CNSNews, December 12, 2001
Al-Qaeda Linked To Violence Against Christians in Indonesia
By Patrick Goodenough, Pacific Rim Bureau Chief
Pacific Rim Bureau (CNSNews.com) - Indonesia's government has for the first time
admitted there are links between foreign terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda, and local
militants engaged in a violent struggle against Indonesian Christians.
National Intelligence Agency Chief Lieut. Gen. Abdullah Hendropriyono told reporters
in Jakarta Wednesday that recent upsurge in sectarian violence in Central Sulawesi
province was "the result of cooperation between international terrorist [groups] and
radical groups in the country."
Asked whether the foreign groups included Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network,
Hendropriyono replied: "Yes, that is what it means ... it is among the groups that I
mean."
He declined to elaborate, or to name the domestic militants he was referring to. But
some 1,000 members of the Laskar Jihad group, based on Indonesia's main island of
Java, recently arrived on Sulawesi, allegedly spearheading attacks by local Muslims
against Christian villages.
Despite claims to the contrary from Western intelligence agencies, Indonesia has
consistently denied that any international terrorist group had obtained a foothold in the
world's most populous country.
Laskar Jihad claims it has no links with al-Qaeda, although Christian workers visiting
Sulawesi recently reported seeing large posters of bin Laden at roadblocks set up by
Laskar Jihad fighters, some carrying slogans saying the Saudi terror chief "is our
leader."
Afghans and Pakistanis have been involved in helping train Muslims in Sulawesi,
according to local police reports. Several hundred Indonesians were also reported to
have been fighting for the Taliban in Afghanistan before the militia's collapse.
Under growing international pressure, the Jakarta government in recent days has sent
2,000 police and troop reinforcements to Sulawesi, and reports from the area say the
situation has eased.
Security Minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Wednesday it would keep a close
watch on outsiders entering the conflict zone.
Despite recent comments from Susilo and other officials to the effect that
troublemakers from outside should be expelled, there have been no reports of the
Laskar Jihad newcomers being forced to return to Java.
Susilo reiterated Wednesday that outsiders would be deported, but then suggested
thorough legal processes would have to be followed first.
The World Council of Churches Wednesday added its weight to pressure from abroad,
asking the U.N.'s top human rights official to urge Jakarta to take serious measures to
end the violence.
The WCC asked Mary Robinson, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, to call on
Indonesia "to ensure the safety of the people of Sulawesi; to ensure that perpetrators
responsible for the acts of violence are brought to justice; and further to take
necessary steps to disarm private armed groups such as the Laskar Jihad."
Sulawesi's Poso district has been the scene of sporadic Muslim-Christian violence
since early 2000, mirroring the even more serious situation in neighboring Maluku,
where more than 5,000 people have died in clashes since January 1999.
A relative lull in Sulawesi was shattered after the arrival of the Laskar Jihad members
last October, according to church leaders and human rights groups.
Since late November, dozens of Christian villages and at least 11 churches have been
destroyed by armed Muslim gangs, prompting thousands of Christians to flee their
homes. At least 15 deaths have been reported.
Bin Laden Links Denied
Laskar Jihad maintains it has sent its members to Sulawesi merely to help defend
local Muslims against attacks by Christians and alleged efforts by Christian
missionaries to "convert Muslims into non-believers."
Its leader Jafar Umar Thalib fought in the anti-Soviet war in Afghanistan in the 1980s.
Veterans of that jihad are among the most dedicated militants involved in Islamist
struggles in places like Kashmir, Algeria and Chechnya, according to
counter-terrorism researchers.
Jafar admits to having met bin Laden when they both fought in Afghanistan, but denies
any links with him or his al-Qaeda network.
According to the Laskar Jihad website, the organization "has never received support
either financially or militarily from Osama bin Laden for the purposes of Jihad ...
Laskar Jihad distances itself from Osama bin Laden and his followers."
The website also contains a lengthy theological discourse by a leading Saudi scholar,
Mufti Abdul Azziz bin Baz, questioning bin Laden's approach of attacking Muslim
governments.
Called a message of advice to bin Laden "and a warning and advice to all those who
traverse his path," the article condemns him as one "who has revolted and gathered a
group behind him, has pulled out his sword, and has made lawful the killing of
Muslims."
Muslims are obliged "to cooperate with the rulers, judges and callers to Allah, and
with everyone who is working to make the truth manifest," says the article by bin Baz,
who died in 1999.
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