CNN, March 20, 2002 Posted: 10:45 AM EST (1545 GMT)
Indonesia: A haven for al Qaeda?
[Photo: Al-Ghozi: Known as 'Mike the bomb-maker']
By Maria Ressa, CNN Jakarta Bureau Chief
(CNN) -- A surveillance videotape found in what the U.S. military calls an al Qaeda
safehouse in Afghanistan shows, what authorities say, the reach of a Singapore
terrorist cell.
The group is called Jemaah Islamiya, or JI, and Singapore officials arrested key
members last December at about the same time U.S. officials released the videotape.
The group's plans: to bomb the US Embassy and US commercial and military targets
in Singapore.
Those plots have largely been foiled after the December arrest of 13 JI members in
Singapore, but this is only one cell of a much larger terrorist network.
"We know the JI has ties to al Qaeda," says FBI Director Robert Mueller. "We know
the JI has ties in other countries besides Singapore, including Malaysia and
Indonesia."
Singapore officials say the JI members in Singapore report to a leadership base in
Malaysia, which has arrested nearly 50 suspected terrorists since last year.
The Philippines -- on a tip from Singapore -- arrested Indonesia Fathur Roman
Al-Ghozi last January. He is known to the JI Singapore cell as 'Mike the bomb-maker.'
Just last week, Philippine police arrested three more Indonesians at the international
airport in Manila.
Police say the three men were carrying C4 explosives and detonating cords.
"What is most disturbing," says Philippine Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes, "Is that
one of them -- so far according to the tactical interrogation -- have been confirmed to
have links with the JI."
Investigators here say another of the men arrested was fourth in command of the
Indonesian Mujahadeen Council. That group's head, Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, is also the
spiritual leader of JI, according to authorities in Singapore and Malaysia.
Ba'asyir has been questioned by Indonesian police, but he continues to operate
freely.
In fact, of the countries named with JI cells, only Indonesia has failed to arrest any
suspected terrorists.
Singapore has put public pressure on Indonesia to do more, but others in the region
say it may be more effective to work together through back-channels.
"Different countries have different peculiar situations, realities, political realities,
demographic realities that constrain their ability to respond to the terrorist threat,"
says Reyes. "They have to calibrate their response, otherwise, the cure might be
worse than the disease."
Al Qaeda presence
Photo: Abu Bakar Ba'asyir. Authorities say he is the spiritual leader of JI
USA Today says Bush administration officials have evidence al Qaeda members have
fled from Afghanistan to Indonesia.
The report said the White House is pressing to bring U.S. troops into the country,
something analysts expect President Megawati Sukarnoputri to resist on the grounds
an American presence could fuel the anger of Muslim extremists.
Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population and is just emerging from years
of political, social and economic turmoil.
What officials in the Philippines say they fear is that pressure for a more aggressive
counter-terrorist policy could destabilize Indonesia again and create more problems
for the region.
Still, there are real concerns for its neighboring countries.
As part of the investigation in JI's cells, authorities have discovered there are 4 tons of
explosives missing in Malaysia and 4.6 tons missing in the Philippines.
"When you have so many tons of explosives running around and you don't know
where they are -- that definitely will be a source of concern," says Reyes.
"We are concerned. We are taking the appropriate measures, but we are not
panicking."
© 2001 Cable News Network LP, LLLP
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