The Jakarta Post, May 4, 2002
Jafar Umar Thalib arrested in Surabaya
JAKARTA (JP): In a move to restore order and put an end to the Maluku conflict
Indonesian Police arrested commander of Muslim paramilitary group Laskar Jihad
Jafar Umar Thalib on Saturday over alleged provocation in last week's Soya incident
inthe Maluku capital of Ambon, officials said.
Jafar was arrested during transit at Juanda Airport in Surabaya, the capital of East
Java on his way to Jakarta, National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Saleh Saaf said.
Saleh declined to mention further details, but said a media briefing will be held later on
Saturday.
Originally Jafar was to be arrested earlier in the day during a 30-minute transit at the
airport of the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar on 12 p.m. local time as he had just
left Ambon, the capital of Maluku, but due to technical considerations he wasarrested
in Surabaya, South Sulawesi Police chief Insp. Gen. Firman Gani told The Jakarta
Post by phone.
"It is easier to bring him (Jafar) from Surabaya directly to Jakarta rather than if we
arrested him in Makassar," Firman Gani, who is also a former Maluku Police chief,
said.
Firman further said that police investigators in Ambon and Jakarta had enough
preliminary evidence to arrest Jafar.
"Jafar's arrest is based on the letter of the law, in which there is evidence that he has
been provoking conflicts in Maluku for quite some time. Police do not have to wait for
an order from the President on this matter, because we run the system on
legalgrounds," Firman said.
Laskar Jihad has been blamed for inciting riots in Maluku. As earlier as 2000 the
group deployed thousands of Muslim Jihad warriors to wage a holy war in Maluku.
(ylt/edt)
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