VP uninformed of al-Qaeda member arrest

VP uninformed of al-Qaeda member arrest

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

In another example of poor coordination in President Megawati
Soekarnoputri's administration, Vice President Hamzah Haz
admitted on Tuesday he had no knowledge of the arrest of an
alleged al-Qaeda operative in Indonesia.

"Please if there is any data, give it to the government,"
Hamzah said.

The Vice President was commenting on CIA reports that
Indonesian intelligence agents had arrested Omar al-Faruq, 31, in
Bogor on June 5 and handed him over to United States officials.
He is currently being detained in Afghanistan.

Al-Faruq claimed he had attempted to assassinate President
Megawati Soekarnoputri twice in 1999 and 2001.

Previously, National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said his
officers had not arrested and deported al-Faruq and were not
aware of an operation to nab him.

Cracks have been found in Megawati's Cabinet on several
issues, including the recent deportation of undocumented workers
from Malaysia, protection of workers, bank privatization and
mining in protected forests.

Hamzah said any party who had knowledge about the presence of
al-Qaeda members in the country should inform the government. "If
there is an al-Qaeda network here, we will take actions."

In an interview with Time magazine, Coordinating Minister for
Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono confirmed
the arrest of al-Faruq.

The magazine reported in its issue dated Sept. 23 that al-
Faruq had admitted to being the senior representative for al-
Qaeda in the region. He was arrested for obtaining a fake
Indonesian passport.

"Yes! The arrest was made in Indonesia and since he was not an
Indonesian citizen, he was handed over to the international
authorities for further legal process," Yudhoyono said when asked
to confirm al-Faruq's arrest.

Speaking on the sidelines of a seminar here, Yudhoyono said
Jakarta was currently "working in a meticulous and serious
manner" on intelligence reports provided by other countries,
including the United States.