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| Southeast Asia |
| JI manual sold openly in Jakarta |
| 2003-12-14 |
| AT LEAST one Jemaah Islamiah (JI) manual on terror tactics has been sold off the shelf in Indonesia. The book on guerilla warfare titled Gerilya, or ’guerilla’ in Bahasa Indonesia, and other seized JI manuals and documents have exposed how the network plots its terrorist campaign. Experts say the fine attention to detail in these materials shows that the group is no ragtag bunch of militants but a dangerous network with a clear vision. ’The guidebooks show that the JI had a very sophisticated training programme and a military academy that was well thought out to train members in lethal skills,’ said Ms Sidney Jones, head of the International Crisis Group’s Jakarta chapter. Boston-based JI expert Zachary Abuza said he bought a copy of Gerilya a few months ago in Yogyakarta at the Majelis Mujahidin Indonesia headquarters. The group was co-founded by Islamic cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, who is also believed to be JI’s spiritual head. Gerilya’s author, Abu Fath Al-Pastuni, is an unknown figure, but experts believe his book - which they say is available elsewhere in Indonesia - is a JI manual. Ms Jones believes Gerilya - a photocopied version of which has been obtained by The Sunday Times - is one of the key JI training guides. She said it was probably meant only for JI members, though a few copies could have been put up for sale. It is unclear how many are in print or have been sold. Most experts believe there could be other guidebooks, some still being written. In the months following last year’s Bali bombings, Indonesian security officials seized copies of JI’s Constitution, known by its acronym Pupji, and a bomb-making manual written by leader Azahari Husin. In July, they also uncovered the ’Semarang documents’ - a set of Arabic manuscripts that is a warfare and bomb-making manual - during a raid in Semarang, Central Java. All these books detail JI’s ideology and list tactics for ambushing and fighting the enemy. Gerilya calls on its readers to take aim at invaders, puppet regimes, oppressors as well as anyone who subscribes to Western ideology and to engage in guerilla warfare. Among the advice it dishes out: The best position to attack an army truck is usually when it is turning around a corner and C4 explosives should be used to make bombs deadlier. Dr Abuza described the book as dangerous, saying: ’The Gerilya invokes the Quran in many places to put guerilla warfare in the Islamic context.’ A spokesman for the Attorney-General’s Office in Jakarta, Mr Kemas Yahya, said the book had not been brought to the office’s attention. But he said it would now look into the matter. The Semarang documents are dedicated to Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Mr Mamun Effendi of the Semarang Institute of Islamic Studies, who is translating the documents, said they were dangerous. ’Of the 16 bundles, 11 discuss techniques for making firearms, mines and bombs,’ he told local daily Suara Pembaruan. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |