Indonesia: High Alert on Terrorism Threat

[bmolsson]

This come in the Indonesian Coordinating ministers weekly information package.....

High Alert on Terrorism Threat
Indonesian authorities are on high alert for a new possible terrorist attack in the capital, Jakarta, or other major cities.

Police are stopping and searching delivery trucks and any other vehicles that might be carrying a bomb like that which killed 12 people outside the Australian embassy last year.

Intelligence sources also have warned that terrorists may be changing their tactics, and have warned of the possibility of suicide bombers carrying explosive-laden back-packs into hotels and other public places. Seven of the devices were found in a raid on a house in Sukabumi, south of Jakarta, last year.

[IrishMike]

Why would anyone want to attack Indonesia? Kinda silly for a terrorist to do that if you ask me.

[bmolsson]

Latest news....

Blast at housing complex near Jakarta,no casualties

JAKARTA (Reuters): An explosion occurred in a housing complex not far from the Indonesian capital Jakarta before dawn on Wednesday but caused no casualties, police said, amid heightened warnings of terror attacks in the country.

Lani, a police officer in the town of Pamulang, said a bomb squad was heading to the housing complex in the town, about 35 km south of Jakarta.

"We don't know whether it's a bomb or a stove explosion. We are still investigating," Lani said by telephone.

On Monday, police said Islamic militants linked to al-Qaeda, including wanted Malaysian bombmaker Azahari bin Husin, might be hiding on the outskirts of Jakarta. Azahari is a senior figure in Jamaah Islamiyah, seen as the regional arm of al-Qaeda.

Police have said Azahari is among the masterminds behind a spate of bombings in Indonesia, including the 2002 Bali blasts that killed 202 people, the 2003 JW Marriott hotel bombing in Jakarta which claimed 12 lives, and last year's blast outside the Australian embassy that killed 10 people.

Western countries and Indonesian police have all warned in recent weeks of possible terrorist attacks in the world's most populous Muslim nation. (*)

[Steppe Merc]

Wow. These terrorists are getting stupider and stupider... You'd think they'd try and use some of their resources killing non Muslims, rather than alienating their only possible recruitment source.

Why would anyone want to attack Indonesia? Kinda silly for a terrorist to do that if you ask me.

I believe that they have attacked numerous other Muslim countries that they don't deem pious enough.

[bmolsson]

It was actually a cleric that was attacked.....

Bomb explodes near cleric's house


Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

After over three weeks of bomb warnings and threats in Jakarta, a low-explosive bomb jolted the capital early on Wednesday morning.

The bomb exploded in the front yard of a house rented by Islamic preacher Mohammad Iqbal, 47, better known as Abu Jibril, in Pamulang, Tangerang, which borders the city.

No one was injured in the explosion, as Abu Jibril and his family were in a nearby mosque for dawn prayers.

Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Firman Gani said that the explosion at about 4:30 a.m. created a 20-centimeter diameter crater of about six centimeters depth and spread heavy smoke to surrounding houses.

"We found traces of black powder, several cables and a timer at the scene," he said.

Firman acknowledged that the police received a text message warning that a bomb would explode somewhere in Ciputat, South Jakarta, and Pamulang, hours earlier.

A witness said that three people on two motorcycles passed by the witness' place and the house rented by Abu Jibril just before the explosion.

After passing by several times, one of them threw a plastic bag into the house, which was followed by a blast.

Firman said that the police were still investigating the motive behind the bombing as well as determining the perpetrators.

"I talked to Abu Jibril when I was at the scene. We are still interrogating him, but we have not detained anyone nor named any suspect," Firman said.

Abu Jibril was allowed to go home in the evening.

Abu Jibril, who has a Malaysian wife, was first arrested under the Internal Security Act by the Malaysian authorities in June 2001 when he was about to deliver a sermon in Shah Alam, Selangor.

Malaysian police accused him of involvement in terrorist-related activities that posed a threat to the country's security and he remained in custody until his deportation from Malaysia on May 14 last year.

Following his deportation, Jibril was taken into police custody as he was suspected of being a senior member of Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) network, which is accused of masterminding the 2002 Bali bombings, the 2003 JW Marriott hotel blast, and last year's blast outside the Australian embassy.

Officials also said that Jibril might be a close friend of Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, the alleged leader of JI.

Firman, however, doubted that the two Malaysian fugitive bombing masterminds Azahari Husin and Noordin Moh Top were behind the explosion.

"I have no reason to believe that the bomb in Pamulang had anything to do with Azahari and Noordin. They have a different style."

[Tribesman]

Why would anyone want to attack Indonesia? Kinda silly for a terrorist to do that if you ask me.
Yeah , well terrorists often do silly things
Wow. These terrorists are getting stupider and stupider... You'd think they'd try and use some of their resources killing non Muslims, rather than alienating their only possible recruitment source.

Right , some basics , while Indonesia is nearly 90% Muslim it does have a huge population , the 4th biggest in the world , so that means there are a hell of a lot of non-Muslims .
It is a big place , 17,000 islands spread over 4 time zones containing many ethnic groups and cultures .
It had a dictator who for 30 years made sure that everyone was Indonesian and followed the party line or else , but there were still a lot of people who fought against "their" government .
"Terrorism" in Indonesia coveres a very wide range of groups with very different agendas , some are religeous based , other political based , others still are area or ethnic based .
Then to those you can add those who have a problem with neighbouring governments rather than their own and those from neighbouring countries who have a problem with Indonesia .
So maybe your question should be , "Why are all these problems not covered in the media more often ?"
Though of course the "terrorists" in Aceh did get a few mentions after the Tsunami , maybe those other "terrorists" should pray for a big natural disaster to get themselves a few headlines .
And of course the "terrorists" in East Timor did get back in the news in the early '90s after being ignored by the world for 15 years , actually I think someone actually gave those "terrorists" what they wanted eventually .

[TonkaToys]

@bmolsson: what is the general vibe out there at the moment? When I visited a few years back, there was no obvious anti-western sentitment, and the people were generally really nice. My mum and dad were working out there during the last batch of riots and the Bali bombings, but it felt quite isolated... as Tribesman says it is a big place and there are a lot of people there.

[bmolsson]

@bmolsson: what is the general vibe out there at the moment? When I visited a few years back, there was no obvious anti-western sentitment, and the people were generally really nice. My mum and dad were working out there during the last batch of riots and the Bali bombings, but it felt quite isolated... as Tribesman says it is a big place and there are a lot of people there.

Actually the anti-western sentiment is only blowing up when there are a specific issue. A country makes trouble and some political groups hires a mob or two. Last foreign group targetted with violent protests was Malaysia due to an island dispute. Foreigner from the west have a tendency to isolate themselves a lot. The large social differences makes it hard to have a contact with locals in your neighbourhood. You drink a bottle of wine Saturday evening that cost more than you pay your maid, and then you expect her to be your pal ?
Indonesians are in general very friendly, even so much as they become naive, and this is why so many people fall in love in Indonesia. The problem comes when the run "amok". A mob in Indonesia is very dangerous, since there are no limits in what it is capable off. Fortunately they are very rare and closely controlled by police.
Terrorist groups and insurgents in the different provinces are often driven by personal agendas and greedy profit hunger. The whole Aceh story is nothing but a fight between insurgents and local military over drug trade. The locals in Aceh are neither supporting the gerilla nor the military. They just want to be left alone. Over 25% of the Acenese are mixed with other ethinc groups and can be found all over Indonesia.

Timor was a totally different story. The invasion in 1976 was done with support from US and Australia to avoid getting a communist regime so close to Australia. Xanana Gusmao and his fretilini are nothing but old communists that grown a little bit more mature than in their youth. The military resistance at the end was only a few hundred fighters. I honestly doubt that Timor are better off as an independent country today and there are already indications that a civil war might blow up when UN leaves.

The last string of terrorist actions has been groups targetting each other. The reformist muslims against the radical ones. Terrorists and their fundings, mostly from Malaysia, will paint themselves in to a corner and people will hunt them out. They will end up in certain very radical areas, just like in Malaysia and a status quo will appear. That is the Indonesian way of solving conflicts......

[bmolsson]

A travel advice was issued by some western states, was issued on this hoax....

Nervous Jakartans deal with SMS bomb hoaxes


Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

After receiving a forwarded text message warning that three vehicles loaded with explosives were traversing the city, Tista, 27, an employee at a five-star hotel, felt the responsibility to spread the news to everybody in her phonebook.

"It said that the information came from the police. I thought my friends and family members should know about this," she told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

There were apparently several versions of this message being passed among cell phones, reaching journalists and Jakarta Police officers as well.

In response, the police deployed two-thirds of their 26,000 officers and began stopping and inspecting vehicles.

Over a dozen bomb threats have circulated through the capital via SMS over the past few weeks.

Although all turned out to be hoaxes, a small explosion did occur in front of the house of controversial Muslim cleric Abu Jibril in Pamulang, Tangerang, on Wednesday, just hours after Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Firman Gani received a report on an SMS warning of an explosion somewhere in Pamulang.

"Now we are confused ... a text message that turned out to be correct. How can we verify it? Can the police trace the original sender?" Tista asked.

Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Tjiptono said people could verify any bomb warnings with the police by sending an SMS to 1717, with the questionable SMS attached, or by calling the police hotline at 112.

"Our operators will confirm around-the-clock whether such information is coming from us or not. If members of the public receive a bomb threat, they can reach us at the same numbers ... and the bomb squad will arrive. We do not charge anything for the service," he said.

The hotline number is connected to police radio station Suara Metro, which will broadcast a message to police patrol cars.

Though the police may be able to respond quickly to these SMS hoaxes, they seem unable to stop them. Police have detained only one person in connection with dozens of bomb hoaxes sent over the past five months.

"We receive reports of bomb hoaxes almost every day. People these days can change numbers easily and buy new numbers anywhere. And remember, we have a limited number of officers to deal with lots of different kinds of crimes," Tjiptono said.

[TonkaToys]

Thanks for the info BMolsson. Glad to hear the general situation is still that the majority of people are friendly and that radicalism is limited to a minority.
On the subject of maids, I wanted to give my mum's maid a thank-you gift as she had cleaned up the mess that my g/f and I made after getting food-poisoning - not a nice job! Anyway I got out the equivalent of £10, which my mum said I should halve as it was the equivalent of a good month's wages! Shocking.

[bmolsson]

On the subject of maids, I wanted to give my mum's maid a thank-you gift as she had cleaned up the mess that my g/f and I made after getting food-poisoning - not a nice job! Anyway I got out the equivalent of £10, which my mum said I should halve as it was the equivalent of a good month's wages! Shocking.

Not really. The minimum wage is in Jakarta about IDR 700,000, which is USD 75 per month. Some pay their maid less, but not as low as you mention.

[TonkaToys]

It was a few years ago... either that or my mum was just trying to make a point... or perhaps it was a weeks wages?