Guerrillas in Their Midst: The Sequel

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Laksamana.Net - Authorities have admitted that that Indonesian and Malaysian Islamic extremists received training in bomb-making and other military activities last year in Banten province, west of Jakarta.

The news of the extremists is reminiscent of the professionally organized Islamic paramilitary force, Laskar Jihad, which received training outside Jakarta two years ago.

“This is an old problem,” National Police chief General Dai Bachtiar said Thursday (27/6/02).

Police spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Prasetyo said about 12 Indonesians and Malaysians trained for several weeks in a remote village near Pandeglang town in Banten before police intervened and closed down the camp in June 2001.

One of the Malaysian instructors at the location was identified as Syekh Saharani, a member of Kumpulan Mujahiddin Malaysia, which has been linked to Osama bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda terrorist network.

Saharani was captured and deported to Malaysia, while two other militants who attended the camp - Malaysian Taufik bin Abdullah Hakim and Indonesian Edi Setyono – were sentenced to death in May 2002 for bombing a Jakarta shopping mall last year. The other members of the group are apparently at-large.

At this stage it’s unclear whether any Indonesian military officials were involved in the covert training program, but chief security minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has said the trainees used standard-issue military firearms.

The minister warned that a similar training program could appear if police are not vigilant.

Police in the past did not care when Laskar Jihad received training in Bogor, West Java, in April 2000, until numerous protests from locals, and a public outcry after three journalists were brutally attacked by the paramilitary thugs.

Although they closed the camp, authorities also did nothing to stop the radicals from sending thousands of fighters to the Maluku islands to slaughter Christians.

It’s widely believed that Laskar Jihad was covertly funded and organized by rogue military figures who wanted to create a civilian force that could be used to destabilize the government.

The military in the past has often set up civilian paramilitary groups to attack pro-democracy activists, although it’s highly unlikely the armed forces would have recruited foreigners to do its dirty work.

Police believe the Malaysian bomber Hakim fought alongside Laskar Jihad against Christians in Maluku before coming to Jakarta.

West Java Police chief Inspector General Sudirman Ali on Friday attempted to play down the news of the latest training camp.

“I can assure you there is no illegal armed training camp for civilians in West Java. For the time being, security conditions in West Java and Banten provinces are very conducive," he said.

“If such a camp had really existed, we would have immediately closed it down."

Ali said the fact was that three months ago police had merely located a house that was used as a meeting place by the Jakarta mall bombers.
http://www.laksamana.net/vnews.cfm?news_id=3068