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| Southeast Asia |
| JI free to recruit, fundraise legally in Indonesia |
| 2005-10-04 |
| THE ability of Jemaah Islamiyah to launch two devastating attacks against Westerners in less than three years has raised questions about the willingness and ability of Indonesia authorities to fight the home-grown terrorism. JI, the organisation thought responsible for the weekend's bombings in Bali, is yet to be declared illegal in Indonesia, giving it the ability to fundraise, spread propaganda and recruit new members. Australians expressed outrage this year when several of those convicted for involvement in the Bali bombings of 2002 received sentence reductions. Others have questioned the abilities and willingness of the Indonesian police, army and Government to root-out and disrupt Islamic terror cells. "In the aftermath of the second Bali bombings, it is time to take a hardline on the banning of Jemaah Islamiyah," Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd said. "I call on the Howard Government to make the banning (of) Jemaah Islamiyah in Indonesia a priority in its dealings with Jakarta." Prime Minister John Howard said the Government would address the issue of JI with Indonesia in time, but warned banning the group outright wouldn't solve all problems. "We shouldn't assume that if it is outlawed it will automatically curtail its operations," Mr Howard said. "I think that this is misunderstanding the shadowy nature of this organisation and it's not like a village tennis club . . . it's not like belonging to a football club, you don't pay an annual membership fee." Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty said Indonesia was as able as any nation to track down the killers. "They are not going to give up on this," Mr Keelty said. "There's a lot of progress being made since the Bali bombings in 2002." The commissioner said the fact Australia was not sending as many disaster victim identification experts to Bali for the latest bombing was an indication of how far Indonesian authorities had progressed. Indonesian-based terror analyst Sidney Jones praised the fast response by Indonesian police to the latest killings and said it was "very, very, very difficult to prevent attacks that involve suicide bombers". But Indonesian authorities needed to look beyond immediate investigations and deeper into the networks behind the attacks to help prevent similar bombings in the future, she said. Some Islamic schools have long been regarded as recruiting grounds for terrorists and Ms Jones said monitoring systems were needed "in all schools . . . so they know . . . more about what is going on." The Government also needed to develop work and social programs to remove radicalised Mujahidin fighters from the often impoverished conflict areas and, in doing so, break down the personal links forged in the fighting units, she said. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #1 There are many dedicated Islamists in INDONESIA whom seek Islamism-specific anschluss with the Philippines, be it voluntary or forced, and by any means necessary. As in NEPAL-INDIA, with China-supp Maoists aiding and abetting Radical Islamists, the Indos also have their fair share of pro-China armed Maoists-Communists. Like CHINA vs RUSSIA once America is destroyed, it remains to be seen whether COMMUNISM vs ISLAMISM will prevail over whats left of the world. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2005-10-04 02:58 |