REUTERS, Tuesday October 15, 2002 08:21 AM ET
Militant Islamic Group Disbands in Indonesia
JAKARTA (Reuters) - The most prominent face of militant Islam in Indonesia, the
Laskar Jihad, has closed its headquarters and disbanded, media reports and military
sources said Tuesday.
It was not clear whether there was any connection between the reported closure and
the bombings in Bali that killed 181 people, most of them foreigners.
The United States, Australia and other Asian neighbors have been pressing Indonesia
to crack down on extremist Muslim groups following the weekend attacks.
The official Antara news agency said the group's headquarters in Yogyakarta in
central Java had been shut and "all activities are stopped."
Metro Television, a Jakarta broadcaster, said the group had been disbanded.
Laskar Jihad sent thousands of fighters to the Moluccas islands in mid-2000 to help
Muslims fight Christians during vicious bouts of communal violence.
A military source in Yogyakarta said the group believed its mission in the Moluccas
had been completed.
"It's their decision to disband themselves," he said. The decision was taken this
month before the Bali bombings, "thus it has no link to the Bali bomb blast."
The group denies links to the al Qaeda network. Its leader, Jafar Umar Thalib, has
acknowledged meeting Osama bin Laden but says he has religious differences with
him.
Some analysts also say Indonesian military elements helped set up the group to
oppose students and other pro-democracy forces, and often shut their eyes to its
abuses.
Thalib is currently on trial for inciting anti-government violence in a speech delivered in
the Moluccas, and there have been reports the group is in financial trouble.
Thalib's trial is the first prosecution of a radical Muslim cleric under President
Megawati Sukarnoputri. He faces a maximum of seven years in jail if convicted on the
charges, which he denies.
Antara said the headquarters, usually crowded with Muslim students, was empty and
the main gate was locked.
"Yesterday, I saw some people coming and going, but since this morning I haven't
seen anyone," it quoted a local resident, Winarto, as saying.
Members have been a fixture on the streets of Yogyakarta soliciting money, but
Tuesday there were none to be seen.
Laskar Jihad leaders could not immediately be reached for comment.
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