The Jakarta Post, January 26, 2002
Alleged al-Qaeda-linked network in Central Java
Yogita Tahil Ramani and Kartika Bagus C., The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Surakarta
Several members of an Indonesian Islamic militant group with reported ties to the
al-Qaeda network, Jemaah Islamiya (JI), have been spotted in Sragen, some 20
kilometers east of Surakarta, in Central Java, authorities said.
According to Sragen police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Charles Himler Ngili, some 30
members of JI had spread out in the districts of Sambung Macan, Gondang Legi,
Masaran, and Kali Jambe in the Sragen regency.
"They carry out their extremist activities in the districts of Sragen, but their main
organization is based in Sukoharjo and in Ngawi," Charles told The Jakarta Post on
Friday.
He declined to say what the group members were doing.
Both Sukoharjo in Central Java and Ngawi in East Java are located near Sragen.
Charles said that their presence in the area became known following clashes in
Ngawi, which involved members of the Forum of Ngawi Muslims (FUIN) and Laskar
Jihad. Dozens were arrested after the rioting, which followed their raid on gambling
dens in Ngawi in November.
"Some of these JI members were involved in the riots. The (JI) individuals in Sragen all
live separately. When there are jobs to do, they are called upon by their group from its
respective cells in Java," he said.
Charles added that he had received orders from the National Police to monitor their
routine activities more closely.
No arrests have been made following the discovery.
The Straits Times has reported that the JI sees itself as the new Darul Islam, a group
that tried to establish an Islamic state in Indonesia in 1949.
In Jakarta, intelligence police intensified their questioning of Muslim cleric Abu Bakar
Ba'asyir, asking him repeatedly if al-Qaeda representatives had ever approached him
as chief of the Indonesian Mujahidin Council (MMI) -- or any of his members -- with
offers of financial support.
Ba'asyir firmly denied this.
Ba'asyir's lawyer, Ahmad Michdan, said that, during Friday's questioning, Sr. Comr.
Bagus of the National Police Intelligence also asked his client if he ever had any
connection with al Qaeda-linked suspect Abu Jibril.
"Ustad Ba'asyir admitted that he was well-acquainted with Abu Jibril, a popular
Islamic preacher in Malaysia. In the time Ustad Ba'asyir was in Malaysia, he had
encountered the preacher personally on several occasions, since both worked
spreading the word of Islam," Ahmad told the Post during Ba'asyir's second day of
questioning.
"Abu Jibril's teachings were also the same as Ustad Ba'asyir's ... and contained the
teachings of jihad and mati syahid," to die fighting in the name of the teachings of
Islam, he said.
The Straits Times said Abu Jibril was an MMI member on the run from the Malaysian
police, who suspected him as having been the point man for the group's
communications with al-Qaeda.
Ahmad professed shock upon hearing that Jibril was still a fugitive, and added that,
according to Ba'asyir and National Police Intelligence officials, Jibril was in fact in the
custody of Malaysian police.
Ustad Abu Jibril was arrested under Malaysia's Internal Security Act (ISA) "and is
currently being held in a special prison in the Perak area of Malaysia," Ahmad said.
Jibril is originally from Lombok, and not a Mujahidin, Ahmad said.
Ba'asyir had been detained by Malaysian police last month, along with 12 other
militants believed by police to be KMM members, including Indonesians Hambali and
Mohammad Iqbal, for allegedly trying to foment an Islamic government.
He was eventually released and deported to Indonesia after the Malaysians found no
evidence against him.
"Police here also asked him how well he knew Hambali ... he said he was not well
acquainted with him. Ustad was also asked about a Muslim named Faiqh, who is
allegedly being held on charges of trying to go on a jihad. Ustad Ba'asyir said he
knew Faiqh well," Michdan said.
Ba'asyir's questioning session on Friday ended at 7 p.m.
To verify Ba'asyir's statements, National Police inspector-general Comr. Gen. Ahwil
Luthan will go to Malaysia on Saturday.
It was not immediately clear why Ahwil, better known as an intellectual than a
detective, was picked for the job.
Regarding Fathur Rohman, an Indonesian with alleged ties to al-Qaeda who is
currently in police custody in the Philippines, Ahwil said he would be tried there.
"He committed his crime in the Philippines -- we will let Fathur's case be processed
by the legal system there," Ahwil said.
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