Terrorism fight grows in SE Asia
Terrorism fight grows in SE Asia
Chris Foley, Agence France-Presse, Singapore
The arrests of a further 21 suspected terrorists in Singapore put
Southeast Asia's importance to al-Qaeda sharply into focus
analysts said Tuesday as counter-terrorism warnings were stepped
up.
In the Philippines, four Indonesians were arrested during a
terrorist sweep on Tuesday, Australia said it faced threats from
terrorists across the region, and Indonesia confirmed the arrest
of Omar al-Faruq, said to be al-Qaeda's senior operative in
Southeast Asia.
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said on Tuesday
recent threats were being taken seriously and all Australian
diplomatic posts in Southeast Asia had been asked to review their
security levels.
The four Indonesian men wee arrested in anti-terrorist sweeps
in the southern city of General Santos, the military said on
Tuesday.
The suspects, Uskar Makawata, Jaka Antari, Julkiri Letemba and
Rahman Yanis arrived in the city on July 22 and were rounded up
in police-military raids on Saturday, said Brig. Gen. Generoso
Senga, head of an infantry division in the area.
The military report said guns and bullets were seized from one
house and "subversive" documents from the house of Makawata.
"We were wondering why they are in the area, and it's a
concern," Senga said.
At least three of the suspects are "natives of North Sulawesi"
and none of them had proper travel documents, he said.
The Philippines has earlier jailed two Indonesians with JI
connections.
Intelligence reports quoted by Time magazine this week said
that al-Faruq, now being interrogated by the CIA in Afghanistan,
had been coordinating disparate Islamic militant groups in the
region to attack U.S. and allied targets.
Indonesia, long seen as not making any terrorist arrests,
confirmed on Tuesday that al-Faruq was detained in June and
handed "to international authorities".
Coordinating Minister for Security Affairs Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono said Jakarta was working on intelligence reports
provided by other countries, but would not say if there was
evidence of more al-Qaeda in Indonesia.
The United States, Britain and Australia closed several
diplomatic missions in the region last Wednesday in response to
security threats on the Sept. 11 anniversary partly based on
evidence from al-Faruq.
Of nearly 100 suspected terrorists being held in Singapore and
Malaysia, most have been linked to Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) which is
trying to establish a pan-Islamic state in Southeast Asia taking
in Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei and the southern
Philippines.
Although moderate Muslims in the largely Islamic region have
loudly disassociated themselves from the radicals and sided with
the war on terror, analysts say that support could easily be
lost.
A U.S. attack Iraq could tip the balance, said Kumar
Ramakrishna, from the Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies
in Singapore.
"In view of what has happened with Iraq turning around and
saying it will accept US weapons inspectors, if the United States
goes ahead and attacks... there will be more angry Muslims," he
said.
"That is not to say they would be extremists, but more angry
and therefore the potential for JI to win recruits is increased."
JI plans uncovered in Singapore included using 17 tons of
ammonium nitrate to make seven massive truck bombs, with targets
including the fortress-like U.S. embassy and other Western
missions.
Singapore is now holding 34 accused terrorists but it did not
mean it had broken the JI.
"Investigations are continuing," the home affairs ministry
said.
Of the 34 being held under the tough Internal Security Act
(ISA), which allows for indefinite detention without trial, 32
"are or have been" JI members.
Two have been linked to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front
(MILF), the largest Muslim separatist force in the Philippines,
although MILF has denied any direct association with JI.
Malaysia has detained 62 alleged Islamic extremists from the
Malaysian Militant Group (KMM) which has also been linked to JI
which in turn has close connections with Osama bin Laden's al-
Qaeda.
One of the detainees, former Malaysian army officer Yazid
Sufaat, allegedly met in January 2000 with two of the 19 al-Qaeda
hijackers who carried out the attacks on New York and Washington.
In Singapore, questions arose about evidence against the
terrorist suspects.
Sinapan Samydorai, from the Think Center rights group in
Singapore, said the 34 should put its accused terrorists on trial
if the government has evidence to back its claims.
"If there really is a serious threat to the country they would
be tried. It seems they don't have enough evidence to take them
to court."