ABC AUSTRALIA, October 4, 2005. 7:02am (AEST)
Expert says PM's wrong on Bali motivation
An expert on Jihadist extremism in Indonesia has disagreed with the Prime Minister's
view on the motives of the Bali bombers.
[PHOTO: Sidney Jones says the terrorists involved in the Bali attack would see the
world in black and white. (Lateline).]
The South-East Asian director of the International Crisis Group, Sidney Jones, has
also warned of a new Islamic special forces unit.
Prime Minister John Howard says Saturday night's bombings in Bali were aimed at
destabilising the Indonesian Government.
But Dr Jones has told ABC TV's Lateline she does not agree.
"I don't think they think in those political kinds of terms," she said. "Nor do I think that
their aim is to undermine a democratic system per se.
"I think they very much see the world in a black and white way, us against them,
Muslims against infidels.
"[They see] that the infidels led by the United States as part of a Christian-Zionist
conspiracy are out to persecute and attack and eliminate Muslims around the world,
and therefore, [they] have to fight back."
However, Dr Jones agrees with the Prime Minister's view that Australians were
probably not specifically targeted in the latest attack.
"I think probably the reason that Bali was chosen this time round again is because
after the last two bombings in Jakarta, it was mostly Indonesian Muslims that died
and at least in Bali you have a chance of getting a few foreigners," she said.
"I doubt very much whether they had the intention of going after Australians per se."
Special forces group
Dr Jones says a number of sources have talked about a new Islamic special forces
group attracting young people from Jemaah Islamiah (JI) and other organisations.
"We don't know yet whether it's a splinter of JI and there's actually been a formal
break with the organisation or whether it's a militant wing that's gone off on its own but
either way from different sources who couldn't have communicated with one another,
we've learned that this organisation exists," she said.
"The name of it is actually a word that's been used by JI in the past to describe [a]
special forces unit, but this is different from its usage before."
She says the unit seems to be directed towards attacks that involve suicide bombing.
"It doesn't mean that this is the only group that could recruit people for that purpose,"
she said.
"I think it's important for your viewers as well to look at the bombing that took place in
central Sulawesi in May, only a few months ago.
"There were no foreigners killed there but 22 Indonesians were killed, and they used
bombs that were just TNT and nails.
"That was a group that wasn't JI. We don't know exactly who was responsible but
suspicion points to a group called Kompaq and Kompaq is another one of these
off-shoots of Jemaah Islamiah in some ways, that grew up in the Malaccas, in the
fighting in Ambon.
"That also could be a factor here in this bombing."
© ABC 2005 |
