Police to watch militants

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.