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Bin Laden Foothold in Indonesia Poses Threat
By RICHARD C. PADDOCK
TIMES STAFF WRITER
LOS ANGELES TIMES, Friday, September 14 2001
JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Osama bin Laden, suspected of masterminding Tuesday's terrorist attacks, has begun operating in Indonesia, where social chaos and rising Islamic fundamentalism provide a rich recruiting ground, authorities here said.
Bin Laden, already 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, the capital, officials said. The embassy has been on high alert for the last month.
Intelligence officials also believe that Bin Laden's 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, speaking on condition of anonymity. "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 President 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. Their meeting is scheduled for next week, but it could be postponed because of Tuesday's attacks.
Maj. Gen. Kiki Syahnakri, deputy chief of the Indonesian army, warned recently that international terrorist activity is likely to escalate in the 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 a newspaper, the Australian. "We also received information from America, as well as other parties, of Osama bin Laden's presence in Indonesia."
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 during the last decade.
Over the last year, fighters from Afghanistan with alleged links to Bin Laden have traveled to Indonesia's Molucca islands to join forces with Laskar Jihad, an extremist Indonesian Islamic group that is seeking to drive Christians from the region.
Western officials say Laskar Jihad has adopted methods similar to those of other groups connected to Bin Laden, including using the same kind of detonator for bombs.
Nearly 90% 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 Moluccas 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 Gelbard, Bimantoro declined, saying: "You must understand. The police cannot look anti-Islamic."
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