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The Jakarta Post


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.

All contents copyright © of The Jakarta Post.
 


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