The Jakarta Post, 10/26/2004 11:28:58 AM
Susilo may ban Al-Qaeda-linked group
HONG KONG (AFP): Indonesia's new president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has said
the Islamic extremist group Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) may be declared a banned
organisation as part of the country's bid to crack down on terrorism.
The former general said in an interview with Time magazine he would review the steps
being taken against the Al-Qaeda linked network, which is not illegal in Indonesia
despite being blamed for a string of deadly attacks including the Bali bombings.
"If there are explanations and proof that JI as an organization does exist in Indonesia,
and if it is legally proven that its members are involved in terrorist activities, then it will
be declared a banned organization," he told the magazine.
"We will use the legal process in order for this to become a legal and law enforcement
issue, not a political one," he added in his first interview since being sworn in on
October 20.
JI, which aims to create a fundamentalist Islamic state across Southeast Asia,
carried out its most devastating attack to date in the Indonesian holiday island of Bali
on October 12, 2002, killing 202 people. (*)
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