Indonesia predicts reprisals against Western targets Tom Allard May 3, 2011
Ads by Google Alleenstaande Moeder? www.Alleenstaande-Papas.nl Alleenstaande vaders zoeken hier contact voor vriendschap of relatie Bali ... injured Australians wait to be flown home. Bali ... injured Australians wait to be flown home. Photo: Kate Geraghty INDONESIA is bracing itself for retaliatory terrorist acts aimed at Westerners as it emerged that Umar Patek, the country's most wanted militant, was arrested this year in the same Pakistani city where Osama bin Laden was killed. As Indonesian victims of attacks - which were inspired and financed by al-Qaeda - expressed hopes of an easing in extremist activities, the head of Indonesia's National Anti-Terrorism Agency told the Herald he ''definitely'' expected an attack. ''Every terror action [from the perspective of violent Islamists] will be replied by another attack,'' Ansyaad Mbai said. Advertisement: Story continues below Indonesia, which has the world's biggest Muslim population, has battled terrorism since 2000, when the terrorist group Jemaah Islamiah unleashed co-ordinated bomb attacks on churches on Christmas Eve. That act was inspired and financed by al-Qaeda, as were the first Bali attacks that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians, in 2002. Amrozi, the ''smiling bomber'', later revealed that the cell was inspired by the September 11 attacks, believing their success was proof of divine endorsement for violent jihadism. Al-Qaeda provided $US50,000 to pay for the safe house and explosives used in the first Marriott Hotel bombing attack in Jakarta in August 2003. Since those attacks, there has been little evidence of al-Qaeda's direct involvement in terrorist acts in Indonesia. But the fact that Umar Patek, a leading figure in the first Bali bombings and a former senior Jemaah Islamiah operative, was arrested in Abbottabad in late January and that bin Laden was killed in the same hill town a few months later raises new questions about continuing links. The US President, Barack Obama, said US counter-terrorism operatives had been following a lead about bin Laden's whereabouts since last August. That lead brought US authorities to a heavily fortified compound in Abbottabad which was closely monitored for months. ''It's possibly linked but we don't know for a fact,'' said Sidney Jones, an expert on terrorism with the International Crisis Group in Jakarta. ''Patek could have been monitored because of the investigation into bin Laden. It may have been an effort by him to get funding.'' Mr Ansyaad was coy when asked about links between Patek and bin Laden. ''What's clear is that Umar Patek's purpose was to go to Afghanistan,'' he said. Even so, Indonesia's Foreign Minister, Marty Natalegawa, when first asked in late March about Patek's arrest, declined to confirm it and said he did not want to comment further because it might jeopardise further arrests. Mr Natalegawa was speaking at a joint news conference with the Australian Foreign Affairs Minister, Kevin Rudd, and seemed annoyed that, moments earlier, Mr Rudd had become the first government official to confirm the arrest of Patek. Whatever the direct links between al-Qaeda and the present crop of Indonesian jihadists, bin Laden remains an abiding inspiration. ''Al-Qaeda as an idea still has a lot of resonance in jihadist circles,'' said Greg Fealy of the Australian National University, an expert on Indonesian extremist movements. Ken Ward, a former Indonesia analyst at the Office of National Assessments, said bin Laden's death would not deter Indonesian extremists. ''Bin Laden has proven he was prepared to die for the cause. He has proven he was prepared to become a martyr. He will live on as a symbol.'' Despite great success in disrupting terrorist groups, Indonesia has suffered from multiple attacks, including a recent rise in violent extremism after a hiatus from 2005 to 2009. Less than two weeks ago, a plot to detonate a 150-kilogram bomb tethered to a gas pipeline near a Jakarta church during Good Friday services was foiled. If it had succeeded, it could have caused more carnage than the first Bali bombings. Nasir Abbas, a former senior member of Jemaah Islamiah, said the leader of the Good Friday plot, Pepi Fernando, was motivated by al-Qaeda. ''Pepi Fernando carried out his action in response to the recent Osama statement calling for more attacks,'' said Mr Abbas, who now works with Indonesian anti-terrorism forces. In recent years, Indonesian militants have turned away from attacking foreigners and exploiting international themes of oppression of Islam, instead concentrating on local targets and issues. But Ms Jones said any response to bin Laden's killing would probably target ''symbols of the US and the West''. It was a sentiment amplified by Mr Abbas. ''I predict his death will trigger retaliation in Indonesia,'' he said. ''The target will be Western interests.'' The chilling assessments tempered the happiness and cautious optimism of Wayan Sudiana, whose wife died in the first Bali bombings, killed as she passed the Sari Club on a motorbike. ''I am grateful,'' he said. ''I hope it will mean the end of it. No more bombs anywhere in the world.'' Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/world/indonesia-predicts-reprisals-against-western-targets-20110502-1e58l.html#ixzz1LCkXLuKz ------------------------------------ Post message: [email protected] Subscribe : [email protected] Unsubscribe : [email protected] List owner : [email protected] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
