REUTERS, Wednesday May 22, 2002 11:59 PM ET
U.S. Warns Al Qaeda Has Toehold in Indonesia
By Belinda Goldsmith
CANBERRA (Reuters) - A top U.S. security official said on Thursday there was
evidence that Osama bin Laden (news - web sites)'s al Qaeda militant network had
established a toehold in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation.
Paul Fujimura, the State Department's counter-terrorism officer for East Asia and the
Pacific, said the hardline Islamic network was creating new bases after fleeing
Afghanistan during a U.S.-led assault to retaliate for the September 11 air attacks.
He said the fragmented geography of Indonesia, a nation of 210 million people spread
over 13,667 islands, and the presence of some terrorist sympathizers was ideal for al
Qaeda militants.
"We know that in Indonesia there are conditions on the ground that make it an
attractive place to al Qaeda and...other terrorist groups," Fujimura told journalists in
Australia during a two-way video conference from Washington.
"We are learning things every day but there is evidence of some presence, of some
foothold or toehold, (but) we are not sure of the exact nature of their presence there."
His warning came after the State Department released its annual global terrorism
report on Tuesday, cautioning the battle was far from over against al Qaeda,
suspected of masterminding September 11's hijacked airliner attacks on New York
and Washington which killed over 3,000.
Southeast Asian nations, grouped in the Association of South East Asian Nations,
have battled to shed an image as a haven for militancy since evidence emerged of
regional links to al Qaeda.
Indonesian officials generally deny there is proof of a current al Qaeda presence in the
sprawling archipelago. But officials and diplomatic sources have said foreigners linked
to the group have been expelled from Indonesia on several occasions and the national
intelligence chief suggested at one point there may have been a temporary al Qaeda
base on an outer island.
PLOTS UNCOVERED
Terrorist organizations with cells linked to al Qaeda were uncovered by Singapore and
Malaysia late last year.
Singapore detained 13 members of the Islamic militant group Jemaah Islamiah last
December, disrupting a plot to bomb the U.S. embassy and other targets in
Singapore, while Malaysia arrested at least 60 terrorist suspects last year.
Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, the three countries with the region's largest
Muslim populations, have signed an accord to fight terrorism and crush militant
groups seeking to create a pan-regional, conservative Muslim state.
But Indonesia has drawn flak for its lack of arrests as neighbors, notably Singapore,
say ringleaders of a suspected regional network are based there.
Fujimura said he was satisfied with the cooperation the United States was getting
from Indonesia but there were still concerns.
"When you look at some of the arrests that have been made, at different groups such
as JI (Jemaah Islamiah) -- they have admitted al Qaeda ties -- and with some
Indonesian individuals are known to have ties to al Qaeda, again these are indications
to us," he said.
Fujimura urged greater regional cooperation to combat the ongoing threat of terrorism.
"We hope to promote regional cooperation in Southeast Asia and in other parts of the
world...if we can leverage our resources and our efforts, it will be more effective," he
said.
Copyright © 2002 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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