TASEK PAUH blogspot

Labels: Indonesia, Luar Negeri, Suharto

Jakarta, Jan 15 - Ten years ago, Amien Rais led thousands of demonstrators chanting "Hang Suharto!" to the halls of parliament, where they demanded the resignation of a man widely regarded as one of the most brutal and corrupt leaders of the 20th century.

Today, with the former dictator on his deathbed, Rais has a different message: forgive. But not everyone agrees, with protesters taking to the streets to demand the 86-year-old face justice.

Suharto is accused of overseeing a purge of more than half a million leftist opponents soon after seizing power in a 1965 coup, and killing or imprisoning hundreds of thousands more in the decades that followed - crimes for which no one has ever been tried.

He and his family also allegedly amassed billions of dollars in state funds, but defense attorneys have argued successfully for years that a series of strokes have left him unfit to stand trial.

"Maybe it is best if he dies, unforgiven by some, forgiven by others," said Goenawan Mohamad, 68, the founder and editor of Tempo magazine, which was forced to close twice during Suharto's regime because of its criticism of the government.

"But the debate should continue," he said at an outdoor cafe where former dissidents used to meet secretly. "It won't stop, it shouldn't."

Nearly 100 former political prisoners and relatives of those who died under Suharto rallied Tuesday in the city of Solo - not far from the mausoleum where the ex-dictator will be buried alongside his late wife. Some carried signs that said "Try Suharto before he dies!"

At the very least, they said, he should be tried in absentia.

"I was wrongly accused of being a communist," said 80-year-old Wiryo, who said he was rounded up during Suharto's 1965 takeover and thrown in jail, where he spent the next eight years.

Labels: Indonesia, Luar Negeri, Suharto

Most Indonesians support the enactment of Sharia bylaws - even though they acknowledge that ordinances already in place in several districts have failed to improve social welfare, a new survey has found.

"People's welfare remains the same as it was before the sharia bylaws were enforced," said the survey.

The survey's findings were discussed in a workshop in Cisarua, Bogor, West Java, on Thursday.

Some regions have enacted sharia bylaws despite warnings that the legislation deprives women and non-Muslims of their civil rights.

In cooperation with Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, the research was conducted by the Centre for the Study of Religion and Culture (CSRC) under Jakarta's State Islamic University in six Indonesian districts.

The districts are Bireun in Aceh, Tasikmalaya and Indramayu in West Java, Bulukumba in South Sulawesi, Bima in West Nusa Tenggara, and Tangerang in Banten province. Each had implemented sharia-inspired ordinances between August 2006 and October 2007.

A total 44.5 percent of Muslims surveyed said the bylaws did not improve the economy of regional populations, as it had been intended to. The study involved 1,000 respondents including 200 non-Muslims.

"In Bireun, the tourist sector has been drastically declining after the local authorities enforced caning punishments for adultery and alcoholism," CSRC researcher Syukran Kamil said.

Some 27.7 percent of the Bireun respondents said their economy had worsened, but 26.4 percent said their welfare had improved thanks to the Sharia bylaws.

Labels: Indonesia, Islam Liberal, Luar Negeri

Malaysia?

Democracy award for Indonesians

The Jakarta Post, Nusa Dua, Bali, Nov 13 - Indonesia's relatively peaceful transition into democracy over the past nine years, particularly the free and fair elections in 2004, has earned the citizens of try the prestigious Democracy Award from the International Association of Political Consultants (IAPC).

"Indonesia is a shining example to the world," Ben Goddard, president of the IAPC, said while presenting the award to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Monday.

"Indonesian people, through demonstrations, brought about the collapse of the tyrannical Soeharto regime in 1998, and in 2004, the country held the largest single-day election ever held in the world, which went peacefully," Goddard said.

Indonesia, which has the world's largest Muslim population, also showed to the world that Islam and democracy not only can coexist, but that they can be compatible and support one another, he said.

The award is given annually by the association, usually in recognition of leaders or figures who work for democracy. This is the first time that the accolade has been given to an entire nation. The IAPC is holding its annual meeting for the first time in Asia.

Goddard also acknowledged the role the Yudhoyono himself had played.

"He is a natural leader who inspires his people. He is imparting a vision for the country which the people believe in," he said in introducing the Indonesian president for the award after going through the long list of his achievements in the military and in public service.

Accepting on behalf of the 240 million people of Indonesia, Yudhoyono said: "What took you so long?"

Yudhoyono, who won Indonesia's first ever direct presidential election in 2004, said Indonesia's journey towards democracy had not been without its share of criticism, self-doubt, stubborn resistance and other hurdles.

"Democracy, some said, would not last long. The people were not ready. The country was too big. The nation was too complex. Democracy, they said, would lead to chaos and even the break up of Indonesia. Others said what happened in Indonesia was just a regime change," he said.

"My favorite columnist Thomas Friedman lamented that Indonesia was becoming a messy state. And there are those who predicted democracy would unleash extremism and radicalize Indonesian politics."

"Today, we can take a sigh of relief as the good people of Indonesia have convincingly refuted these concerns," he said.

"Despite the early years of turbulence, where we changed presidents four times between 1998 and 2002, our democracy is now producing stability and economic growth, the highest since the financial crisis (of 1998)," he said.

Past winners of the IAPC Democracy Award include Ukraine President Victor Yuschenko (2005), Iranian children's rights campaigner Shirin Ebadi (2004), Yitzhak Rabin of Israel (posthumously, in 1996), and Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi (1995).

The three-day IAPC conference will hear from seasoned politicians and political consultants, including Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, Hong Kong democratic leader Martin Lee, and Indonesian House of Representatives Speaker Agung Laksono and former environmental minister Emil Salim.

Labels: BN, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pilihanraya

Indonesia May Report Malaysia To U.N.

The Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) is looking into the possibility of reporting Malaysia to the United Nations Human Rights Commission over a recent spate of violent acts against Indonesian nationals in the neighboring country.

"If such cases continue to happen, the House of Representatives will consider to report the cases to the UN Human Rights Commission," House Speaker Agung Laksono told the press at the Parliament Building here on Wednesday.

Agung alleged the recent spate of violent acts against the Indonesian nationals was committed intentionally and systematically.

"Violence against Indonesian workers continues to happen," he said.

The National Mandate Party (PAN) faction early urged the government to take a stern measure against Malaysia by issuing a travel warning if Malaysia did not change its bad habit of torturing Indonesian migrant workers. The party believed that if necessary Indonesia should temporarily cut the bilateral diplomatic ties.

"We must have the gut to take a stern action. We very much regret it, we are angry because the government is very weak toward Malaysia. We should have responded equally," Head of the PAN faction at the Parliament Zulkifli Hasan said at the Parliament.

Zulkifly Hasan, who just called home his child who studied at the International Islamic School of Malaysia following the recent spate of violent acts against Indonesian nationals in the neighboring country, said that the action of the Malaysian volunteers who had detained the wife of the Indonesian embassy`s education attache in Kuala Lumpur demonstrated that the insults by the Malaysian security personnel and people against Indonesian citizens were on purpose.

"The insults have been committed systematically. We must fight back. Malaysia has started to demonstrate racialist attitudes," he said.

Labels: Indonesia, Malaysia, Rela, Umno

Indonesian MPs urge action against Malaysia

By Ahmad Pathoni

JAKARTA, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Indonesian legislators on Tuesday urged further diplomatic action against Malaysia following two incidents involving Malaysia's volunteer security force amid a row between the neighbours over ownership of a folk song.

Indonesia on Monday filed a formal protest after members of the Malaysian security force briefly detained a diplomat's wife, mistaking her for an illegal immigrant, and forcibly broke into a student's home.

But Malaysia denied on Tuesday that the diplomat's wife was briefly detained by Rela, a volunteer security force.

"The report is incorrect," Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak was quoted as saying by the national news agency, Bernama.

"She was not detained. Rela officers took some time to verify her diplomatic pass," he added.

The incidents came amid anger in Indonesia over the use of a folk song believed to have originated in Indonesia in Malaysia's "Truly Asia" tourism campaign.

"Things like these happen again and again. If we stay silent they will think we Indonesians are stupid," said Yusron Ihza Mahendra, deputy chairman of a parliament commission on foreign affairs, referring to the treatment of Indonesians.

The chairman of parliament's foreign affairs and defence commission, Theo Sambuaga, said ties between the two countries were hurt because of Malaysian "arrogance" and urged the two countries' leaders to meet to sort out the problems.

Labels: Indonesia, Malaysia, Umno

Embassy blasts Rela officers

Labels: Indonesia, Islam Hadhari, Umno

"Malam tadi, sekitar pukul 20.00 WITA Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono menerima telepon dari PM Malaysia yang intinya pernyataan penyesalan dan meminta maaf sedalam-dalamnya (provound appologize) atas kejadian itu," kata Juru Bicara Kepresidenan, Dino Pati Djalal di Istana Tampak Siring, Bali, Kamis (30/8).

Pemukulan terhadap ketua delegasi wasit karate Indonesia itu terjadi Jumat (24/8) lalu. Akibat pemukulan tersebut Donald mengalami luka cukup parah.

Insiden ini memicu berbagai aksi protes di Indonesia. Serangkaian demonstrasi digelar berbagai unsur masyarakat yang menuntut Pemerintah Malaysia meminta maaf.

Dijelaskan Dino, pembicaraan kedua kepala pemerintahan berlangsung dalam suasana konstruktif dan bersahabat. Menurut Dino, PM Malaysia menyatakan insiden itu tidak perlu terjadi.

Menurut Dino, Presiden Yudhoyono menghargai pernyataan PM Malaysia yang berupaya serta berniat baik untuk menghubungi Kepala Negara RI. Hal itu juga menunjukkan sikap arif Perdana Menteri Malaysia dan kedua pemimpin sepakat bahwa masalah itu perlu diselesaikan sesuai jalur hukum.

"Presiden menghargai langkah-langkah hukum dan tindakan indisipliner yang dengan cepat dapat diambil pemerintah Malaysia," katanya.

Kedua pemimpin mengharapkan, masalah itu dapat diselesaikan dengan cara yang baik dan cepat demi menjaga hubungan persaudaraan kedua negara yang selama ini berlangsung dengan kokoh.

Untuk itu, ujar Dino, Kepala Negara mengimbau semua pihak tetap bersikap tenang dan tidak terpancing emosi dalam kasus ini. Ia juga menginformasikan Kepala Kepolisian Diraja Malaysia telah menulis surat kepada Donald yang langsung diantarkan Duta Besar Malaysia kepada korban yang saat ini masih dirawat di rumah sakit. (Ant/OL-06)

Berita sebelumnya:
Pemerintah Perlu Keluarkan "Travel Warning" ke Malaysia - Antara News, Aug 30
Widodo AS: Unjuk Rasa Anti Malaysia Masih Wajar - Antara News, Aug 30

Labels: Indonesia, Malaysia, Polis

Labels: Indonesia, Malaysia, Polis

Indonesian police kill terror gang member
Amy Chew

Jakarta, 22 Mar 2007 - INDONESIAN police shot dead a member of Malaysian Noordin Mat Top’s terror group following a raid in Central Java.

They arrested five others.

All six men are believed to be lieutenants of Noordin and are alleged to have been involved in the Australian embassy bombing of 2004 and attacks in Poso, Sulawesi.

The raid took place yesterday evening in a busy street in the sub-district of Depok, Yogyakarta.

"The suspects are the right-hand man of Noordin Mat Top," an anti-terror police officer told the New Straits Times from Yogyakarta.

"These arrests are significant.

"We also believe Abu Dujana is somewhere in this area (Central Java) and that he is with Noordin."

Abu Dujana, the Afghan-trained militant, is the leader of the al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah.

Noordin is Asia’s most wanted terrorist and is believed to have masterminded all the major bombings in the country with his partner, Dr Azahari Husin, who was killed in a shootout with police.

Noordin has remained elusive despite a manhunt for him, which was launched after the first Bali bombings. Twice, he escaped a police dragnet.

Following information obtained from the suspects, police rushed to the neighbouring city of Solo and recovered weapons from a house, including guns, ammunition and home-made bombs.

Labels: Indonesia, Luar Negeri, Ummah

Visual yang ditayangkan menunjukkan pesawat Boeing 737-400 itu hangus dengan hanya bahagian sayap ekor belakang berlogo Garuda sahaja yang masih tinggal, manakala para pekerja penyelamat sedang bertungkus lumus berusaha mengeluarkan lagi mayat yang berjumlah kira-kira 30 semuanya.

Anggaran itu berdasarkan jumlah 133 orang dalam senarai penumpang pesawat, selepas lebih 90 orang yang cedera dan beberapa mayat dibawa ke beberapa hospital.

Berdasarkan senarai yang dikeluarkan oleh Garuda Indonesia, antara penumpang pesawat itu ialah sebilangan para diplomat dan wartawan Australia yang hendak ke Yogyakarta bagi meliputi acara yang dihadiri Menteri Luar Australia Alexander Downer di sana, pagi ini.

Jurucakap Kedutaan Australia di sini mengesahkan kepada stesen televisyen Metrotv bahawa memang terdapat sebilangan rakyat Australia dalam pesawat itu yang berlepas dari Jakarta pada pukul 6 pagi dan dijadual tiba ke destinasi 55 minit kemudian. lagi di UtusanOnline

Labels: Indonesia, Luar Negeri

Women Only Buses Introduced In Pekanbaru, Riau
By Mohd Nasir Yusoff

JAKARTA, Feb 18 (Bernama) - The administrators of Pekanbaru, the main town in Riau province in Indonesia, have introduced public buses meant only for women, a first for the republic and probably in the world.

Pekanbaru secretary Fawaz Ilyas said the move was taken because of rampant crime and sexual harrasment committed against women taking public buses.

It had also helped increase the number of people using buses, as women, especially those working away from the homes, felt more safe, he was quoted by the Antara news agency as saying.

Irma Hafidah Rahmah, the head of Iwapi, a women's organisation in Riau, welcomed the move saying they (women) had been looking forward to it for a long time.

She said it would help boost economic productivity as women now no longer needed to be afraid to go out and work to supplement their household incomes.

Meanwhile, a government officer in Pekanbaru known only as Effa, when contacted by Bernama, said that so far five buses were operating in the town area only to ferry women but plans were in the works to expand the fleet and widen coverage.

The drivers and conductors of the special buses were still men as women in Pekanbaru shied away from the jobs, she said, adding that there were also no restrictions on women from using the normal buses.

Labels: Berita, Indonesia, Luar Negeri

AlJazeera.net, 22 January - Ten people have been killed in a shootout with an anti-terror squad during a raid on a fighters’ stronghold on Sulawesi island in central Indonesia, local police say.

Security forces arrested 18 other alleged Islamic fighters in the Gebangrejo area and seized a large haul of bombs and weapons after the three-hour gun battle on Monday.

The shootings in Poso left up to nine suspected fighters and one policeman dead. (Picture : Several raids have been carried out against Muslim fighters' hideouts in Sulawesi)

Security forces have recently conducted several operations against Muslim fighters in Sulawesi.

Brigadier-General Badrodin Haiti, Central Sulawesi's police chief, said police had acted in self-defence.

He said the squad would not have attacked the suspected fighters if they had not opened fire first.

"I don't want to speculate whether they were members of Jemaah Islamiyah.

"But they are part of a dangerous, armed group that has caused unrest among the people,'' he said.

Police have been hunting for people on a wanted list of 29 suspected of involvement in a series of attacks in Poso district.

Ten have already surrendered, been arrested or killed. Isno Adi Winoto, a spokesman for the national police, said the police would continue to hunt down the suspects and their supporters.

Jemaah Islamiyah has been blamed for at least four attacks in recent years, the most deadly being the 2002 suicide bombings on Bali island that killed 202 people, many of them foreign tourists.

The government has since arrested hundreds of suspects and several others have been killed, including a man shot by Poso police on January 11 said to be a senior Jemaah Islamiyah member.

Labels: Berita, Indonesia, Luar Negeri, Ummah

Indonesia's supreme court has overturned the conviction on conspiracy charges in the 2002 Bali bombings against cleric Abu Bakar Bashir.

The verdict effectively clears his name and is largely symbolic as he has already served his two-and-a-half year sentence.

Bashir has been accused by the US and other intelligence services of being a founding member of Jemaah Islamiyah, the regional terrorist group blamed for the Bali bombings and linked to al-Qaeda.

He was freed from jail in July despite protests from Australia which said he remained a threat.

Eighty-eight of the 202 people killed in the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings came from Australia.

Bashir's son, Abdurrahmin, said his father had received word of the verdict.

"Thank God the Supreme Court has finally revealed the final truth,'' he told the Associated Press via telephone. "He is praying now to say thanks to God that his prayers have been accepted."

Since his release Bashir has gone on a speaking tour around Indonesia, basing himself at the Islamic school he co-founded on the outskirts of the city of Solo in central Java.

'Misguided'

Jemaah Islamiyah, or JI, dates from the early 1970s and traces its roots to Darul Islam, a movement advocating the application of Islamic law in Indonesia through force.

The last known attack carried out by JI was on October 1, 2005, when a series of suicide bombings killed at least 19 people and wounded more than 100 in Bali.

Experts disagree on the extent to which JI might have ties to al-Qaeda. Some say JI is al-Qaeda's Southeast Asian wing while others argue that JI's regional goals do not match al-Qaeda's global ambitions.

Abu Bakar Bashir himself has denied any connection with al-Qaeda and has described JI militants as "misguided".

Western and Asian intelligence officials say that while JI's recruitment continues, there are some indications that its support base is shrinking.

Labels: Berita, Indonesia, Luar Negeri

Earthquakes rock Sumatra

Seven people have died and more than 100 are reported injured after three separate quakes hit the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

The quakes of moderate magnitude struck within a space of five hours on Monday morning, hitting several areas that are still rebuilding after the devastating Asian tsunami almost exactly two years ago.

The first quake with a magnitude of 5.8 struck at 4:10 am on Monday.

Its epicentre was 128 km under the sea southwest of Banda Aceh, capital of Aceh province which bore the brunt of the 2004 tsunami.

The second quake registered a magnitude of 5.7 and came 30 minutes later northwest of the city of Padang.

The third quake hit North Sumatra province at 8:24 am with a magnitude of 5.5.

Four of the deaths occured in the town of Muarasipongi, in the western part of North Sumatra province, according to an official with the Padang meteorology office.

Mosques, churches and houses were also reported damaged in the town.

The quakes also triggered a landslide that blocked a key road leading to the region and impaired efforts to reach victims.

Besides the three quakes, dozens of aftershocks have shaken the area officials said.

Sumatra lies just east of one of the world’s most active fault lines and is hit by frequent earthquakes. Agencies.

Labels: Berita, Indonesia, Luar Negeri

Police said seven more bodies had been found as rescue operations were stepped up after a deadly landslide in Indonesia's Sumatra island.

The death toll rose to 18 on Saturday after days of heavy rainfall caused the slide on Friday.

Andy Kesatria, a police officer, said the hunt would continue until all the bodies had been located in what is a mountainous area.

The landslide was in a remote valley below Mount Talang, 40km east of Padang. It destroyed a mosque and eight houses, Kesatria said.

He said eight people were still in hospital with injuries.

"This morning we dispatched 15 more officers to the disaster area. The weather is clear and we now have two heavy machines to assist the operation.

"I think many [bodies] are buried deep in the ground. But we will only stop the search after all the bodies are found."

Landslides and flash floods are not unusual in Indonesia, especially during the monsoon rains which typically hit a peak in January.

In April, flash flooding and landslides triggered by monsoon rains killed at least 23 people in East Java.

At least 12 people were killed in similar disasters in January on other islands in the archipelago nation, while more than 150 people were also killed on Java in two separate landslides.

Labels: Berita, Indonesia, Luar Negeri

Yudhoyono considering move amid rising public anger over issue

By Devi Asmarani, INDONESIA CORRESPONDENT

The Straits Times, December 7

JAKARTA - PRESIDENT Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is considering widening a ban on polygamy after mounting public protests over the second marriage of a popular Muslim cleric.

The plan is to expand an existing restriction on polygamy for civil servants so that it will cover office holders, political appointees, legislators, soldiers and police, a minister said.

'The President has a great concern for women and he wants the public to be at peace over this issue,' State Minister for Women's Empowerment Meutia Hatta told reporters.

She added that the government would revise a 1990 government regulation that requires all civil servants to have the approval of their wives and bosses before taking a second wife.

The latest development comes on the heels of a confession by tele-evangelist Abdullah Gymnastiar, 44, that he has taken a second wife.

His new bride, Ms Alfarini Eridani, 37, is a former model and a single mother of three. She works for the cleric's business group in Bandung, West Java.

He has seven children with his first wife, Ms Nini Muthmaninah, who often flanks her husband on TV and at his other speaking engagements. She has said that she agreed to his second marriage.

Teh Nini, as his first wife is known, said she has 'thought about it for five years and now it has happened'.

She also said that everything was fine with her, despite having to share the house with another wife.

'It was hard for me in the beginning,' she said in a radio broadcast yesterday. 'I kept praying to God... and later found that (my husband) had no intention to hurt my feelings.'

Known affectionately as Aa (or brother) Gym, the cleric rose to fame with his simple homilies on family love. He also occasionally kisses his wife on stage.

But his polygamous marriage has angered many Indonesian women, who make up his biggest following.

The Jakarta Post reported that the crowd at his weekly weekend congregation in Bandung had dwindled, with many women conspicuously absent.

And during his broadcast talk shows, outraged listeners have expressed their disappointment. 'You have sold out your religion,' said one.

Cabinet Secretary Sudi Silalahi said the President and First Lady Kristiani's cellphones had been buzzing with messages condemning Mr Gymnastiar's polygamous marriage.

'All this uproar is because Aa Gym made thousands of people believe he was more sensible than other types who take two wives or more with little fuss,' the Jakarta Post said in its editorial yesterday.

The turbaned cleric has apologised for having hurt his followers. But he maintained that polygamy is allowed in Islam because men are by nature more inclined to do it.

'Women tend to be monogamous, that's how their 'software' is...But men, you know...their software is different,' he said.

Indeed, he said, polygamy is better than extramarital sex. But he added: 'What I did should not justify other men to do the same - I do not recommend it.'

Mr Gymnastiar, who is also a successful entrepreneur, is one of several prominent figures, including top politicians, whose polygamous marriages were recently revealed.

Polygamy is not widely accepted in Indonesia, but the country's former vice-president Hamzah Haz was the first top official to publicly reveal his marriages to three women.

Since then, other men have also revealed their own polygamous marriages. The latest to do so are legislators AM Fatwa, 67, and Anis Matta, 38.

Islamic teaching allows men to have as many as four wives, provided they are all treated equally.

But moderate and progressive Muslims have said that since it is impossible to be fully fair to all the wives, polygamy should not be practised.

Ms Musdah Mulia, who wrote the book Islam Against Polygamy, said the Quran has been misinterpreted by men for generations.

'Polygamy was a deeply rooted practice in Arabia during the time of the Prophet Muhammad,' she told The Straits Times.

'He did something radical to phase it out by limiting the number of wives they can have to four - and even the four wives he had towards the end of his life was a way to unite the surrounding tribes,' she said.

Indonesia's 1974 marriage law says that a man can take a second wife only if he has the approval of his first wife and the courts.

But he must also prove that his first wife is unable to bear a child or is disabled, or cannot fulfil her duty as a wife.

Related Articles:
Polygamy ban gets a mixed response
Beredar SMS Boikot Aa Gym

Labels: Indonesia, Islam Liberal, Ummah

An Indonesian court has sentenced a Muslim man to 12 years in prison for providing a pistol to the aide of a leading member of accused terror group Jemaah Islamiyah.

Joko Wibowo, alias Abu Sayaf, was convicted of giving the gun and 20 bullets to Subur Sugiarto, a top aide of Noordin Top, a Malaysian fugitive accused of being a leader of JI.

The three-member panel of judges in Central Java on Wednesday found Wibowo, 25, guilty of violating anti-terrorism laws and possessing an illegal firearm that was to be used to train fighters.

Wibowo said he got the gun while fighting Christians in Ambon, the capital of Maluku province.

Indonesian authorities say Wibowo was a member of JI, the group blamed for a series of attacks on Western attacks in Indonesia since 2002.

They included nightclub and restaurant bombings on the resort island of Bali and bombings at the Australian embassy and the JW Marriot hotel in Jakarta.

Abu Bakar Bashir, an Indonesian of Yemeni descent, is thought to be JI's spiritual leader.

He was released earlier this year after serving two years and two months in prison for openly backing the 2002 bombings and has since returned to the Ngruki pesantren, the Islamic school he co-founded on the outskirts of Solo Indonesia.

JI, whose name dates to the early 1970s, traces its roots to Darul Islam, a violent movement advocating the application of Islamic law in Indonesia.

The last known attack carried out by JI was on October 1, 2005, when a wave of suicide bombings killed at least 19 people and wounded more than 100 in Bali.

Experts disagree on the extent to which JI might have ties to al-Qaeda.

Some say JI is al-Qaeda's Southeast Asian wing while others argue that JI's regional goals do not match al-Qaeda's global ambitions. Abu Bakar Bashir has denied any connection with al-Qaeda.

Western and Asian intelligence officials say that while JI's recruitment continues, there are some indications that its support base is shrinking. Sumber : alJazeera.net

Labels: Berita, Indonesia, Luar Negeri, Ummah

A protester shouts slogans during a rally in Jakarta November 19, 2006.

Supporters of PKS shout slogans protest outside the Al Azhar mosque in Jakarta November 19, 2006


A protester carrying a placard shouts slogans as he walks past a row of policemen during a demonstration in front of Presidential Palace in Jakarta November 19, 2006

Labels: Berita, Indonesia, Luar Negeri, Ummah