RI dismisses criticism of U.S. envoy

RI dismisses criticism of U.S. envoy

Kurniawan Hari and Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Medan

An Indonesian official brushed off criticism on Sunday from an
American diplomat, who said he was concerned that Indonesia was
not doing enough to combat terrorism, by claiming that police
could not arrest suspected terrorists without evidence.

"We can't arrest someone unless there is enough proof that he
or she has broken the law," Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman
Wahid Supriyadi told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

Wahid was commenting on a statement by U.S. Ambassador to
Singapore Frank Lavin who called on Indonesia to follow Singapore
and Malaysia in taking tougher actions against persons suspected
of conducting terrorist activities.

Speaking before diplomats, scholars and businessmen, Lavin
said it was "disturbing" to read reports that some of the
suspected terrorists who had planned to attack American targets
in Singapore had fled to Indonesia.

An immigration official in Medan, North Sumatra told The
Jakarta Post on Saturday that officials from the National
Intelligence Board (BIN), the local military and police had
contacted him to ask if five Singapore passport holders had
entered Indonesia through Belawan seaport.

Muriaandi, head of the immigration office at the port, said
the Singapore citizens indeed arrived aboard the Ekspres Bahagia
ferry in Belawan on Jan. 9.

He said he had instructed his subordinates to check the
whereabouts of the five men following the calls from security
officials.

He identified the five as Isak Bin Nohu, Mohammad Hasan,
Maslamat Bin Kastar, Husaini Bin Ismail and Mohammad Rasyid Bin
Zainal Abidin.

Wahid said Indonesia was continuing to work together with its
neighbors to counter terrorism in the region.

"But we are not like Malaysia or Singapore, whose Internal
Security Act allows them to detain anyone without trial. Our
police face legal barriers," he said.

Indonesia dropped the subversion law, which allowed for
arbitrary arrests for the sake of national security, in the wake
of demands for sweeping reforms in 1999.

Wahid said an agreement would be signed among foreign
ministers of several Southeast Asian countries to improve patrols
in anticipation of transnational terrorism. The ministerial
meeting, the schedule of which remains undecided, will follow the
previous talks between senior officials last December.

He said the ministry would not issue an official response to
the criticism, saying the U.S. envoy likely made the statement as
an individual, not a spokesman for the U.S.

Authorities in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Manila arrested a
number of Indonesians suspected of having ties with Osama bin
Laden's al-Qaeda network, which has been blamed for the Sept. 11,
2001 attacks in U.S.

The National Police did question Muslim cleric Abu Bakar
Ba'asyir, who Singapore and Malaysia link to regional terrorist
groups, but stated that there was no evidence and released him.

Two senior police officers have also traveled to Manila, where
Philippine authorities have detained Fatur Rohman al-Ghozi, an
Indonesian arrested recently for allegedly bombing Manila and
setting up terrorist cells throughout Southeast Asia. Fatur was
once a student at Ba'asyir's school.