ID :
75036
Thu, 08/13/2009 - 08:38
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/75036
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News Focus: WITH NOORDIN STILL FREE, TERROR THREAT UNDIMINISHED
By Eliswan Azly
Jakarta, Aug 12 (ANTARA) - With Malaysian extremist Noordin Muhammad Top proven not to have been caught or killed in recent police raids, Indonesia remains prone to future terror attacks , an observer says.
"It is for this reason, the government should give serious attention to efforts designed to combat all kinds of terror threats posed by whoever wants to destroy order and security in this largest archipelagic country in the world," Dr Sofyan S. Siregar, a political analyst and lecturer at the European Islamic University in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, said in an emailed message on Wednesday.
Earlier, the police had said Noordin, the country's most wanted terrorist, was believed to be behind the July 17 bombings of the JW Marriot and Ritz-Carlton hotels in South Jakarta that had killed nine people and injured 55 others.
On Wednesday (Aug 12), the police announced that the body of a man shot dead in a raid on a house in Temanggnung, Central Java, believed to shelter terror suspects on Saturday (Aug 8), did not belong to Noordin M Top as the public had more or less assumed. DNA tests on the body had proven it belonged to Ibrohim, a terror suspect wanted for his role in the July 17, 2009 bombings at the JW Marriot and Ritz-Carlton hotels in the Mega Kuningan area in south Jakarta.
According to Sofyan, the steps taken by the police to combat terrorists were allready correct but the killing of three terror suspects was not enough to curb terrorism.
"What's important is to prevent these people (terrorists) from indoctrinating others into believing that blowing themselves up is a noble deed or jihad," he said.
In the meantime, the head of the counterterrorism desk at the Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, Insp Gen (ret) Ansyaad Mbai, said it would not be a blanket solution if the terror suspect killed in Temanggung turned out to be really Noordin.
With the police now having established the man they shot dead in Temanngung was not Noordin but Ibrohim, there was reason to believe Noordin was now consolidating his terror network in order to prepare future attacks.
Mbai pointed out the death of Azahari, an expert bomb maker killed during a police raid in Batu, Malang, in late 2005 failed to discourage his surviving followers from carrying out further suicide bomb attacks on US-related targets.
Azahari was believed to have been Noordin's long-time partner in the planning and ececution of a string of bombings in Indonesia.
"The skills of the Noordin M Top group in making bombs have continued to be developed as can be seen from their modus operandi ... these skills, of course, have also been acquired by members of the terror cells which have been built up for a long time, at least over the past four years," he said.
Therefore,, with Noordin still at large all parties must continue to be on alert to the threat of terrorism in any form.
Ansyaad Mbai further said although during the past four years no terrorist attacks had occurred in Indonesia, Noordin M Top and his network had continued to consolidate themselves actively despite the security agencies' successes in tracing and arresting some of Noordin M Top's men.
"Friday (July 17)'s incidents provs that they (terrorists) are still strong. Arresting Noordin M Top, the mastermind, should now be the priority. As long as he is still at large, police crackdowns on sporadic terrorist activity will not elimminate the terorist threat," he said.
Over the past few weeks, security agencies had traced and detained a number of people in areas believed to be the hideouts of Noordin M Top and his men, such as Cilacap (Central Java), Lampung and Malang (East Java).
According to Mbai, Indonesia continued to communicate and coordinate with the governments and security agencies of Malaysia and several other countries to look for and arrest Noordin M Top.
Indonesian security agencies had also expanded the coverage of their search, not only in Java and Sumatra, but also in the country's other regions. A lot of posters and banners depicting Noordin's face in various possible modifications, had been distributed and posted throughout Indonesia.
In Brebes, central Java, for instance, police have erected a 4-m x 6-m billboard with fugitive terror suspect Nurdin Muhammad Top's countenance on it at the Central Java - West Java border.
Sharing the same opinion with Mbai was Dino Chrisbon, an intelligence expert, who concurred that if Noordin was really killed, it would not reduce the level of terrorist attacks. His followers would soon gather once more and plan more attacks as a show of their existence.
However, he was convinced that the recent raids in Java would significantly weaken existing terrorist cells.
"Air Setiawan and Eko Joko Sarjono who were killed in the Jati Asih raid were among a group of newly recruited bomb makers," he said, adding that it would take at least two years before the group strikes back with new bomb experts.
Noordin is believed to have strong support in the areas of Serang, Kuningan, Cirebon, Cilacap, Wonosobo, Temanggung, Malang and Pasuruan where residents have often given him shelter.
To tackle possible threats, Dino called for an amendment to the terror law to include the use of intelligence in a bid to prevent future threats of terrorism.
Earlier, Abubakar Ba'asyir, former chairman of the Indonesian Mujaeedeen Council (MMI) who was previously linked to Al Qaida group, called on all sides not to link Islam to terror attacks with the blast of two bombs allegedly perpetrated by terrorists.
"Resorting to terror is not Islamic. Islam does not teach people to adopt terror-inclined behavior. So, the bomb terror such as the bombings of two top hotels in South Jakarta on July 17 has no link with Islam," he said.
The perpetrators of the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotel bombings in Jakarta were "enemies of Islam," said Abubakar Ba'asyir who was once described as a hardline extremist.
***4***
Jakarta, Aug 12 (ANTARA) - With Malaysian extremist Noordin Muhammad Top proven not to have been caught or killed in recent police raids, Indonesia remains prone to future terror attacks , an observer says.
"It is for this reason, the government should give serious attention to efforts designed to combat all kinds of terror threats posed by whoever wants to destroy order and security in this largest archipelagic country in the world," Dr Sofyan S. Siregar, a political analyst and lecturer at the European Islamic University in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, said in an emailed message on Wednesday.
Earlier, the police had said Noordin, the country's most wanted terrorist, was believed to be behind the July 17 bombings of the JW Marriot and Ritz-Carlton hotels in South Jakarta that had killed nine people and injured 55 others.
On Wednesday (Aug 12), the police announced that the body of a man shot dead in a raid on a house in Temanggnung, Central Java, believed to shelter terror suspects on Saturday (Aug 8), did not belong to Noordin M Top as the public had more or less assumed. DNA tests on the body had proven it belonged to Ibrohim, a terror suspect wanted for his role in the July 17, 2009 bombings at the JW Marriot and Ritz-Carlton hotels in the Mega Kuningan area in south Jakarta.
According to Sofyan, the steps taken by the police to combat terrorists were allready correct but the killing of three terror suspects was not enough to curb terrorism.
"What's important is to prevent these people (terrorists) from indoctrinating others into believing that blowing themselves up is a noble deed or jihad," he said.
In the meantime, the head of the counterterrorism desk at the Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, Insp Gen (ret) Ansyaad Mbai, said it would not be a blanket solution if the terror suspect killed in Temanggung turned out to be really Noordin.
With the police now having established the man they shot dead in Temanngung was not Noordin but Ibrohim, there was reason to believe Noordin was now consolidating his terror network in order to prepare future attacks.
Mbai pointed out the death of Azahari, an expert bomb maker killed during a police raid in Batu, Malang, in late 2005 failed to discourage his surviving followers from carrying out further suicide bomb attacks on US-related targets.
Azahari was believed to have been Noordin's long-time partner in the planning and ececution of a string of bombings in Indonesia.
"The skills of the Noordin M Top group in making bombs have continued to be developed as can be seen from their modus operandi ... these skills, of course, have also been acquired by members of the terror cells which have been built up for a long time, at least over the past four years," he said.
Therefore,, with Noordin still at large all parties must continue to be on alert to the threat of terrorism in any form.
Ansyaad Mbai further said although during the past four years no terrorist attacks had occurred in Indonesia, Noordin M Top and his network had continued to consolidate themselves actively despite the security agencies' successes in tracing and arresting some of Noordin M Top's men.
"Friday (July 17)'s incidents provs that they (terrorists) are still strong. Arresting Noordin M Top, the mastermind, should now be the priority. As long as he is still at large, police crackdowns on sporadic terrorist activity will not elimminate the terorist threat," he said.
Over the past few weeks, security agencies had traced and detained a number of people in areas believed to be the hideouts of Noordin M Top and his men, such as Cilacap (Central Java), Lampung and Malang (East Java).
According to Mbai, Indonesia continued to communicate and coordinate with the governments and security agencies of Malaysia and several other countries to look for and arrest Noordin M Top.
Indonesian security agencies had also expanded the coverage of their search, not only in Java and Sumatra, but also in the country's other regions. A lot of posters and banners depicting Noordin's face in various possible modifications, had been distributed and posted throughout Indonesia.
In Brebes, central Java, for instance, police have erected a 4-m x 6-m billboard with fugitive terror suspect Nurdin Muhammad Top's countenance on it at the Central Java - West Java border.
Sharing the same opinion with Mbai was Dino Chrisbon, an intelligence expert, who concurred that if Noordin was really killed, it would not reduce the level of terrorist attacks. His followers would soon gather once more and plan more attacks as a show of their existence.
However, he was convinced that the recent raids in Java would significantly weaken existing terrorist cells.
"Air Setiawan and Eko Joko Sarjono who were killed in the Jati Asih raid were among a group of newly recruited bomb makers," he said, adding that it would take at least two years before the group strikes back with new bomb experts.
Noordin is believed to have strong support in the areas of Serang, Kuningan, Cirebon, Cilacap, Wonosobo, Temanggung, Malang and Pasuruan where residents have often given him shelter.
To tackle possible threats, Dino called for an amendment to the terror law to include the use of intelligence in a bid to prevent future threats of terrorism.
Earlier, Abubakar Ba'asyir, former chairman of the Indonesian Mujaeedeen Council (MMI) who was previously linked to Al Qaida group, called on all sides not to link Islam to terror attacks with the blast of two bombs allegedly perpetrated by terrorists.
"Resorting to terror is not Islamic. Islam does not teach people to adopt terror-inclined behavior. So, the bomb terror such as the bombings of two top hotels in South Jakarta on July 17 has no link with Islam," he said.
The perpetrators of the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotel bombings in Jakarta were "enemies of Islam," said Abubakar Ba'asyir who was once described as a hardline extremist.
***4***
