'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."