'Terror allegations not matched with evidence'

'Terror allegations not matched with evidence'

Yogita Tahilramani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Despite the Malaysian Police sharing extensive information
with their Indonesian counterparts on the alleged involvement of
three Indonesian Muslim clerics in a regional terror network, the
Indonesian Police claim they cannot act on the information
without solid evidence.

National Police inspector-general Comr. Gen. Ahwil Luthan said
on Thursday he spent nearly a month visiting Kuala Lumpur, Sabah,
Penang and Kuching to investigate claims made by Malaysia that
three Indonesian clerics were involved in terrorist groups.

"I got lots of information, but most of it was not based on
real evidence... it was mostly based on testimonies given by the
men currently detained in Malaysia (for allegedly having ties
with a terrorist involved in the Sept. 11 attacks)," Ahwil told
The Jakarta Post.

The three clerics are identified as Indonesian Mujahidin
Council chief Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, alias Abdus Samad, independent
preacher Hambali, alias Nurjaman Riduan Isamuddin, and another
independent preacher Indonesian-born Mohamad Iqbal A.Rahman, who
has been in detention under the Internal Security Act (ISA) since
last June.

While Indonesian Police have grilled Ba'asyir over his alleged
involvement with the al-Qaeda terrorist network, Hambali is still
a fugitive and one of the Indonesian Police's most wanted
criminals, for his alleged involvement in the 2000 Christmas
bombings.

Based on witness testimonies, 13 men who had been arrested by
Malaysian authorities under the ISA claimed that Ba'asyir,
Hambali and Iqbal had been the three "directing figures" who had
reportedly organized secret meetings to set up the Daulah
Islamiah (Islamic government).

The Daulah Islamiah would have reportedly covered Malaysia,
Indonesia and southern Philippines, where the majority of the
population are Muslim.

The 13 men, who are members of the Kumpulan Militan Malaysia
(KMM), were also arrested for their alleged link with Zacarias
Moussaoui, the Frenchman who is the only person currently being
tried for his alleged role in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in
the United States.

"If we receive new evidence, we will not hesitate to summon
Abu Bakar Ba'asyir again for questioning," Ahwil said.

He returned from Malaysia on Wednesday. On the same day,
National Police's top detective, Insp. Gen. Engkesman Hillep and
his team left for Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines, to
investigate the alleged terrorist links.

"I went there mainly to open the doors for Insp. Gen.
Engkesman and his team... so that they would be able to interview
the 13 men detained in Malaysia," Ahwil said.

He added that the Malaysian authorities insisted there were
extremist groups that had links with the terrorist al-Qaeda
network operating in Indonesia.

"Intelligence information both in Indonesia and Malaysia state
that a militant training camp linked to al-Qaeda had training
sessions in Palu, Sulawesi... where Parlindungan Siregar
reportedly was one of the trainees," Ahwil said.

"Police went to the site but only found remains of a destroyed
building. Not a single shred of evidence has been left there, so
the police cannot act because they are without sufficient
evidence."

He added that unlike Malaysia, which could arrest anybody
suspected of having terrorist links under the ISA without
evidence, for a period of two years, Indonesia still had to
depend on real evidence.

"Without solid proof, we cannot make any arrests."