The Straits Times, June 2, 2002
Jakarta police confirm entry of terror suspect
Jemaah Islamiah man entered Indonesia in April but police say S'pore did not give
prior notice that he was being sought
By Derwin Pereira, INDONESIA CORRESPONDENT
JAKARTA - Indonesian police yesterday confirmed that suspected terrorist leader
Mas Selamat Kastari entered the country through Medan in April but said they had no
prior notice from Singapore that he was being sought.
National police spokesman Saleh Saaf said immigration records showed that he was
on the passenger manifest of an incoming flight.
'Our preliminary investigations show that a man by the name of Selamat Kastari came
into Medan from Singapore,' he told The Straits Times. 'But we do not know if he is
the one that the Singapore Government wants.'
On Thursday, Singapore disclosed that about a dozen active members of Jemaah
Islamiah (JI) - a network involved in terrorism-related activities - fled the Republic after
other members were detained.
Those on the run included a five-man team led by Mas Selamat. They were believed to
be in Indonesia. Singapore's Internal Security Department assessed them as 'the
most dangerous elements in the Singapore JI group'.
Brigadier-General Saleh said police were waiting for Singapore to make a formal
request for assistance to hunt them down.
'All we know was what was published in The Straits Times that terrorists entered
Indonesia,' he said yesterday.
'We haven't received official information from the Singapore Government on this.'
Once the authorities here receive a name list, it would be circulated to the 27 regional
police commands.
As it stands now, police here have no idea where Mas Selamat and his team are - or
whether they are actually in the country.
Intelligence sources said the pattern in previous cases has been for extremist
elements to enter via North Sumatra, Riau Islands, South Sulawesi or Kalimantan.
But they were constantly moving, making it difficult to track them. It was also easy for
them to move across to Malaysia or the Philippines.
Despite a variety of reports which suggest that terror suspects have found refuge in
Indonesia, the government has either dismissed the assertions or reacted with
caution.
On news that the five were believed to be in Indonesia, reports quoted Foreign Ministry
spokesman Marti Natalegawa as saying: 'We need concrete facts. There should be
more details. We have thus far no reason to believe of the existence of an Al-Qaeda
network in Indonesia.'
But observers said the government's position - underpinned by fears of a Muslim
backlash if it cracked down - was unlikely to change even if there were hard facts.
There has been little domestic pressure to act, and politicians with presidential
ambitions were wary of unsettling the Muslim ground.
As University of Indonesia political analyst Arbi Sanit noted: 'Singapore and others will
face resistance even if they provide information backed by solid proof.
'The government is likely to turn a blind eye to the problem until perhaps after the
2004 election. Too much is at stake politically for the elite to act now.'
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