ABC 06/05/2002 16:06:39
Indonesian government supports the arrest of Jihad leader
Indonesia's Defence Minister Matori Abdul Jalil says the government supports the
arrest of an Islamic militia chief who has been linked to the massacre of 13 Christians
in the Maluku islands.
He says police consulted ministers before arresting Jaffar Umar Thalib, the
commander of the Java-based Laskar Jihad paramilitary group, on Saturday.
He has been charged with insulting the president and vice president and inciting
people, during a sermon in Ambon, to attack a Christian village on April 28 in which
13 people were killed.
The attack on Soya village was the worst bloodshed since Christians and Muslims
signed a pact in February to end three years of sectarian bloodshed in the eastern
island chain. More than 5,000 people have died in the conflict since early 1999.
Laskar Jihad has long been accused of fuelling the fighting since thousands of them
descended on Maluku by the boatload from May 2000 vowing to defend Muslims. It
opposes the peace pact.
06/05/2002 16:06:39 | ABC Radio Australia News
© 2001 Australian Broadcasting Corporation
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