RI regrets RP statement on suspected terrorist

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja The Jakarta Post Jakarta

The government regretted on Friday the Philippine's supposition that suspected terrorist Taufik Rifki is Indonesian, despite the fact that his nationality has not yet been established.

Spokesman of the ministry of foreign affairs Marty Natalegawa said that the statement may have tarnished the image of the world's most populous Muslim country.

He said that until now the Philippines had found no solid proof of Taufik's citizenship.

Referring to the statement, Marty said, "We have no proof of identification that he is an Indonesian citizen. The suggestion (that Taufik is an Indonesian) is based on his confession alone.

"We should be more careful with statements that we cannot verify as they could create misperceptions about Indonesia," he added.

Indonesia has delayed providing consular assistance to the suspect. But Marty said a letter had been sent to the Philippine foreign affairs ministry and ministry of defense asking for the opportunity to question Taufik directly.

"We do not want to be involved in the ongoing legal process against Taufik if there is not legal certainty on his citizenship," he said.

Taufik, who was arrested on Oct. 2, has been declared the second in command of the Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) terrorist network in the Southern Philippines.

The Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said on Friday that JI was a national threat as the recent arrest of Taufik had revealed that the group's plans were "both deadly and far-ranging" and could threaten the stability of the region.

The Philippine police said Taufik had confessed under interrogation that he was JI's "finance and liaison officer" responsible for funding deadly bombings in the south.

His arrest led government forces to an alleged JI hideout, where they recovered bomb-making equipment and radical Islamic literature.

The Philippine police also said that the arrested man is closely related to the late Fathurrahman Al-Ghozi, an Indonesian who was sentenced to 17-years imprisonment in Manila but was killed in a shoot-out after escaping from prison.

Marty said there that many Indonesians left the country for years only to lose their citizenship, as they never registered themselves with the Indonesian embassy.

"We also hear that Taufik is speaking with a Malay accent, so there are many possibilities regarding his citizenship," Marty said.