Laksamana.Net, March 20, 2002 09:12 AM
Laskar Jihad on Maluku, Separatism & bin Laden
Laksamana.Net - Laskar Jihad chairman Jafar Umar Thalib continues to deny any
links with Osama bin Laden, saying his organization's only goals are to propagate
Islamic teachings and maintain the unity of the Republic of Indonesia.
The veteran of the Afghan-Soviet war made the comments in recent interviews with
Tempo magazine and the London-based Arabic daily Al-Hayat.
He told Al-Hayat on Tuesday (19/3/02) the myriad problems confronting Indonesia are
due to ethnic conflicts, political and social issues, as well as American intervention.
On the three-year religious conflict in the Maluku islands, Jafar claimed the violence
was largely the fault of separatists most of whom are Christians who had
received support from certain members of the local government.
He said the Republic of South Maluku (RMS) separatist movement had been using
violence in an apparent attempt to follow in the footsteps of East Timor, which won
independence from Indonesia in 1999.
"The scenario of East Timor's independence is likely the same as that in Maluku, with
the so-called RMS. Some government elements, especially from the Christian group,
gave their support to the pro-RMS efforts," he was quoted as saying by state news
agency Antara.
He said Laskar Jihad's goal in Maluku was simply to maintain national unity.
Clashes between Muslims and Christians in Maluku conflict started in the provincial
capital Ambon in January 1999 and have since claimed more than 6,000 lives.
The violence has been attributed to the presence of military-backed provocateurs from
Java, especially Laskar Jihad, which entered Maluku in April-June 2000 and was
responsible for a tremendous upsurge in the level of bloodshed.
In response to the arrival of Laskar Jihad, the predominantly Christian Maluku
Sovereignty Front (FKM) was formed in October 2000, with the aim of fostering unity
among the province's residents and seceding from Indonesia, on the grounds that the
government has failed to protect the province from violence. But FKM's connections
with the RMS damaged its credibility.
RMS had been formed by pro-Dutch Christian Ambonese after Indonesia's 1945
declaration of independence. The movement was crushed by Javanese forces and did
not seriously re-emerge until the sectarian conflict was unleashed more than 50 years
later.
Aceh Conflict
Commenting on the conflict in the rebellious province of Aceh, where separatists have
been fighting for the creation of an independent Islamic state since in 1976, Jafar said
Laskar Jihad had sent a team to the province to teach Muslims there to interpret
Islam correctly.
The Laskar Jihad team arrived in February 2002 and received a cold welcome.
The separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and other groups in the province strongly
rejected the presence of the extremist group, fearing it would be used as a tool by the
military to create more bloodshed.
Jafar said the struggle of Aceh's separatists had derailed from the right track due to
the leadership of self-exiled GAM chief Hassan Tiro.
Tiro (77) fled to Sweden in 1979 to escape a military crackdown on his separatist
movement.
President Megawati Sukarnoputri recently granted Aceh a special autonomy package,
including the right to implement Islamic law, but GAM rejected the deal, on the
grounds that it won't put a stop to killings by the Indonesian military.
As for the offer of Islamic law, GAM said it was meaningless because the province
has for decades already been implementing Islamic law.
Given that many analysts believe Laskar Jihad was formed by rogue elements of the
Indonesian Defense Forces seeking to create chaos that would thwart efforts to
remove the military from politics, it's hardly surprising that Jafar had nothing positive to
say about the GAM leader.
"Hassan Tiro, who is now living in Sweden, strongly rejects the implementation of
Islamic law in Aceh. Tiro's wife is a Jewish woman. His mission is only to make the
region secede from Indonesia," he said.
Politics
Commenting on the political situation in Jakarta, Jafar said Laskar Jihad has no desire
to get involved in politics.
"We cannot afford to meddle in politics as it is full of intrigue and slander. We can
only present positive views to political parties and government. But we don't want to
get engaged in the arena of political practice," he said.
Osama bin Laden
In an interview in the current edition of Tempo magazine, Jafar rejected claims that he
has much in common with alleged terrorism mastermind Osama bin Laden.
"I know Osama well. His background in religious training is zero and his way of
thinking is extreme. I'm not one of those who revere Osama. To equate me with
Osama is an insult, he told the magazine.
"We adhere to the sunnah [words and deeds of Prophet Muhammad], while he
adheres to heresies. We attempt to study and understand the teachings of the
Prophet, while Osama just wants to politicize religion. It is clear that there will be no
meeting of minds, he said.
Nevertheless, Jafar told Al-Hayat that Laskar Jihad supports bin Laden. "As Muslims,
we certainly support Osama, who has strongly resisted US political propaganda," he
said.
He denied claims by the US that Laskar Jihad is a dangerous organization with links
to bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network.
"We have been branded as a dangerous group by the US. In fact, we never staged
any demonstration in the past. We are not opposed to the people of the United
States, and we only resist political slander the tricky propaganda of the United
States, which could easily take international political matters into its own hands
merely for the sake its own and its allies' interests, without showing any signs of
justice.
Papua
Jafar also spoke about Laskar Jihad's presence in the predominantly Roman Catholic
province of Papua (Irian Jaya).
Western media reports suggest Laskar Jihad has been training pro-Jakarta militia
groups in Papua.
But Jafar told Tempo his organization only went there for a "mass prayer meeting.
"They [foreign reporters] were asking me why I was going to Irian Jaya. Why? So
what? Isn't Irian Jaya Indonesian territory? What had it to do with them?
Crime & No Punishment
Jafar, who has four wives and 10 children, was arrested in East Java on May 4, 2001,
on suspicion of sowing religious hatred. Police investigators later changed the charge
to torture and premeditated murder, stemming from a case in which he had ordered
the stoning to death of a Laskar Jihad member, Abdullah, who had admitted to
committing adultery in Ambon.
It was reportedly the first stoning in Indonesia's history since independence.
Numerous Muslim groups linked to the Suharto regime demanded Jafar's release and
he was eventually freed. The stoning charge was never followed up in court.
It appears the military has no desire to take action against Laskar Jihad for attacking
journalists, slaughtering civilians, or illegal possession of weapons.
Recently appointed military spokesman Major General Sjafrie Sjamsuddin says
Laskar Jihad's actions cannot be classified as threats to national unity.
Some analysts say Jafar is merely a pawn in the military's deadly game of political
survival, but others say the day may not be far away when the military rues its
decision to use extremists to do its dirty work.
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