The Jakarta Post, November 19, 2005
Radical groups must be outlawed: Ex-spy chief
The police shot dead Indonesia's most-wanted bomber, Dr. Azahari bin Husin, and
one of his followers, Arman, in a raid on their hideout in the East Java hill resort of
Batu a week ago, and subsequently arrested at least five terrorist operatives. Former
National Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief A.M. Hendropriyono recently spoke with The
Jakarta Post's Ridwan Max Sijabat on the raid and the counterterrorism effort in
general. The following are excerpts from the interview.
Question: What does Azahari's death mean?
Answer: It means that Azahari existed; he is not a pseudo-terror master. He and his
compatriot Noordin M. Top recruited locals to help carry out their terror operations in
Indonesia. They formed a terrorist organization that has long been identified as being
part of, or affiliated to, Jemaah Islamiyah (JI).
This has convinced the security forces and the public that this terrorist network was
behind the (Oct. 1) triple suicide bombings of Bali restaurants that killed at least 23
people, including a number of foreigners. Azahari and his companions launched these
terror attacks from East Java.
Azahari, along with Noordin, masterminded the 2002 Bali bombings that killed more
than 200 people and a series of terror attacks in Jakarta in 2003 and 2004.
What does it means for the security authorities?
This is the best result achieved by the police since their successful work in dealing
with the 2002 Bali bombings, the major perpetrators of which have been brought to
court.
The police and intelligence apparatus are racing against time to arrest Noordin and his
men within the month as the Batu raid has put them in a corner and they are
temporarily not so solid. The security forces, with the help of the public, have to work
harder to track down those involved in the terrorist network before Noordin and his
local accomplices form new cells or launch new attacks.
With the latest arrests, the police and intelligence apparatus should be able to
unearth more and more information on the terrorist network's cells, at least in this
country, to hunt down Noordin and the local JI operatives, and to find their hideouts
and ammunition and explosives dumps.
What does it mean for the government?
Azahari's death will restore public confidence in the government-backed
counterterrorism measures. The successful crackdown has won high praise for
Indonesia from foreign countries for its resolute participation in the global war on
terrorism.
No less important is that the government should declare Jemaah Islamiyah and other
similar radical groups, such as the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) and Laskar Jihad, to
be prohibited organizations as they regularly use violence to pursue their ends and
fight for their objectives.
This would allow the government to move forward in countering terrorism. Two years
ago, many government officials and certain groups in society were skeptical about the
existence of terrorists in this country, including JI, and this made the security
authorities think twice about taking the necessary measures (against the terrorists).
If the government is serious about eradicating terrorism right down to its roots, it must
no longer play the role of fireman. It must take anticipatory and preventive action as
part of an early warning system to avoid any more bomb threats and attacks in the
future.
The FPI and similar organizations must be outlawed as they, in fact, use violence.
Their prohibition is quite important for restoring the government's authority and
upholding the rule of law. They can no longer be allowed to take the law into their own
hands. The government is obliged to comply with the law on freedom of organization,
but it must also protect the rights of the majority of the people and its own authority.
What about regional and international cooperation in fighting against terrorism?
ASEAN nations should enhance existing cooperation, especially in the fields of
information exchange and operation to hunt down other JI operatives in Malaysia, the
southern Philippines, southern Thailand and Indonesia. The United States and
Australia have been cooperative and have assisted Indonesia to improve its
counterterrorist capacity.
With the establishment of the antiterror desk, the police should enhance coordination
with BIN, the immigration service and the military to improve the early warning
system, uncover the terrorist network and conduct preemptive strikes on terrorist
nests in the country.
What do you think of the intelligence bill?
The nation needs a set of appropriate laws to effectively counter terrorism. The
government should immediately review the antiterror bill and enact the intelligence bill
to provide a legal basis for counterterrorism measures.
The government and House of Representatives should consult with all stakeholders,
including BIN and the police, to ensure that the bill is capable of being implemented.
Besides the police, BIN should be given the power to arrest suspected terrorists or
their close relatives so as to allow intelligence agents to penetrate the terrorist
networks. But this must be subject to the condition that those arrested must not be
tortured or persecuted, while intelligence agents wrongly arresting people should be
punished.
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