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| No Al-Qaeda Network in Indonesia: Officers |
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FRI, OCT 12, 2001
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The Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police officers said they had not discovered any Al-Qaeda network in the country as claimed by the United States.
"I have not seen it, perhaps the official was referring it to the Abu Sayyaf group or those in the Philippines. Eventually, their group was presumed to be tantamount to Al-Qaeda network. I have not seen this phenomenon yet," Army Chief General Endriartono Sutarto was quoted by the Antara News Agency Friday as saying.
The U.S. government claimed that Osama bin Laden-led Al-Qaeda network existed in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. The network, as reported by the New York Times on Wednesday, in these three countries would be the target of U.S. attacks in combatting terrorism.
Sutarto said the U.S. official's suspicion might come possibly after anti-U.S. demonstrations flared up in the country and recent sweeping threats against American citizens.
"The U.S. official then considered the activities as having been organized by the group (Al-Qaeda network). I have not seen that far," he added.
Meanwhile, Jakarta Police spokesman Senior Commissioner Anton Bahrul Alam said the police had not discovered any Al-Qaeda network in the capital.
"They are not here. The actions we saw are still a reflection of solidarity towards Afghanistan," he said.
Separately, two hard-line Muslim groups have denied reports that they have connections with Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect in the terrorist attacks on the U.S., saying that the allegations were fabricated by U.S. intelligence agencies.
"It shows how poor the U.S. intelligence agencies' performance is ... I have neither contact nor any relationship with Osama bin Laden," Jafar Umar Thalib, the chairman of Laskar Jihad, was quoted by the Jakarta Post as saying.
Islamic Defenders Front operations commander Siradj Alwi also denied any connection with Osama bin Laden.
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