Terror groups receive foreign funding: BIN

Terror groups receive foreign funding: BIN

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Semarang

The amount of money obtained by local terror groups, including
Azahari's network, is substantial with a staggering US$75,000
channeled to the terror groups in the country in the past few
years, BIN has revealed. While one may think that the money would
have been sent through modern means such as bank transfer, the
top intelligence official here said on Thursday the money had
been transported through couriers.

"The money came from individuals in Middle Eastern and Asian
countries. The US$75,000 figure was worked out as the result of
an investigation held this year," chief of State Intelligence
Agency (BIN) chief Maj. Gen. (ret) Syamsir Siregar told reporters
after a closed door meeting with legislators on Thursday here.

Although Syamsir admitted that the flow of money had stopped.
the account had raised the alarm that terror activities had
extended beyond the country's borders. With the huge amount of
money acquired from foreign funding, it does explain how the
terrorists groups had possessed enormous capability to perpetrate
sophisticated terrorist attacks. The Bali bombing in 2002 which
killed over 200 people was an example of the level of
sophistication of the devices created by the well financed terror
networks.

Syamsir explained the terror groups received funding based on
the targets. The financiers would figure out how much money the
terror groups should receive per target, and it would be sent
through couriers. Each target was treated differently, said
Syamsir.

After learning that foreign parties had donated money to
terror groups operating in the country, Syamsir said he hoped to
deploy intelligence agents at a number of Indonesian embassies
abroad. Based on preliminary study, BIN is considering deploying
intelligence officers in the Philippines, Thailand and some
countries in the Middle East. "But, whether the plan is feasible,
we will see how this goes with the foreign ministry," he said.

The foreign terrorist funding came to light after the police
raided a house rented by master bombmaker Azahari in the sleepy
town of Malang, East Java, which resulted in the death of
Azahari, Southeast Asia's most-wanted terrorist. Azahari's death
has revealed more about terror funding with National Police chief
Gen. Sutanto disclosing recently that funding came from parties
in the Middle East. However, the police general said the flow of
funds from the Middle East had stopped last year.

Azahari, along with his Malaysian compatriot Noordin M. Top,
are accused of masterminding a series of bomb attacks in the
country in the past few years.

In a separate development, after a two-week long manhunt,
Central Java Police have reportedly arrested Dwi Widyarto, who is
charged with being a courier in the Azahari terror network.
Central Java Police chief Insp. Gen. Chaerul Rasyid confirmed the
arrest but refused to reveal when and where the suspect was
apprehended.

Meanwhile, after a week-long investigation, Jakarta Police
announced on Thursday that three people had been named suspects
for harboring Azahari and Noordin. The three people were arrested
on Nov. 17 in Pekalongan, Central Java province, said Jakarta
Police spokesman I Ketut Untung Yoga Ana.