[RantauNet] LA Times : Osama bin Laden's operation in Indonesia

[Tommy Sulianto & Susi Heriko]

 ----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, September 17, 2001 10:08 AM

LA Times : Osama bin Laden's operation in Indonesia

Exploiting Chaos, Osama Bin Laden Establishes Indonesian Base
By RICHARD C. PADDOCK, Times Staff Writer

JAKARTA, Indonesia-Osama bin Laden, suspected of masterminding
Tuesday's attacks in New York and at the Pentagon, has begun operating
in Indonesia where social chaos and rising Islamic fundamentalism
provide a rich recruiting ground, authorities said.

Bin Laden, sought by the United States for his alleged role in the
1998 bombing of two embassies in Africa, is believed to be planning a
terrorist attack in Indonesia, possibly against the U.S. Embassy in
Jakarta, officials said. The embassy has been on high alert for the
past month.

Intelligence officials also believe the bin Laden organization might
seek to use the vast, unruly Indonesian archipelago as a staging area
for attacks in other countries.

"We have known for quite some time that the bin Laden group has
established itself in Indonesia," a senior Western diplomat said this
week. "I think they see real opportunities in the world's biggest
Muslim country and one in which there are no effective controls."
Islamic fundamentalism has found many new supporters in Indonesia
since 1998, when the downfall of Suharto ended more than three decades
of military dictatorship.

Government restrictions that once kept Muslim extremists in check have
disappeared. However, no effective law enforcement system has been
established to replace authoritarian rule, creating a state of
lawlessness.

Indonesian officials said U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick
raised the issue of bin Laden with President Megawati Sukarnoputri
when he visited last month.

They expect the matter to come up again when Megawati meets President
Bush in Washington. A meeting between the two is scheduled for next
week, but could be postponed because of Tuesday's attacks.

Lt. Gen. Kiki Syahnakri, deputy chief of the Indonesian army, warned
recently that international terrorist activity is likely to escalate
in Indonesia, a sprawling country of 17,000 islands.

"The chances are very high that in the next three years we will fight
terrorism, specifically international terrorism that enters
Indonesia," the general told The Australian newspaper. "We also
received information from America, as well as other parties, of Osama
bin Laden's presence in Indonesia."

During the 1990s, bin Laden is believed to have funneled money to the
Moro Islamic Liberation Front in the southern Philippines and trained
some Indonesians there along with Filipinos.

Over the past year, fighters from Afghanistan with alleged links to
bin Laden have traveled to Indonesia's Maluku islands to join forces
with Laskar Jihad, an extremist Indonesian Islamic group that is
seeking to drive Christians from the region.

Western officials say that Laskar Jihad has adopted methods similar to
other groups connected to bin Laden, including using the same kind of
detonator for their bombs.

Nearly 90 percent of Indonesia's population is Muslim and many
officials find it difficult to take firm action against Islamic
extremists, including Laskar Jihad, which has sent more than 4,000
fighters to the Malukus and operates there virtually unchecked.

U.S. Ambassador Robert Gelbard said he once appealed to Indonesian
police chief Suroyo Bimantoro to curb the group's activities.
According to his account, Bimantoro declined, saying: "You must
understand. The police cannot look anti-Islamic."



RantauNet http://www.rantaunet.com

Isikan data keanggotaan anda di http://www.rantaunet.com/register.php3
===============================================
Mendaftar atau berhenti menerima RantauNet Mailing List di
http://www.rantaunet.com/subscribe.php3

ATAU Kirimkan email
Ke/To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Isi email/Messages, ketik pada baris/kolom pertama:
-mendaftar--> subscribe rantau-net [email_anda]
-berhenti----> unsubscribe rantau-net [email_anda]
Keterangan: [email_anda] = isikan alamat email anda tanpa tanda kurung
===============================================