Police to watch militants

Nana Rukmana and Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Cirebon/Medan

A number of districts in West Java, believed to be home to extremists advocating sharia (Islamic law), are now under tight surveillance to prevent the possibility of further terrorist attacks, says provincial police chief Insp. Gen. Dadang S. Garnida.

"The regions in West Java that we are monitoring are those where Muslims are overly fanatic. We are conducting surveillance in those areas," Dadang said on Saturday while accompanying President Megawati Soekarnoputri's husband Taufik Kiemas who visited fishermen in Gebangmekar village, Cirebon regency, West Java.

The tight control came as the government is drafting revisions to the antiterrorism law in order to give more powers to the military following the Aug. 5 bombing of JW Marriott Hotel that killed 12 people.

The planned revisions drew fire from human rights activists and other critics, who blamed the latest terrorist attack on the poor coordination between security forces and intelligence agencies, rather than the military's lack of power.

Dadang declined to name the districts that would be monitored.

However, when asked whether the regions in question included Indramayu regency, where the affluent Al-Zaytun Islamic boarding school is accused of serving as the ninth regional military command (KW9) of Darul Islam, he said "yes".

Darul Islam, an outlawed militant Islamic movement led by Sekarmaji Marijan Kartosuwiryo, which fought for an Islamic state during the early post-colonial period from 1949 to 1962, once established strongholds in the southern parts of West Java, including Garut, Tasikmalaya, Ciamis, Kuningan and Cianjur.

Al-Zaytun leader A.S. Panji Gumilang, who allegedly was a member of Darul Islam, has flatly denied the allegations. The National Police, quoting a report filed by parents, accused the school of "brainwashing" its students in an apparent attempt to strive for an Islamic state.

It has also been accused of accepting funding from financial sources at home and overseas linked to extremist groups.

Another radical movement called Daor Koning, based in Majalengka regency, also once attracted national attention for a similar campaign for an Islamic state.

West Java, the country's most densely populated province is home to more than 38 million people and has seen several other radical movements.

Cianjur is one of the regencies in the province, where councillors had demanded the enforcement of sharia. There, Hambali, named Encep Nurjaman, was born in Sukamanah village 39 years ago.

Despite the fact that Hambali is from Cianjur and several districts are under tight surveillance, West Java should not be considered a hotbed of terrorists, Dadang said.

He explained that in the operation police would gather information on the understanding of the local people about sharia.

"In gathering the information, we will exchange data with the Communication Forum of Regional Intelligence ((Forkoinda) led by the West Java Police chief. The forum bridges information from intelligence units in West Java," Dadang added.

He said the move would also involve community organizations so as to avoid negative perceptions from the public.

"By establishing communications with all elements of the community, we hope to gain information transparently. So, it will not lead to other (repressive) measures. Because it is a matter of people's understanding, the approach should be made by appealing to people's conscience," Dadang said.

Meanwhile, National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said on Sunday the hideouts of suspects in the Marriott bombing have been detected on Java and Sumatra islands.

Police on the two islands have been ordered to step up the search for the suspects, he said.

"We are looking for them not only on Java, but also on Sumatra," Da'i told journalists in Langkat regency, North Sumatra.

He also said that part of the funds used to finance the powerful hotel blast were obtained from a robbery of a Medan branch of Bank Lippo on May 5, 2003.

"They (terrorists) got some of the funds sent (through bank accounts), but part of the funds were acquired through robberies," Da'i added.

Last week, North Sumatra Police flew in two suspects, Tony Togar and Purwadi, to Jakarta, on charges of involvement in the Bank Lippo robbery.

Earlier, another suspect in the same robbery, Idris alias Jhony Hendrawan, had also been flown from Medan to Bali for his alleged role in the Oct. 12, 2002 bombings on the resort island, which killed over 200 people, mostly foreign tourists.