The Straits Times, Monday, February 10, 2003
Militant leader lying low for now
...but jihad still a priority for the leader of Laskar Jihad
By Devi Asmarani
JAKARTA - Militant leader Jafaar Umar Thalib is living a low-profile life - teaching
religion, writing a book.
Mr Jafaar was acquitted late last month of charges of provoking violence, spreading
hatred against the Indonesian government and defaming the president. -- AFP
He is not likely to revive his infamous militia, Laskar Jihad, anytime soon, having been
acquitted by a Jakarta court only recently, his friends said.
But for the 42-year-old cleric once dubbed as the most dangerous man in Indonesia,
waging jihad or holy war remains a priority and mobilising the religious zealots that
make up his followers could be just a matter of time, they said.
The East Jakarta Court late last month found him not guilty of provoking violence,
spreading hatred against the government and defaming the president in the
conflict-torn province of Maluku.
The judges said he had the right to freedom of speech and said he should be
honoured for having sought to maintain national unity.
The state prosecutors have declined to appeal against the decision in the Supreme
Court.
The charges against him were based on a tape recording of his speech before 2,500
people in a mosque in the Malukus' capital, Ambon, last April.
During his preaching, he had said that President Megawati Sukarnoputri's
administration had cooperated with the South Maluku Republic separatist group,
which had staged a rebellion against Ms Megawati's father, President Sukarno, in the
late 1950s.
Two days after the sermon, a group of unidentified men assaulted the predominantly
Christian village of Soya and killed 13 people.
His court victory raised eyebrows, with some observers accusing the prosecutors of
intentionally building a weak case using the tape recording, which is not recognised
by the country's Criminal Code as evidence.
Mr Muhammad Asrun, executive director of Judicial Watch Indonesia, said: 'This is a
bad decision, because everybody knows that Jafaar was involved in the violence in
Maluku.'
Others decried the decision, saying it showed the government is hesitant in acting
firmly against radical groups preaching hatred through religious teachings.
Analysts said they were worried the same might happen in the case against militant
cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, who is in police custody for alleged involvement in the 2000
bombings and the Bali bombings.
The police have based their allegation on the confession of some of the suspects, but
last week one of them, Imam Samudra, decided to withdraw his statement about his
link to Bashir, saying he was coerced by the police to make a false confession.
Mr Jafaar has declined an interview, telling The Straits Times he was busy writing.
'I have no time to answer your questions,' he said over the phone from his village in
Sleman, Yogyakarta. His friends said he was working on a book on his struggle to
uphold his religious beliefs.
He also writes regularly for the Laskar Jihad newsletter, they said. He teaches in his
own Islamic boarding school in addition to preaching at various places.
Said one of his lawyers, Made Rahman Marassabesi: 'Some of the people who were
involved in the Laskar Jihad used to study with him, now they are back at his school,
while others went back to their respective schools.'
He has no immediate plan to restart the group, but those close to him indicated a
Laskar Jihad reunion was not entirely impossible.
A former member of the group said: 'Right now, we feel there is no need to go back to
Maluku, because the two communities are working to live peacefully, but if another
sectarian conflict broke out there or somewhere else, we will be there, and so will
other groups.'
Laskar Jihad sent 2,000 troops to Maluku to fight alongside local Muslims against
Christians during three years of conflicts that claimed 6,000 lives.
Soon after the October Bali bombings last year, Mr Jafaar disbanded the group,
saying that many followers had strayed from the true path.
But The Straits Times understands that the group's disbandment was crucial in
exchange for his victory in court.
A senior police officer close to the case told The Straits Times: 'From the beginning
we knew this case would be politicised and that he might get away if he made the
right choice.'
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