The Malaysian Insider

JAKARTA, Nov 20 — New terrorist cells have sprung up in Indonesia since Jemaah Islamiah (JI) leader Noordin Top was gunned down in September, a top police officer said yesterday.

“They are planning limited terror attacks in the country,” said Brigadier-General Saut Usman Nasution, the head of the anti-terror squad, Detachment88, at a conference.

“The targets remain the same: Western targets, especially the United States and its economic interests.”

The new cells are splinter groups of JI and other radical organisations like Kompak, which has stirred up strife between religions in Sulawesi and Maluku, he said.

“They are actively recruiting new members,” he added.

Brig-Gen Usman warned that the threat of attack remained high in the country even though more than 400 alleged terrorists have been rounded up.

Noordin Top was killed in a police raid on his hideout in Central Java on Sept 17.

He led a faction of the JI regional terror network that he once dubbed “Al-Qaeda in the Malay Archipelago”.

“The Jemaah Islamiah still exists and is in a regeneration process,” said Brig-Gen Usman, emphasising the need for Indonesia to remain vigilant.

“Many terrorists are still at large, including those with bomb-making skills.”

The two-day conference at which he spoke was organised by Indonesia’s largest Muslim organisation, the Nahdlatul Ulama, and the Washington-based Centre on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation.

Brig-Gen Usman did not rule out the return of wanted JI terrorists. Dul Matin, who was involved in the first Bali bombing in 2002, has been in hiding in the southern Philippines.

Detachment 88 was concerned about the growing trend towards suicide bombings in Indonesia, he said, noting that it had stopped an attempt on the life of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Independence Day on Aug 17.

“The group we cracked down on in Jati Asih, Banten, in August had a truck wired with bombs that it hoped to detonate near the President’s house in Cikeas when the presidential motorcade was to pass by,” he said.

The anti-terror chief feared that some of the 148 terrorists still in detention may be released from prison after their jail sentences, become even more radicalised and either join existing cells or form new ones.

“We need a deradicalisation programme in place for these terrorists,” he said.

He also called for an amendment to the anti-terrorism law that would allow police to detain suspects for a month if there was no evidence.

“We need to detain them at least one month because it’s not easy to

extract information and confessions from them within a week,” he added.

Brig-Gen Usman said that the situation in the country was still conducive for the growth of radicalism.

He pointed to the presence of radical clerics — like former JI spiritual leader Abu Bakar Bashir — who were free to preach, radical groups like Hizbut Tahrir and Islamic Defenders Front and the publication of radical books, some written by executed Bali bombers Imam Samudra and Amrozi.

“They can influence young minds but we are unable to monitor them closely.”

Terrorism analyst Noor Huda Ismail , the executive director of Yayasan Prasasti Kedamaian, a peace-building institute, says “there is a need for a comprehensive deradicalisation programme for the terrorist prisoners to stop them from resorting to their old ways.”

He thinks civil society groups could play a role in starting such programmes, as well as in helping former terrorist detainees to be integrated back into society.

“Civil society groups can establish contact and build mutual trust with hard-liners through critical discussion,” he said. — Straits Times