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| Terror Networks |
| Lashkar Jihad operating in Papua |
| 2002-04-22 |
| Laskar Jihad, blamed for fueling several sectarian conflicts in Indonesia, has entered into the predominantly Christian province of Papua. "There is no reason for Laskar Jihad to be here. What we worry about most is that their presence may cause conflict between Papuan people - religious conflict, ethnic conflict, racial conflict," Thoha Al-Hamid, secretary-general of the Papuan Presidium Council(PDP), told CNN by telephone from the provincial capital of Jayapura. Thoha accused the government and military of being behind Laskar Jihad's presence in Papua, saying they were set up as militias to fight the independence movement. "This is a game from Jakarta. Laskar Jihad is training people in the villages to fight pro-independence Papuans, regardless of whether they are Christians or Muslims. They are militias dressed in religious robes," said Thoha, adding that their activities intensified since the end of last year. The eventual design will be to spread them throughout Indonesia... Laskar Jihad denied the charges, saying they were involved purely in social and educational work. "We have no intention of doing anything to cause trouble. We are there to help empower the local people, whether they are Christians or Muslims. Our activities there consist mainly of Islamic studies and social work," Laskar Jihad spokesman, Ayip Syafruddin, told CNN. Syafruddin said a total of 200 members were in Papua and branches had been established in three regencies. Bingo! Missing piece falls into place! The question is what proportion of actual control over these guys exists within the military intel organization? Are they really, truly tools of the brass hats? Or do the brass hats have the false impression that they're in control of the tool that'll turn around and bite them at first opportunity? Or is the integration partial, like it is with ISI, with wheels turning within wheels? Wish there was more real news coming out of Indonesia... Papua police chief Inspector-General Made Mangku Pastika said there were no signs Laskar Jihad was training people to fight the pro-independence movement. "From our monitoring, there are no signs of that," Pastika told CNN. And there you have it: "Nope, didn't see nuttin'?" Not even a "we saw some, but not much." |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |