtain clear information about the case. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is still waiting for the official notification," he said.
The government has been facing strong criticism for failing to quickly seek an explanation from the U.S. government about the escape in order to ascertain necessary measures to prevent new terror attacks in the country.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta declined to comment on why Washington had failed to inform Indonesia on the escape of al-Farouq.
"I have no comment. The (U.S.) attorney general spoke in an interview with CNN last week," said Max Kwak, press attache of the U.S. Embassy on Monday, adding that he suggested The Jakarta Post get a copy of the interview.
U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales described the apparent breakdown in communication as a "serious problem" and told CNN that it would be investigated.