AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, Thursday December 13, 2001 5:09 PM
Al-Qaeda foreigners trained in riot-hit Sulawesi: intelligence chief
JAKARTA, Dec 12 (AFP) - Indonesia's intelligence chief said Thursday foreign
members of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda group had trained in a district of Central
Sulawesi torn apart by Muslim-Christian fighting.
Abdullah Hendropriyono, head of the national intelligence agency, said al-Qaeda
members recently arrested in Spain had spoken of the training camp in Poso district,
confirming a discovery by Indonesian security forces of the now-empty site.
"Those in conflict in Poso are Indonesians against Indonesians, Muslims against
Christians... but meanwhile, in Poso there is also a place used by foreigners,
al-Qaeda (members) based in Spain," Hendropriyono told reporters.
Eight alleged members of the network associated with Saudi dissident bin Laden were
arrested on November 13 in Madrid and Granada.
According to Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon, the eight are thought to have played a
role in the planning of the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington.
Speaking after a cabinet meeting, the Indonesian intelligence boss added that the
Poso camp had been vacated for some time and the involvement of the al-Qaeda
members in the unrest was still being investigated.
"Therefore I am warning, be careful, we are currently investigating" possible links
between home-grown Muslim extremists in Poso and the foreigners, he said.
Hendropriyono on Wednesday became the first Indonesian official to confirm a
possible al-Qaeda presence in the world's biggest Muslim-majority country, saying
that operatives set up training camps in Central Sulawesi nearly two years ago.
"I announced it because now is the time for the warning, I have to warn the people (in
Poso) so that they not be used by them (the foreign al-Qaeda members),"
Hendropriyono said after the cabinet meeting.
Poso has been hit by intermittent sectarian clashes between Muslims and Christians
since March 2000.
More than 300 people have died in the violence since May last year, with Christian
community leaders alleging the involvement of a Java-based Muslim radical group,
Laskar Jihad (Jihad Force.)
Laskar Jihad says it has sent more than 1,000 fighters to Poso to help fellow Muslims
but has denied links to al-Qaeda, saying that it does not agree with the militant brand
of Islam practised by bin Laden.
The Indonesian national police chief, General Da'i Bachtiar, said Hendropriyono's
allegations were being investigated but that no evidence had yet been found.
"It could be an analysis of the intelligence agency but we have to develop it on site to
prove it," he said.
Defence Minister Matori Abdul Jalil, however, said Hendropriyono's statements must
have been based on "data and facts".
The US embassy responded to Hendropriyono's remarks by welcoming Indonesia's
commitment to fight terrorism.
"Al-Qaeda has established terrorist cells in scores of countries around the world,
including our own, and no country is immune," an embassy spokesman said.
"We welcome the Indonesian government's commitment to fight against terrorism and
any efforts to prevent al-Qaeda members from finding safe haven in their country."
The government has launched a security operation to restore law and order in the
Central Sulawesi region, starting with the disarming of the warring groups and the
expulsion of outsiders.
Laskar Jihad has also sent thousands of members to fight alongside Muslims in the
Maluku "spice" islands, where sectarian clashes with Christians have raged since
January 1999.
Copyright © 2001 AFP. All rights reserved.
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