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BENARNEWS- More than 50 years after D.N. Aidit was executed during an anti-communist purge in Indonesia, his stature as a top leader of the dissolved Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI) still casts a shadow on his son Ilham's life.
Ilham was only six when Dipa Nusantara Aidit, the chairman of the PKI's central committee, was put to death in November 1965 as part of a nationwide crackdown on suspected communists that killed at least 500,000 people.
Communism was banned in Indonesia that year, and countless Indonesians like Ilham have since suffered the stigma of being associated with the old PKI. As a junior in high school in Bandung, West Java, he fought with fellow students almost every day because he could not stand their verbal attacks against his late father, Ilham told BenarNews.
That dark period in Indonesia's history has remained a taboo subject. But in April, the Indonesian government for the first time convened a two-day symposium where Indonesians were invited to discuss the mass killings.
Indonesian human rights advocates have since lobbied the government to pursue a national reconciliation over what happened in 1965-66, although President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has said that his administration would not apologize for the killings.
In early June, some retired army generals organized a counter-symposium at which they warned against a communist resurgence, yet provided no clear proof of how that threat has manifested itself.
In an interview at his home in Bandung, Ilham Aidit, an architect, talked at length about his hopes for a national reconciliation, how this could take shape, and how he has come to accept that people who were victimized during the anti-communist purge likely won't ever get an apology from Indonesia's central government.
BenarNews: Have you lost your trust in the government?
Ilham Aidit: I am pessimistic but I don't know. I think the Jokowi factor will be influential in this matter. Jokowi is firm, right?
After the first symposium, there were many disagreements. Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan [Indonesia's security minister] and Agus Widjojo [chairman of the government-sponsored symposium], I saw they were kind of more tolerant, but in reality the resistance is so great.
That is why the Jokowi factor is influential. Would he apologize? Rehabilitation is the president's prerogative.
BN: Are other relatives and families of victims as pessimistic as you are?
IA: Not really, but I hope the government can take the example from Palu [in Central Sulawesi province]. The mayor is amazing. They achieved reconciliation and acknowledged that there were mass killings in 1965 in Palu. The local administration apologized.
Even though it didn't compensate [people], they [did] provide social security and free medical service for former prisoners who are sick. They will get that until the third generation, if I am not mistaken.
That should be an example, the least that Jokowi can do.
BN: What did you think of the June 1-2 symposium organized by the retired generals?
IA: The symposium was a joke. It carried a theme for reconciliation but they said "no need to apologize."
Well, that's not reconciliation.
It reflects that there's discord in the army. There are the reformist generals such as Agus Widjojo, Hendropriyono and Luhut [Binsar] Pandjaitan, who realized that human rights violations require a well-intended settlement.
At best, even though it would be bitter, they would say, 'it's OK for the Armed Forces to take the blame," because there was proof that they were guilty at that time....
Meanwhile, there is the anti-reformist military faction, including [Defense Minister] Ryamizard Ryacudu, Kivlan Zen and Kiki Syahnakri. In their minds, they are still in the golden era of the military under Suharto.
BN: All this time why have you ruled out a legal settlement?
IA: The non-judicial option is the right one for an old problem. There is strong evidence for this.
There are four conditions for a good reconciliation.
First, acknowledging that the mass killings did happen. Second, acknowledging this publicly. Third, telling the truth. After acknowledging that, telling it as it is – explaining it in school history books and explaining its impact.
Fourth, repairing the situation. It's related to compensation, rehabilitation and amnesty.
'He should have been tried'
BN: But Luhut said that an apology seemed unlikely. Do you think the government should still apologize?
IA: I backed down because Luhut said that probably there would only be an expression of regret. But you know the difference between expression of regrets and an apology? The former is just being sympathetic.
Now I am worried that even that will not happen.
Rehabilitation without unveiling the truth would be weird. ... That is weird logic.
DNA [D.N. Aidit] never faced a trial. He should have been tried if he was guilty. No problem if he was sentenced to death, if he was so. But there should have been a fair trial.
BN: Presidents have changed a number of times but the issue of the anti-communist purge in 1965-66 has never been settled. What made this drag on over the decades?
IA: The anti-communist propaganda by [President Suharto's] New Order was overwhelming. It really stuck into a lot of people's minds, generated hatred for those who don't even know anything, and it still exists.
That is why such resistance prevails. On the other hand there are also those who say "don't settle this issue." It's clear that they are guilty.
BN: Who is perpetrating this?
IA: There are some generals who yearn for the military glory of the New Order and have tried to find their way back through this issue. It's quite popular and still talked about as an issue....
Luckily people are smart now.
But it's weird that they think there is still a communist threat. We are the most fearful country.
In this world, no country is more afraid of a communist resurgence than Indonesia.... What they should be afraid of is the real threat from radical groups such as IS or al-Qaeda.
Communist revival? How would they finance it? Everyone knows that the Provisional People's Consultative Assembly (MPRS) Decree No. XXV/1966 (TAP MPR) banned communism....
BN: What are your concerns if this issue drags on even longer?
IA: [Y]ou can guess it. The younger generation would never see a good example.
Just imagine when you hear that the state apologizes. Wouldn't you respect them?
The younger generation can emulate the honorable action. They can also emulate the victims that had been vilified but are still able to say "I forgive."
On communism
BN: How well do you know communism?
IA: I used to know that my father was a communist, head of the PKI. That was all I had in mind. They defended farmers, fishermen and the people. But when I was in high school, I became interested in reading about communism, and found that Marxism was its foundation.
BN: What moved you to learn about communism?
IA: It was mainly spurred by curiosity to find out what my father really did that was wrong. Was he that great that he was seen as so demoralizing?
When I was in high school, I started to have some analytical skills and realized that there are tenets in this world. There is a tenet that favors money, there is a tenet that believes all the wealth in this world should be split equally because people can't choose who they are born to be.
I learned the concept of communism through a high school friend whose father had a lot of books on communism, even though he was not a communist. Let's say you admire Gandhi. You can have books about him, even though he was a Hindu.
So I learned from that.
BN: Does being a communist mean that you are an atheist?
IA: Being a communist does not mean that you are an atheist....
My father fasted and celebrated Eid. But he thought that to create a new world, there should be elimination of social classes. It has nothing to do with God. Being branded as atheist? It's a New Order [Suharto era] propaganda and it worked.
Marx said material possessions should be spilt equally and the world would be better. I agree with that principle. Everything should be split equally. Don't let capitalists rule over us.
BN: So, are you a communist?
IA: I can say I am more of a Marxist, instead of a communist.
BN: Are you an atheist?
IA: I'm fasting now. I am a religious Marxist. Isn't that confusing?


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BENARNEWS- Defense ministers from Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines on Monday agreed in Manila to pursue coordinated air-and-sea surveillance in a joint effort to halt kidnappings by Abu Sayyaf militants in the Sulu and Celebes seas.
Such surveillance would be modeled on the Malacca Strait Patrols (MSP), a system of air-and-sea operations coordinated by Indonesia and Malaysia in the Andaman Sea, according to a trilateral statement issued at the end of Monday's meeting in the Philippine capital.
The Malacca Strait model had significantly reduced hijackings in that maritime zone, Malaysian Defense Minister Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said.
"Threats in Sulu waters cannot be eradicated without cooperation from neighboring countries which share borders," he said in a statement following the meeting in Manila.
Joining Hishammuddin there were his Indonesian and Philippine counterparts, Ryamizard Ryacudu and Voltaire T. Gazmin.
In their joint statement, the ministers said the three neighboring countries had agreed to establish a trilateral maritime patrol working group, which would set operational plans for those patrols.
"The ministers raised concern over the recent incidents of kidnappings and armed robbery at sea in the maritime areas of common concern, and reaffirmed the need, commitment and collective responsibility of the countries to address such threats that undermine peace, security and prosperity of the region," the statement said.
The three countries also agreed to establish a transit corridor designating sea lanes for mariners entering the common area, and share information and intelligence by establishing a trilateral database.
Monday's meeting enhances efforts by members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to combat crime and terrorism, according to Zaini Othman, director of the Center for Strategic and Security Studies at Universiti Malaysia Sabah.
"I see this agreement as a reflection of the seriousness among the three countries to address these issues," he told BenarNews.
Second trilateral meeting
Monday's talks reaffirmed commitments made at a similar meeting in Jakarta on May 5, when foreign ministers from the three countries agreed to a four-point plan to stop hijackings in the seas separating the southern Philippines from Borneo island. They agreed to establish three-way hotlines and coordinate maritime patrols.
The efforts are occurring as the three nations deal with a series of kidnappings by Abu Sayyaf and other militant groups in the Philippines.
Most recently, four Malaysian sailors were released June 8 after being held by Abu Sayyaf for two months. Their families claimed they paid 12 million ringgit (U.S. $2.94 million) for their release while Malaysian officials claimed that the money did not go to the militant group.
Previously, four Indonesian sailors were released by a different Philippine militant group on May 11, and 10 Indonesian sailors kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf were released on May 1.


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BENARNEWS- Indonesia on Tuesday gave the U.N. refugee agency and International Organization for Migration (IOM) access to 44 Sri Lankans whose boat ran aground 10 days ago off the coast of Aceh, as witnessed by a BenarNews reporter.
Local authorities also suspended attempts to tow the ship back to international waters, after two days of bad weather. On Tuesday, high waves drenched the engine and caused the boat to list 45 degrees.
"Looking at the condition of the boat now, no way can it be pulled back to sea," said Achmad Samadan, head of immigration at the provincial government's Ministry of Law and Human Rights.
He said personnel from the IOM and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) would be able to collect complete data on the migrants.
"We'll know who they really are. Let there not be inaccurate data," he said.
In Jakarta, Dicky Komar, a human rights official at the foreign ministry, said a joint team of local and central government officials were on site to observe the situation.
"We are trying to find the best solution for them. We are working with UNHCR and IOM to address the issue of asylum seekers and refugees," he said.
Via India
Acehnese officials had prevented the migrants from coming ashore for a week, then changed their minds, saying they could disembark while their boat was being repaired.
Since Saturday, the migrants have been housed in an open tent on Lhoknga beach, about 15 kms (9 miles) northwest of the provincial capital of Banda Aceh. Local officials have given them fuel and food.
During a visit by BenarNews to the scene, migrant children played as adults dozed in the shade.
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Nurdin Hasan/BenarNews
A 25-year-old woman, who was six months pregnant and gave her name as Sudha, told BenarNews she was a Sri Lankan national born in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
Her parents fled there during the decades-long war between Sri Lanka's government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which ended in 2009, she said.
"One year after my parents fled to Tamil Nadu, I was born," Sudha said.
According to her, all the people aboard the ship are Sri Lankan Tamils who had lived in Tamil Nadu for years and have refugee documents issued by the Indian government.
"Tamil people have a hard time finding work and we don't have identity [cards] because we are seen as Sri Lankan," she said.
She said they left India for Australia in the hope of a better life, but the ship's captain deserted them on the open sea and left them drifting until they came aground off the coast of Aceh.
"My brother-in-law has been in Australia for three years. He went there in a boat like us," she said.
Asked if they were prepared to return to India, she said, "No way can we go back there. We'll die, because no one can work in Tamil Nadu."
Herry Sudiarto, a senior immigration official in Banda Aceh, earlier told BenarNews that the 17 men, 22 women and five children aboard the boat had no official documents.
A long and difficult journey
In a statement last week, Amnesty International (AI) criticized Indonesia for confining the travelers to the Indian-flagged boat (pictured above).
"These people have endured a long and difficult journey already. Now that they have reached land in Aceh, they should be allowed to disembark and meet UNHCR officials,"  said Josef Benedict, AI's director of campaigns for Southeast and the Pacific.
The migrants had travelled 1,700 kms (1056 miles) over 20 days before reaching Indonesian waters, the statement said.
Thomas Vargas, the UNHCR representative in Indonesia, told BenarNews on Monday that he hoped the Indonesian government would allow his staff to interview the migrants.
"We hope to get access and speak to the migrants to find out if they are really seeking asylum," he said. UNHCR could then assist Indonesia in handling the next steps, he said.


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BENARNEWS- After years of neutrality, Indonesia appears to be getting drawn into a conflict over China's territorial claims in the South China Sea following repeated clashes with Chinese fishermen near the Natuna islands off Borneo island.
On Wednesday, Indonesia's military announced it would maintain a hardline stance to control the nation's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the waters around the Natuna islands.
"We have deployed five ships and one aircraft patrol to monitor the Natuna area to prevent such illegal trespassing from happening again," Indonesian military chief Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo said in a press release issued in Jakarta.
"We will seize anyone who illegally enters our territory. If we do not do capture those people, then it means we are sleeping," he added.
Last week, Indonesian navy ships fired warning shots as they chased 12 foreign fishing boats from waters near the Indonesian island chain, northwest of southern Borneo, which are claimed by both Indonesia and China.
In the third such incident since March, a Chinese-flagged boat was captured and its seven-member crew detained, leading China to lodge a protest, according to news reports.
A Chinese foreign ministry statement issued shortly thereafter said that "China and Indonesia have overlapping claims for maritime rights and interests" in the area, implying the existence of a dispute, Agence France-Presse reported.
Gatot said Wednesday that the military would follow Indonesian law in taking action against any Chinese-flagged or ships from other nations captured in Indonesia's EEZ.
"Of course an investigation will be conducted. Whether the captured ships will be sunk, we will decide after a trial is held," he said.
A naval presence was necessary to maintain national sovereignty, Rear Adm. Achmad Taufiqoerrochman, the commander of the navy's Western Fleet, said separately.
Incidents involving Chinese ships
Meanwhile, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti said that her ministry planned to strengthen security in Indonesia's territorial waters.
Since the beginning of the year, 57 foreign fishing boats have been caught by the navy and other Indonesian forces trespassing in Natuna waters, according to the ministry.
In March, a Chinese Coast Guard ship reportedly attempted to intervene when an Indonesian task force tried to capture a vessel poaching in those waters. After the incident the government summoned the Chinese ambassador in Jakarta to lodge a complaint.
A similar incident occurred on May 27, when the Navy captured a Chinese fishing boat and its eight crew members who allegedly did not have permission to fish in those waters.
On Friday, after radio communications, signal flags, and an announcement over loudspeakers and warning shots had failed, the task force captured one of 12 foreign vessels violating Indonesia's EEZ, reports said.
The Chinese fishing boat carried a crew of seven. A Chinese Coast Guard ship that was escorting the fishing boats repeatedly asked over the radio for the boat to be released, according to the ministry.
"We often catch Vietnamese boats, but they obey us. There is no resistance.  We suspect that this was supported by the Chinese government," Rear Adm. Achmad said.
Claim challenged
The admiral denied a report from China that the task force had fired at the fishing boat, injuring a crew member.
"We just fired warning shots because the ship would not stop," he said.
Taufiqoerrochman said he was waiting for the results of an arbitration hearing before a United Nations tribunal in the Hague, Netherlands, over a Philippine challenge of China's occupation of islands in the South China Sea.
The court is expected to rule on the case on July 7.
China claims much of the South China Sea in territorial disputes with Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei. Indonesia is not a party to these territorial disputes.
EEZ encroachment
However, Indonesian officials are becoming more and more angry over Chinese fishing boats venturing into waters of its EEZ.
According to Minister Susi, 30 foreign trawlers will be sunk next month to prove Indonesia's commitment to upholding the law. Indonesia has destroyed 176 foreign fishing boats captured between October 2014 and April 2016, according to the maritime ministry. Many of the boats were seized in Natuna waters.
Hikmahanto Juwana, a law expert at the University of Indonesia, agreed with the government's move to beef up security around the exclusive economic zone.
"Indonesia should work with China related to the definition of the 9-dash line in the South China Sea," he told BenarNews, referring to an imaginary line that China uses to claim its territorial waters in the sea.
Another analyst, Melda Kamil said the government should take a firmer stand in declaring its EEZ claim to China. She also called for a united front involving the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
"We cannot handle China by ourselves, we should stand together," Melda told BenarNews.


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BENARNEWS- Ministers from Indonesia's government confirmed Friday that seven Indonesian sailors were abducted at sea off the southern Philippines four days earlier, acknowledging they were slow to verify and announce the latest in a string of kidnappings in the militant-infested region.
Top Indonesian officials, including the foreign minister, the security minister, and the heads of national police and intelligence agency, met in Jakarta on Friday to discuss the latest hostage crisis involving Indonesian sailors.
But officials still had no information about whether the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), which is based on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao (see map below), had abducted the seven sailors on Monday in the waters off Tawi-Tawi.
Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, the coordinating minister for Poltical, Legal and Security Affairs, who chaired Friday's meeting – only the first one held to date to discuss the hostage crisis  – told reporters that the government was still trying to secure information about who carried out the kidnapping –  whether it was Abu Sayyaf or a splinter group.
The motive of the unidentified hijackers who took the sailors was unknown, he added.
On Thursday, however, an anonymous government official familiar with the case confirmed to the Jakarta Post that the seven were taken by "the same network that hijacked the Brahma 12 tugboat in March." The official was referring to the kidnapping by Abu Sayyaf militants of 10 Indonesian sailors, who were eventually released in May.
Abu Sayyaf, which has aligned itself with the extremist group Islamic State (IS), in the past two months beheaded two Canadian hostages after its ransom demands were not met. But on Friday, ASG freed a Filipina, Marites Flor, who had been held with the Canadians, news agencies reported from the Philippines.
According to some reports in the Indonesian media, the kidnappers of the seven sailors were demanding a ransom of 20 million ringgit, the equivalent of U.S. $4.9 million or Rp. 65 billion. Authorities have not yet confirmed the ransom demands.
"This third incident is truly intolerable," Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi told reporters as she emerged from the emergency meeting, referring to Abu Sayyaf's earlier snatching of a total of 14 Indonesians in March and April. All 14 of those sailors were freed in May unharmed.
Crisis center activated
The current location of the missing sailors was unknown, she said, adding that the government had mobilized its crisis response center to deal with the latest abduction.
"The Crisis Center already exists to work for the release of hostages, and that is 'on' again. We are intensifying our communications with parties in the Philippines and Indonesia to identify the next steps," Retno said.
In addition, Indonesia would also maintain a moratorium on coal shipments to the Philippines by sea, until that country guaranteed the safety of its waters, Retno said.
The sailors were sailing back to East Kalimantan province from the Philippines after delivering a cargo of coal, when their barge and two tugboats were hijacked off Tawi-Tawi, according to reports.
Retno added that many of those ships carry coal, a trade that meets more than 90 percent of the Philippines' coal needs. The coal supply comes from Kalimantan. Despite the moratorium, ships apparently are still making the sea journey.
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'My husband called me'
Luhut acknowledged that the government was late in verifying the the hostage-taking even after relatives of the victims in Samarinda, the capital of East Kalimantan, learned about the abduction on Wednesday.
Starting Wednesday, the government had attempted to confirm the report with relevant authorities, and had failed to obtain confirmation, Luhut said.
"Philippine intelligence authorities were still hesitant about it until yesterday afternoon," he said.
In the confusion, some top officials gave out wrong information, Luhut noted. The head of the Indonesian military, Gatot Nurmantyo, was even quoted as saying that the report about the abduction was a hoax.
The first person to hear of the kidnapping was Dian Megawati Ahmad, whose husband Ismail called her to say he had been kidnapped.
"My husband called me using the hijackers' cell phone number. He only told me to tell the company and the media that they are being held hostage by Abu Sayyaf," Dian told BenarNews on Thursday.
Her husband, Ismail, told her that the hijackers had released six crewmembers, ordering them to sail the tugboats and barge back home, but that  he and six other sailors were taken by the gunmen.
"For sure, my husband is on dry land but I have no idea whether he is in a house, forest or hut, I don't know. I had no chance to ask where he is because the line was bad," Dian said.
Joint patrols not yet launched
Meanwhile, plans by Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines to mount joint patrols in waters along their shared borders to prevent more maritime hijackings have not yet materialized, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir said Friday.
The plan was one of four agreements that came out of a trilateral meeting in Yogyakarta on May 5, which was attended by the military chiefs and foreign ministers of the three countries.
"The three countries are in the process of discussing standard operating procedures, following that meeting in Yogyakarta. We continue to push for this to be finished soon," Arrmanatha told reporters.
The Yogyakarta meeting followed the kidnappings of the 14 Indonesians sailors as well as four Malaysians in three hijackings by Abu Sayyaf. All 18 were released last Month.
Luhut said the government was studying what security measures could be put in place to prevent a repeat of the kidnappings.
"We are still thinking about what this should look like. Does the military escort ships, or do we put military personnel aboard ships – it had not been decided. But it is urgent to avoid further hostage takings," he said.
National Police Chief Badrodin Haiti  said ships should have security escorts.
"We can also involve the Philippine military to provide the escorts along certain dangerous routes.  But this idea needs to be discussed more with the Philippines," Badrodin said.
Gunawan in Balikpapan, Indonesia, contributed to this report.


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BENARNEWS- For two nights in Ramadan, after Taraweeh prayers, bright lights and fascinating rhythm light up the front yard of Cut Meutia Mosque in Menteng, Jakarta.
The annual Ramadhan Jazz Festival – the only jazz  festival held in a mosque in Indonesia – is one of several activities organised each year by the mosque's youth committee (RICMA) to mark the holy month.
"Indonesia is currently facing a serious threat named radicalism. Music is a universal language that can bring us together. Music is also the right instrument for dakwah [spreading the good words of Islam], specifically in our fight against radicalism, supporting efforts in bringing out tolerance and respecting each other's differences," said RICMA head M. Soekarno Hatta.
The sixth edition of the festival was held this year on June 17 and 18, and RICMA plans to keep it going in future years because it has been so well received, he said.
Muhammad Deo Saputra, another one of the event's organizers,agreed.
"What makes this year's event different from previous years is the theme it carries, which is about living in harmony. We hope all communities, believers, and organisations would unite in harmony, so we all can build Indonesia to be more positive," Deo told BenarNews.
'Difference is beautiful'
Retired General Wiranto, the chairman of the People's Conscience Party (Hanura),  was among those helping kick off the festival on opening night. Wiranto also heads the mosque youth group's advisory board.
"Music bring everyone together, regardless of races, nationality or beliefs," said Wiranto, who took the stage himself to sing "Juwita Malam" ("Beauty of the Night") by legendary composer Ismail Marzuki, accompanied by jazz maestro Idang Rasjidi.
Idang, who has performed at every edition of the Ramadan Jazz Festival, praised this year's theme, "Harmony in the Culture of Islam."
To underline  the harmony in Indonesia's multicultural society, Idang invited Balinese-born soprano Putu Sastrani Titaranti to sing his song "Saling Memaafkan" ("Forgiving Each Other".)
"The song tells about differences. Isn't it peaceful if we can forgive, respect each other? I hope it can remind all of us that difference is beautiful," Idang said from behind his keyboard.
Other top Indonesian jazz singers and bands, such as Dira Sugandi, Yuka Tamada, Ecoutez, Fariz RM, Maliq & D'Essentials, and Barry Likumahuwa, also performed.
"I'm so proud of Indonesia. Unity in diversity. Today, we all can prove it," said Barry.
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Visitors enjoy the 6th Ramadhan Jazz Festival held at Cut Meutia Mosque complex in Menteng, Jakarta, June 17, 2016. (Afriadi Hikmal/BenarNews)
Mosque appropriate?
One visitor, Ega Chandra, said he wasn't so sure that a mosque complex was the right venue for the festival. He advised organizers to stage it somewhere else in upcoming years.
"The event was great. I love jazz and the artists they invited were also great," said the 24-year-old, who was attending the festival for the first time.
"I think it is better to bring it somewhere else. It's just inappropriate because a mosque is a place to pray. The theme is Ramadhan Jazz, not Jazz at Mosque. The artists should also play more songs about Islam in jazz arrangements," Ega said.
Novriantoni Kahar, a scholar at Jakarta's University of Paramadina who focuses on religious tolerance issues, said most moderate Muslims consider musical performances involving percussion instruments such as rebana – a tambourine used in Islamic music in some Southeast Asian countries – appropriate for Indonesian mosques.
However, "for the extreme group, performing music in a mosque is considered haram [forbidden by Islamic law], let alone staging a jazz festival," he told BenarNews.


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BENARNEWS- On that sweltering afternoon, June 20, 2016, Tugboat Charles 001 was sailing at normal speed in the waters between Jolo and Tawi Tawi in the southern Philippines, pulling the barge Robby 152 after making a coal delivery at Cagayan De Oro, Philippines.
Indonesian sailor Rudi Kurniawan was at the helm, keeping an eye on the tugboat's coordinates and speed. Three crew members were with him in the wheelhouse.
"It was almost time for a crew change. I was tired after being at the helm all day," Rudi told BenarNews in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, on June 26.
His sleepiness vanished when two speedboats pulled up on either side of the tugboat and a dozen men pointed rifles in their direction.
"It crossed my mind, they are Abu Sayyaf. There's been piracy before in the waters off Tawi-Tawi," he said. Fourteen Indonesian sailors were snatched in two separate incidents in March and April, then released in May after being held by Abu Sayyaf, a group known for taking foreigners hostage and killing some of their captives.
Rudi and his three colleagues rounded up the nine other crew members, and all of them crowded into the wheelhouse. Meanwhile, armed men were getting on board.
"Some of them had already gotten on the boat, pointing their guns at us. We couldn't do anything but put our hands up in a sign of surrender," said Rudi, who still appeared exhausted.
'Where are the engineers?'
By Rudi's count, seven pirates boarded the tugboat. One of them, using a Malay dialect, began asking for the tugboat's engineers. They tied up the tugboat captain Ferry Arifin, chief engineer Muh Mahbrur Dahri and engineer Edi Suryono.
"They were looking for machinists. 'Where are the engineers, where are the engineers!'" said Andi Wahyu, another crew member, imitating the pirates.
"Edi's hands were immediately tied with rope. Then they grabbed Ferry and Mahbrur, pointing their guns at them."
The three were loaded onto a speedboat, along with most of the tugboat's communications equipment.
One of the sailors started crying as the three most senior members of the crew were led away.
"Seeing our mate cry, the pirate who spoke Malay said we didn't need to worry because they are only after money from the owner of our boat," Andi said.
In Jakarta on Monday, Indonesian Armed Forces chief Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo told reporters that the kidnappers had demanded a ransom of 200 million Philippine pesos, the equivalent of almost 65 billion Indonesian rupiah (U.S. $4.9 million).
He said the hostages were likely being held on Jolo, in the Sulu archipelago of the southern Philippines. Authorities believe two different groups are behind the snatchings, one of them led by Abu Sayyaf figure Al Habsyi Misaya.
"The other one we don't know yet, and we're looking into it," Gatot said, adding that Indonesia's government was in close contact with counterparts in the Philippines.
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A navy police officer stands on the dock as Tugboat TB Charles 001 pulls in to Semayang Port in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, June 25, 2016. (Gunawan/BeritaBenar)
Second attack
As soon as the pirates took off, the remaining crew set a rapid course away from Jolo, while trying to get a signal on a cell phone a crew member had managed to hide from the hijackers, Andi said.
"Our panic had not even subsided, we had just started up again, when another speedboat with armed men appeared," he said.
The crew tried to outrun this boat, abandoning the barge to increase their speed.
"We weren't as fast as them even after we let the barge go. In the end the armed men boarded the boat," Andi said.
The second group, wearing brown camouflage uniforms and bullet-proof vests, looked even more terrifying than the first.
With no senior crew left to snatch, this group tied up four members of the crew.
"Without saying too much, they took our four crew mates," Andi recounted.
Deeply shaken, the six remaining sailors started their journey once again, heading for Kalimantan.
"For 35 hours, we took turns driving the boat out of Jolo waters until we reached Berau [Kalimantan] and immediately called the [shipping] company on the remaining cell phone," Andi said.
Indonesia had announced a moratorium on coal shipments to the Philippines after the earlier kidnappings, but shipping companies did not comply.
Plans by Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines to mount joint patrols in waters along their shared borders to prevent more maritime hijackings have not yet materialized.
The release of the 14 sailors in May was secured through diplomatic efforts and not ransom payments, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said at the time.
Malaysia acknowledged that 12 million ringgit (U.S. $2.94 million) was paid to unnamed organizations in the Philippines to obtain the release earlier this month of four Malaysian sailors kidnapped in April. But the money was not ransom paid to Abu Sayyaf, Deputy Prime Minister Adhamd Zahid Hamidi said.


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BENARNEWS- Asian governments Wednesday joined a worldwide chorus of condemnation against Tuesday night's terrorist attack at Istanbul's international airport, which killed at least 41 people and injured 239 others and which Turkey blamed on Islamic State, according to the latest reports.
As the Turkish people began to bury loved ones who were killed at Istanbul Ataturk Airport, Europe's third busiest airport, when three suspected IS suicide bombers opened fire and blew themselves up, condolence messages poured into Turkey from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, India, Bangladesh, and many other countries.
The attack "ripped humanity," Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said in a message posted on Twitter.
"My deep condolences for all the victims of suicide bombing in Istanbul Ataturk Airport. The world is united against terrorism," added Jokowi.
"Indonesia sends its deepest sympathy to the government and People of Turkey, especially to the bereaved family of the victims' #prayforturkey," Indonesia's foreign minister, Retno Marsudi, tweeted separately.
Jokowi leads a nation with the world's largest Muslim population that, along with Malaysia, has been grappling in recent years with a threat of radicalized young Muslims traveling through Turkey to join the extremist group Islamic State in neighboring Syria and Iraq.
"Findings by our security forces indicate that this terror attack was carried out by Daesh [Islamic State]," Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildrim, told reporters Wednesday, according to Reuters.
The attack came a little more than three months after IS claimed responsibility for a suicide attack at the international airport in Brussels and a metro station in the Belgian capital, which killed 35 people and injured more than 300. However, according to the latest news reports, IS had not yet claimed responsibility for Tuesday's attack in Turkey. Earlier reports had put the death toll at 36 people killed.
'Heinous'
No Indonesians were killed in the attack at the airport, but officials were trying to verify this information with Turkish authorities and the Indonesian expat community, Indonesia's consulate in Istanbul said in a statement.
Some 728 Indonesian citizens live and work in Turkey, including about 300 who are studying there, the consulate said.
In Malaysia, officials said there were no reports of Malaysian citizens killed or injured in the attack. But the foreign ministry urged citizens traveling to Turkey to watch out for security threats.
"My deepest condolences to the people of Turkey, especially to the families and victims of this senseless attack on innocent lives. Malaysia condemns this heinous act in the strongest terms," Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said in a Facebook posting. He called on Muslim nations to unite and cooperate in combatting acts of terrorism conducted in the name of Islam.
Abdul Hadi Awang, the president of Malaysia's faith-based Pan-Islamic Party (PAS), also condemned the attack in conveying his party's condolences to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Turkish people.
"Such heinous acts are against the teachings of Islam, which prohibits any cruel actions involving innocent civilians," the PAS leader said in a statement.
In neighboring Singapore, officials expressed shock as they deplored Tuesday's suicide attack in Istanbul.
"Singapore strongly condemns this act of terror against innocent civilians and stands united with Turkey in its fight against terrorism," President Tony Tan Keng Yam said in a letter to his Turkish counterpart.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Barack Obama called Erdogan to offer American support in investigating the attack and strengthening security in its aftermath, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Wednesday, the morning after the U.S. government condemned the airport attack.
In South Asia, Indian and Bangladeshi officials sent similar messages.
"Attack in Istanbul is inhuman & horrific. I condemn it strongly. My thoughts are with bereaved families. May the injured recover quickly," Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said via Twitter.
"Terrible news from Istanbul. Our thoughts and prayers are for the victims and their families," Bangladeshi State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam said on Facebook.
Alam, who returned on Wednesday from an overseas tour, noted that he had traveled through Istanbul Ataturk Airport three days ago and had the option to pass through the Turkish hub on Tuesday.
'Blow back'
Tuesday's attack was the sixth carried out this year alone in Turkey by suspected IS militants or Kurdish rebels.
Since 2013, the country at the crossroads of Europe and Asia has been rocked on multiple fronts by deadly terrorist attacks, according to news reports. On Oct. 10, 2015, 103 people were killed and more than 500 were wounded in the worst-ever terrorist attack, when twin suicide bombings targeted a pro-Kurdish peace rally in Ankara, Agence France-Presse reported.
The airport attack was an act of blowback against Turkey for originally backing groups such as IS against the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad, according to Ajai Sahni, a counter-terrorism expert who founded the New Delhi-based think tank Institute for Conflict Management.
"For a long time, Turkey was supporting terror or radical groups like the IS. [Turkey] was the principal route for Islamic radicals. It had even set up medical facilities for terror groups," Sahni told BenarNews.
"Basically, every country that has sought to exploit terrorism as an instrument of state policy has eventually suffered a blowback, and Turkey cannot be an exception. It has been a political asylum for terrorists who came from other countries, and now it is finding it difficult to contain radicals spreading violence," he said.
Tia Asmara in Jakarta, Razlan Rashid in Kuala Lumpur, Kamran Reza Chowdhury in Dhaka, and Amin Masoodi in Srinagar, India, contributed to this report.


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BENARNEWS- Indonesia doesn't need to involve convicted terrorist Umar Patek in efforts to negotiate the release of seven Indonesians being held hostage in the southern Philippines, a senior counterterrorism official and a military historian said Thursday.
Patek is currently serving a 20-year sentence for his role in the 2002 Bali bombing that killed 202 people. He fled to the Philippines after the bombing and joined Abu Sayyaf, a ruthless group known for taking foreigners hostage and killing some of their captives.
"Involving Umar Patek right now is not so effective. A team representing the government is already there," Wawan Purwanto, a staff expert at Indonesia's National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT), told BenarNews on Thursday.
Patek was arrested in Pakistan in 2011 and repatriated to Indonesia the same year.
A plan to use his help negotiating with Abu Sayyaf following the kidnapping of 14 Indonesian sailors in March and early April was dropped after being leaked to the media, a source told BenarNews. The men were freed in May.
"I knew them well. Based on a sense of humanity, I offer myself to help the government. This is because the Indonesian government's calls to the group, with support from the Philippine government, will not be effective. Abu Sayyaf considers the Philippines an enemy," The Jakarta Post quoted Patek as saying in April.
Armed men snatched seven Indonesian sailors from their tugboat on June 20 in waters near Tawi-Tawi island, as they sailed home after making a coal delivery.
In Jakarta on Monday, Armed Forces chief Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo told reporters that the kidnappers had demanded a ransom of 200 million Philippine pesos, the equivalent of almost 65 billion Indonesian rupiah (U.S. $4.9 million).
He said the hostages were likely being held on Jolo island in the southern Philippines. Authorities believe two different groups are involved.
Iwan Ong, an author and expert on military history, outlined initial steps usually taken in hostage negotiations: establishing contact with hostage-takers, gaining their trust while researching who they are, and demanding evidence that the hostages are still alive.
"While this is going on, there should be media management and a single information source that can satisfy public curiosity without jeopardizing the rescue operation," Iwan told BenarNews.
He dismissed the idea of Indonesia turning to Umar Patek for help.
"There are many people as qualified as Umar Patek with the ability to understand the dialect and the local conditions in the southern Philippines," he said.
Boundary crossing clarification
Indonesia's Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi travelled to the Philippines Thursday to discuss efforts to release the seven sailors.
She delivered a letter of congratulations from Indonesian President Joko Widodo to the new leader of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, who was sworn in Thursday. Duterte said earlier this week he would consider negotiating with the Abu Sayyaf, which recently beheaded two Canadian hostages after ransom deadlines passed.
"The letter also mentioned the hope that the two countries can work together more strongly in the future, including cooperation on the safety of the vessels sailing through Sulu waters," an Indonesian foreign ministry statement said.
On his last day in office, outgoing Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin clarified that the Philippines had not given Indonesia permission to enter its territory to free the sailors.
"They can only conduct operations of pursuit within our area if the incident occurred within their waters, based on the principle of hot pursuit," Gazmin said Wednesday, according to Philstar.com.
Gazmin was responding to a comment by his Indonesian counterpart Ryamizard Ryacudu after the two men met in Manila on June 26, according to Indonesian media outlet Kompas.com
"The Philippine government allows the pursuit of pirates and terrorists in the southern Philippines and crossing the sea border between Indonesia and the Philippines. All will be conducted within the framework of ASEAN spirit, namely the security and stability of the region," Ryamizard reportedly said at the time.
The 1975 Border Crossing Agreement between the two countries allows Indonesia's military to enter Philippine waters when chasing pirates from Indonesian waters, and vice versa.


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BENARNEWS- An Islamic State-linked suicide bomber attacked police headquarters in the Central Javanese city of Solo on Tuesday, blowing himself up and injuring an officer, Indonesian authorities said.
The bombing occurred on the eve of the Eid-ul-Fitr holiday in Indonesia that marks the end of Ramadan, and was the first IS-linked attack in Indonesia since an attack killed eight people in Jakarta on Jan. 14, officials said.
Police identified the attacker as Nur Rohman, 31, through an I.D. card found at the scene.
Nur was a member of a local terror cell headed by Indonesian militant Arif Hidayatullah (alias Abu Mushab), National Police Chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti told reporters after inspecting the blast site.
Nur had evaded capture when police arrested Abu in December, Badrodin said. Abu was arrested while on his way to work at an automotive company, police said at the time. He allegedly had a list of IS supporters in Indonesia and a photocopy of a book about explosives.
"He learned about bomb making at that time," Badrodin said of Nur, adding that his suicide mission was linked to calls by IS leaders instructing followers of the Middle East-based extremist group to launch terror attacks during the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan.
Badrodin said Mushab was part of a network whose members include Bahrun Naim, the man whom Indonesian police claim masterminded the January attack in Jakarta that killed eight people, including four of the perpetrators.
Mushab's role was to recruit Indonesians to join the IS after he received funding from Bahrun Naim, who lives in Syria, Badrodin said.
A Jakarta think-tank, the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) later challenged Haiti's assertion, claiming that Naim did not the mastermind the January attack. IPAC instead blamed a local group, Jamaah Anshar Khilafah whose ideological leader is imprisoned Indonesian Muslim cleric Aman Abdurrahman, for being behind the attack.
On June 8, police said they arrested three men who were inspired by IS to carry out terror plots targeting public places and government offices in Surabaya, East Java, during Ramadan. One of the suspects was linked to Abu Jandal, an Indonesian fighting for IS in the Middle East, according to officials.
Whereabouts unknown: in-law
The bomber in Tuesday's attack arrived at the station house on a motorcycle at 7:35 a.m. – just before police officers were to hold a meeting there, policemen and witnesses told BenarNews at the scene.
As Nur Rohman tried to enter the compound officer Bambang Adi intercepted him. But Nur detonated the bomb, killing himself and injuring Bambang who sustained facial wounds, police said.
Nur was a resident of Sangkrah village in Solo.
"We didn't know his whereabouts," Nur's sister-in-law, Yayuk, told BenarNews, adding that he had left the family about a year ago.
Jokowi urges calm
Ramadan-time attacks targeting the police are not new for Solo, a reputed hotbed for radicalism in Indonesia
Just before Eid-ul-Fitr on Aug. 17, 2012, motorcyclists shot a police security post, injuring two police officers. A day later, motorcyclists threw a grenade into another police post in Solo, but no one was injured.
Despite Tuesday's attack, Solo Mayor F.X. Hadi Rudyatmo said all Eid activities would go ahead as planned.
"There is nothing to fear," Rudyatmo told reporters.
Meanwhile, Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, a native and former mayor of Solo, spoke to the community.
"We hope people remain calm on this last fasting day. There is no need to be scared," he told reporters in Padang, the capital city of West Sumatera, where he traveled to celebrate Eid.
"I have ordered the National Police chief to search and uncover the networks associated with the suicide bombing," Jokowi said.
As of December 2015, Indonesian officials estimated that about 800 Indonesian radicals were fighting in Syria or Iraq, according to a U.S. State Department report on terrorism released last month.
Indonesian officials identified 284 citizens actively involved in fighting in Iraq and Syria and are investigating another 516, the report said.
Indonesian officials also believe that 52 Indonesian terrorist fighters have died in Syria and estimate that another 60 to 100 have returned to Indonesia.
Tia Asmara in Jakarta contributed to this report.


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BENARNEWS- Indonesia's government Monday confirmed that Abu Sayyaf militants had kidnapped three Indonesian sailors off the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah, and called on Malaysia and the Philippines to stop more hijackings and abductions by launching joint maritime patrols at once.
"Indonesia cannot tolerate this incident and we ask the governments of Philippines and Malaysia for their strong efforts to secure their land and sea," Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi told reporters in Jakarta on Monday. "Especially to the Philippines government, we ask their help in freeing the Indonesian hostages immediately."
The Saturday night abduction of the three Indonesians from Malaysian-registered tugboats sailing off Lahad Datu, Sabah, brought to 10 the number of Indonesian sailors abducted by Southern Philippines-based Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) militants in two separate hijackings since June 20 in the waters that separate the three countries, according to Indonesian officials.
Earlier this year four Malaysian sailors and 14 Indonesian sailors were abducted but later released after three hijackings carried out by ASG and another southern Philippine militant group.
At a trilateral meeting in Jakarta on May 5, the foreign ministers of the three countries agreed to stop the hijackings and abductions along their common sea boundaries, including by mounting joint maritime patrols.
Last month, defense ministers from the governments in Jakarta, Manila and Kuala Lumpur met in the Philippine capital to discuss the plan further, including coordinating air-sea patrols. However, the three neighbors have yet to implement their plan.
Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo, the chief of the Indonesian armed forces, said that Indonesian Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu was due to meet with his Philippine and Malaysian counterparts on Tuesday in Kuala Lumpur to discuss the latest hostage crisis and to follow up on the earlier trilateral talks.
"So, now I would like to emphasize that it is urgent to start cooperating," the military chief told reporters in Jakarta on Monday, following an emergency meeting with Retno and other officials over the crisis.
"If we are asked to go there to release the hostages, we will be prepared. We are also ready for the joint patrol. Whatever we are asked, we are ready for it," Gatot added. "The Philippine government has given the green light for Indonesia to do joint military operations, but not in writing yet."
Perilous waters
In Saturday's incident off Lahad Datu, the three abductees were taken to the Sulu Archipelago in the southern Philippines, according to Sabah Police Commissioner Abdul Rashid Harun, who cited Philippine intelligence reports.
The crewmembers were abducted by five armed men who were dressed in black and wore black face paint, he said. Four other crewmembers – three Malaysians and an Indonesian – were released and allowed to sail home, he said.
"We are investigating together with the authorities of Indonesia and the Philippines in tracking the terrorist group involved in the latest abductions," Abdul told BenarNews.
Many of the abductions that have occurred in recent months in waters that separate the southern Philippines from northern Borneo island have been linked to Abu Sayyaf, a militant group that has pledge allegiance to the extremist group Islamic State (IS).
Before Saturday's kidnapping, seven crew members of an Indonesian tugboat were abducted on June 20 as they sailed in the waters off Tawi Tawi, in the southern Philippines.
ASG recently executed two Canadians whom it had abducted after deadlines for ransom expired.
In the cases of the 14 Indonesian ex-hostages who were freed in May, the Indonesian government claimed that no ransom money was paid to secure their release.
However, according to an Indonesian analyst, Abu Sayyaf is "addicted to" the financial benefit that it can reap from ransom money, and therefore is likely to carry out more abductions.
"When there is a chance and the opportunity to act, they will do so with the hope of getting a ransom," Harits Abu Ulya, a terrorism expert with the Community of Ideological Islamic Analysts (CIIA), told BenarNews.
Hata Wahari in Kuala Lumpur contributed to this report.


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 BENARNEWS- Southeast Asian nations called for a peaceful resolution to the South China Sea dispute following a U.N. tribunal decision rejecting China's vast claims over the strategic and resource-rich waters.
In delivering its ruling Tuesday on a suit brought by the Philippines in 2013, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PAC) in The Hague unanimously dismissed Chinese claims delineated by a nine-dash line on a 1940s-era Chinese map.
"[T]he Tribunal concluded that ... there was no legal basis for China to claim historic rights to resources, in excess of the rights provided for by the Convention, within the sea areas falling within the 'nine-dash line'," a press release by the PAC stated Tuesday.
The court ruled that China had violated the Philippines' sovereign rights by interfering with fishing and oil exploration, constructing artificial islands and failing to prevent Chinese boats from fishing in exclusive economic zones (EEZs) extending 200 nautical miles from shorelines, as established under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
It also took China to task for physically obstructing Philippine boats within those zones and causing "severe harm" to fragile ecosystems through its reclamation and construction projects.
In Manila, the new government of President Rodrigo Duterte reacted in measured tones.
"The Philippines strongly affirms its respect for this milestone decision as an important contribution to ongoing efforts in addressing disputes in the South China Sea," Foreign Minister Perfecto Yasay said Tuesday in Manila.
"The Philippines reiterates its abiding commitment to efforts to pursue the peaceful resolution and management of disputes with a view to promoting and enhancing peace and stability in the region," he added.
China, which refused to participate in the tribunal proceedings, said it would ignore the "unjust and unlawful" ruling, which is legally binding under international law but has no enforcement mechanism.
"China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea shall under no circumstances be affected by those awards. China opposes and will never accept any claim or action based on those awards," it said in a statement.
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Drawn into the fray
The ruling has implications for several small countries in the region which have helplessly witnessed China's expansion into areas such as the Spratly Islands, which are claimed by Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei and Taiwan as well as the Philippines and China.
"Malaysia believes that all relevant parties can peacefully resolve disputes by full respect for diplomatic and legal processes; and relevant international law and 1982 UNCLOS," its Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
"Malaysia believes that it is important to maintain peace, security and stability through the exercise of self-restraint in the conduct of activities that may further complicate disputes or escalate tension, and avoid the threat or use of force in the South China Sea," it said.
Indonesia, for its part, has maintained a neutral stance for years on the simmering territorial disputes but has been drawn closer to the fray in recent months following repeated incursions by Chinese fishermen near the Natuna islands.
In late June, Indonesian navy ships fired warning shots as they chased 12 foreign fishing boats from the area, northwest of southern Borneo. A Chinese-flagged boat was captured and its seven-member crew detained, leading China to lodge a protest, according to reports.
"Indonesia once again calls on all parties to exercise self-restraint and to refrain from any actions that could escalate tensions, as well as to protect Southeast Asia region particularly from any military activity that could pose a threat to peace and stability, and to respect international law including UNCLOS," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
Melda Kamil Ariadno, an expert of international law at the University of Indonesia, said the ruling could set the stage for instability if China does not respect it.
"China has rejected it, the country has the right to do so, and will defend its views with any possible way.  This can lead to a potential conflict. The region will not be safe anymore," Melda told BenarNews on Tuesday.
As the largest country within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Indonesia should push the regional bloc to take a role in resolving such problems.
"Indonesia is the largest country in ASEAN, and what's more it has a stake in the matter because Natuna waters are frequently infringed, so it should be more active and daring," she said.
Mohd Azizuddin Mohd Sani, an international relations analyst at Universiti Utara Malaysia, said Tuesday's ruling could have little impact since there is no enforcement mechanism.
"So the Philippines would not be able to do anything and China knows the decision will not affect the country in any way," he said.
Tia Asmara in Jakarta, Hata Wahari and Melati Amalina in Kuala Lumpur contributed to this report.


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BENARNEWS- Malaysian Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein announced Thursday that he would host a trilateral meeting with his Indonesian and Philippine counterparts in Kuala Lumpur on July 21, where they will discuss plans to jointly patrol sea corridors separating the three nations.
It is scheduled to take place as Indonesia grapples with two hostage crises involving 10 Indonesian sailors who were abducted off tugboats by southern Philippine-based Abu Sayyaf militants, officials say.
Earlier this week, the chief of Indonesia's armed forces, Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo, had announced that a trilateral meeting of defense ministers would take place in Kuala Lumpur on July 12.
The three countries have yet to implement joint patrols in the Sulu and Celebes seas, since their foreign ministers first met in Jakarta on May 5 and agreed to a plan to curb hijackings in the waters that separate the southern Philippines from Borneo island. The agreement called for establishing three-way hotlines and coordinating maritime patrols.
Last month, the defense ministers held a tri-lateral meeting in Manila, where they agreed to pursue coordinated air-and-sea surveillance, in a joint effort to halt kidnappings by the Abu Sayyaf Group along their common maritime boundaries.
They decided to model their Sulu Seas Patrol Initiative (SSPI) on the Malacca Straits Patrol, a system of air-and-sea operations coordinated by Indonesia and Malaysia in the Andaman Sea.
Hishammuddin said that a Malaysian multi-agency delegation, led by the National Security Council, was in Jakarta and working on a "Framework on Trilateral Cooperative Arrangement between Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines," with counterparts from the other two countries.
The framework, which was expected to be signed at the end of this working group meeting in Jakarta, was "paving the way for next week where the defense ministers will discuss and deliberate specifically the operationalization of the SSPI which will be undertaken by our respective armed forces," Hishammuddin said.
While the plans have not been implemented, Indonesian officials have expressed an urgency to begin joint sea patrols with their neighbors.
"We will coordinate in order to make it really safe. We will divide the routes that we can enter or, for example, if we chase the perpetrator into the Philippines territory, we can enter the area as long as we report to them first," Indonesian Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu told reporters in Jakarta on Thursday.
Unions protest abductions
The defense ministers' announcements occurred on the same day that Indonesian trade union members reacted to the recent kidnappings of Indonesian sailors by launching a protest, in which they claimed that their government and the Philippines had failed to protect seamen sailing between the two countries.
"The governments of the Philippines and Indonesia are negligent and did not learn from previous mistakes. They should have responded it quickly," Said Iqbal, president of the Confederation of Indonesian Workers Union (KSPI), told journalists during the protest in front of the Philippine Embassy in Jakarta.
The protest featured hundreds of Indonesian workers who are members of KSPI and the Rumah Rakyat Indonesia (RRI), another trade union.
They urged both governments to work toward the immediate release of 10 Indonesian sailors who are held hostage by the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in the southern Philippines.
Three sailors were abducted by ASG on July 9 off the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah and seven members of an Indonesian tugboat crew were abducted in the waters off Tawi Tawi in the southern Philippines on June 20.
"We demand the Philippines to play an active role toward the effort to free [the Indonesian hostages] including by working together with the Indonesian government and its military," said KSPI Secretary-General, Muhammad Husni, who warned that more hostages could be taken if the governments did not act quickly.
Tia Asmara in Jakarta and Hata Wahari in Kuala Lumpur contributed to this report.


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BENARNEWS- Leaders across South and Southeast Asia on Friday joined an international outcry against a truck attack in the French Riviera that killed at least 84 people and injured scores more as France was celebrating its national day.
"Terrorists bring the world's civilization into conflict. That's what they're waiting for," Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak, chairman of the youth wing of Muhammadiyah, one of the most influential Islamic groups in Indonesia – home to the world's largest Muslim population – told BenarNews.
The massacre unfolded when a lone gunman reportedly rammed a truck into a crowd of revelers who had gathered for a fireworks show late Thursday along the seafront Promenade des Anglais in the city of Nice. Afterward the French president went on national television in the early hours of Friday to declare the attack an act of terrorism.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed shock and anger over the attack.
"Appalled by the horrific attack in Nice. I strongly condemn such mindless acts of violence. My thoughts are with the families of deceased," Modi said via Twitter. "India shares the pain & stands firmly with our French sisters & brothers in this hour of immense sadness."
Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo also tweeted out his condolences to the French people.
"The attack in France was very cruel. Indonesia is united in solidarity," he said.
"Horrified by the cowardly attack in Nice. Must stand firm against terrorist atrocities. Our thoughts & prayers are with the people of France," Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak tweeted on his part.
'France is in tears': Hollande
The attack, the third major terrorist attack to strike France within the past 18 months, came as the French people were celebrating Bastille Day, marking the overthrow of the monarchy in 1789 and the founding of the French Republic.
The tricolor French flag was lowered to half-staff on Friday as the nation prepared for three days of mourning, which will start on Saturday, reports said.
"France was hit on its National Day, 14 July, the symbol of freedom, because human rights are denied by the fanatics, and because France is obviously their target...," French President Francois Hollande told a nation grieving again.
"France is in tears, it's deeply distressed, but it's strong and will always be stronger – I assure you of that – than the fanatics who seek to attack it today," he added, according to a statement released by the French government.
The United Nations Security Council and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) were among international bodies that joined many countries in condemning the attack.
Its death toll included at least 10 children, and 202 people were hurt, including 52 in critical condition, BBC News reported.
French authorities identified the gunman, who was shot and killed by police, as Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, a 31-year-old Tunisian-born delivery man who lived in the Nice area and who was known to police but not previously linked to any extremist groups, according to the BBC.
According to news reports, no militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack. However, supporters of the extremist group Islamic State were celebrating the massacre in Nice on the internet, according to SITE Intelligence, a U.S.-based website that monitors online communications by extremists.
A bloody Ramadan
The attack occurred four days after the end of the European football championships, a month-long tournament hosted by France under extra-heavy security.
French fans had rejoiced as their national team made it to the final. But on Sunday Les Bleus lost to Portugal in the title match played at the Stade de France, outside Paris, the same sporting venue targeted in an attack by IS-linked terrorists on the night of Nov. 13, 2015, when France was playing Germany in a friendly match.
An explosion outside the stadium was among a series of coordinated attacks that killed 130 people in Paris that night. Ten months earlier, 12 people were killed in an attack carried out by French-born IS sympathizers on the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical French magazine.
No acts of terrorism took place in France as Euro 2016 was being played out on its soil, but the month was marred by a series of  Ramadan-time attacks claimed by IS or carried out by IS-inspired attackers, which killed hundreds of people overseas.
Those attacks over the course of June and early July targeted a nightclub in Orlando, Fla., Istanbul's international airport, a shopping district in Baghdad and the Holey Artisan Bakery café in Dhaka's diplomatic quarter. Smaller-scale attacks linked to IS took place at a nightclub near Kuala Lumpur and a police station in Solo, in Indonesia's Central Java province.
"I strongly condemn Thursday's barbaric attack in the strongest terms. I also express my sorrow for the loss of so many innocent lives, including children," said Abdul Hamid, the president of Bangladesh, which is still reeling from the IS-claimed attack on July 1 that left 29 people dead, including seven suspected terrorists.
Through his spokesman, Hamid said he was praying for the salvation of the souls of the people who died in Nice.
"I urge all to put up a united resistance against terrorism of all forms," Hamid said.
Officials from the Indian and Indonesian governments said that, so far, they had received no reports from France about citizens killed or hurt in Thursday's attack.
But according to Malaysia's ambassador to France, a Malaysian university student was injured in the attack.
"The situation on the ground in Paris is calm and, in Nice, security is a bit more tight due to the tragedy. As for Malaysians in Paris or those planning to visit Paris, we continuously remind them to be vigilant and aware of their surroundings," Ambassador Ibrahim Abdullah told BenarNews on Friday.
The student, whom he declined to name, is enrolled at the Singapore University of Technology and Design and was on exchange program in France. He was being treated for his injuries at the Pasteur Hospital in Nice, the ambassador said.
In Bangkok, Thailand's foreign ministry issued a statement.
"The Thai Foreign Ministry was informed by the embassy in Paris that it is closely monitoring the situation, and we advise all those in France and those planning to go to France to avoid commuting to public, mass gatherings," the ministry said.
Tia Asmara in Jakarta, Razlan Rashid in Kuala Lumpur, Nani Yusof in Washington, Kamran Reza Chowdhury in Dhaka, Rohit Wadhwaney in New Delhi, and Pimuk Rakkanam in Bangkok contributed to this report.


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BENARNEWS- Indonesian security forces Monday shot dead two militants in Central Sulawesi province, one of whom could be Indonesia's most wanted militant whose group is linked to the Islamic State (IS), authorities said.
They said they had yet to confirm whether Eastern Indonesian Mujahideen (MIT) leader Santoso (alias Abu Wardah) died in a shootout with members of a taskforce in Poso regency, but that facial features of one of the two slain men resembled Santoso's.
"Indeed, there is a mole on his forehead that characterizes Santoso. But, again, I have not been able to confirm. My colleagues are still evacuating the bodies [of the two men] for further identification," National police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian told reporters in Jakarta, according to the Indonesian news website detik.com.
Santoso and his band of men have been the target of a manhunt lasting at least 17 months and involving hundreds of security personnel drawn from the military and police, who have scoured the jungles and mountains of central Sulawesi island in search of Indonesia's most elusive militant.
Santoso and his members, who have been wanted over the years in connection with killings of civilians and police officers and attacks on police stations, had pledged allegiance to the Middle East-based extremist group IS.
"It's possible, but we're still confirming the news," Indonesia Security minister Luhut Pandjaitan said of reports about Santoso's death as he confirmed that two members of the MIT were killed around 5:30 p.m. (Jakarta time; 6:30 p.m. in Central Sulawesi) in the village of Tambarana on Sulawesi, the Jakarta Post reported.
The newspaper quoted a source in the field as saying that one of the two militants killed in the firefight with the Alpha 29 taskforce had long hair, a long beard, and a mole on his face – features that matched those of Santoso.
In Palu, the provincial capital of Central Sulawesi, local police spokesman Hari Suprapto confirmed that the shootout had occurred in Tambarana.
"It is right, [the firefight] happened this afternoon, but we cannot ensure yet that [one of the persons] killed was Santoso," Hari told BenarNews.
"The topography is quite difficult there. When the evacuation is complete the two bodies will be immediately dispatched to Bhayangkara hospital in Palu for further identification," he added, referring to a local military hospital.
According to the Straits-Times newspaper of Singapore, the body that may belong to Santoso was to undergo "a gamut of forensic tests," including tests on DNA samples. In addition, jailed militants were to be summoned by Indonesian authorities to identify the corpse.
Shootout
The firefight erupted when the Alpha 29 team encountered five suspected MIT members, including three men and two women, while patrolling in the area around the village, officials said.
The firefight lasted around 30 minutes and three of the militants ran away after Alpha 29 killed two of them, according to officials.
"When we combed the area, the Alfa 29 found a firearm ... along with some shells and live ammunition," said Hari.
"From the report of my staff, they are carrying M-16 rifles. That is why all the members of the taskforce are instructed to remain cautious," Central Sulawesi Deputy Police Chief Lubis Leo Bona told BenarNews by phone, referring to the three militants at-large.
Counterattack
News of Santoso's possible death came only five days after Tito Karnavian, the former head of the police anti-terrorist squad Densus 88, vowed to capture the MIT leader dead or alive as he was sworn in as Indonesia's national police chief.
The hunt for Santoso has been long and difficult, with Indonesian security forces launching two major operations to catch him since January 2015. The first of two operations launched in the jungles of Poso, Operation Camar Maleo, was extended three times until Jan. 8, 2016, when a new operation, code-named Tinombala, began.
Before Monday's firefight, 13 suspected MIT members, including five Uyghurs from China's Xinjiang province, were killed during the latest operation, while five other militants were captured alive, officials said.
Three months ago, the U.S. State Department, added Santoso's name to its list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists. Under Santoso, MIT carried out killings and kidnappings in Indonesia over the past few years, according to the State Department, which also listed his group as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist entity.
In announcing the designations, U.S. officials cited the killings of two policemen by MIT in August 2012; the bombing of a police station a month later; the November 2012 shooting of a police chief; and the shootings of four members of the national police's Mobile Brigade (Brimob) in December 2012.
In April, Indonesian authorities claimed they had cornered the remnants of Santoso's band in the jungle, and that the militants were running out of food.
As evidence of a chronic food shortage, officials pointed to pictures and images from a video, which were taken on mobile phones and cameras that were seized from captured MIT fighters.
Authorities released footage that showed Santoso and his men eating the flesh of endangered species, including a maleo, a native bird of Sulawesi. In one soundless video, Santoso was seen eating a midget buffalo, known locally as anoa, also an endangered species.


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BENARNEWS- Indonesia confirmed Tuesday that its most wanted militant had been shot dead, with the country's vice president saying this was key to containing militancy in violence-torn Central Sulawesi province.
Santoso, leader of the Eastern Indonesia Mujahideen (MIT), which had pledged allegiance to the extremist group Islamic State, died in a shootout with security forces in Poso regency on Monday, police said.
Citing a fingerprint match and positive identification of Santoso's body by relatives and witnesses, police officials said they were certain they got their man. Officials also vowed to prolong a security operation aimed at capturing or killing about 20 remnants of the MIT.
Indonesian authorities had been hunting Santoso for years.
"We used [a] fingerprint to ensure Santoso's identity. The result is identical with the fingerprint that we already had when he had been detained, so we conclude 100 percent it was him," Indonesian National Police Chief Gen. Tito Karnavian told reporters at the State Palace in Jakarta on Tuesday.
Officials also said that Santoso (alias Abu Wardah) was identified from a mole and other distinguishing features.
"We see that the body and the face are all intact. All significant features such as the mole and other things are all similar," Tito said.
Santoso was killed along with another man, identified as MIT member Mochtar, during a Monday evening firefight in Tambarana, a village in the mountains of Poso, with members of a security task force who were patrolling the area as part of Operation Tinombala.
Three other suspected, including two women, were at the scene of the 30-minute gun battle but escaped, officials said.
Before Tito confirmed news of Santoso's death, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said that the government was trying to verify the militant's killing through DNA testing.
"If it is successful [the body is really Santoso's], it means we can solve the problem in Poso," Indonesian news website Kompas.com quote him as saying.
Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo on Tuesday did not issue any official statements to announce the confirmation of Santoso, who was No. 1 on Indonesia's list of most wanted militants.
But the president did congratulate members of a joint task force for tracking down and killing Santoso in the jungles of Poso, Central Sulawesi's police chief, Brigadier General Rudy Sufahriadi, told reporters in Jakarta.
Operation Tinombala began in January and involved hundreds of police officers and military personnel. It followed on the heels of another operation, code-named Camar Maleo, which started a year earlier and was extended three more times.
Concerning the three suspects who fled from the scene in Poso, Rudy identified the man as Basri (alias Bagong), and the women as Jamiatun Muslimayatun, Santoso's widow, and Murni Usman,  Basri's wife.
"I had detained Basri when I was the police chief for Poso district and his sentence had one more year left when he escaped from the prison in Ampana," Rudy said. Basri escaped in April 2013, according to media reports.
'We are waiting for them'
Even after fulfilling the main goal of getting Santoso, Lubis Leo Bona, the commander of the Operation Tinombala, said it would go on with the aim of killing or capturing MIT's remaining members.
Tito estimated that 19 MIT members were left, but said they still posed a threat. The national police chief urged those hiding out in the jungle to surrender, saying he was ready to negotiate with them before beginning any legal process against them.
Harits Abu Ulya, a security expert from the Community of Ideological Islamic Analysts (CIIA), questioned the plan to prolong Tinombala.
"People in Poso need peace; they need to live a normal life in the aspects of economy and other aspects. More importantly, the community there does not want the region to be labeled as a terrorists' base forever," Harith said in a written statement to BenarNews.
Meanwhile, National Intelligence Agency chief Sutiyoso said authorities were ready to fight the MIT holdouts or their supporters if they tried to retaliate for Santoso's death.
"We are waiting for them. Our military is ready," the Jakarta Globe quoted him as saying.
Terrorism expert Nasir Abbas warned that MIT sympathizers might try to avenge their leader's killing.
"There must be retaliation, because Santoso is an important figure and a symbol of the Mujahedeen's survival," Nasir, a former leader of a cell of Southeast Asian militant group Jemaah Islamiyah and who now works for the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT), told BenarNews.
Long-time militant
Along with the members of MIT, Santoso attracted militants from abroad, including a group of Muslim Uyghurs. Earlier this year, four of six Uyghurs who had joined Santoso's group were killed in a shootout in Poso, while the others escaped and were placed on the national police's Most Wanted list.
In 2015, police arrested, prosecuted and convicted four Uyghur men who tried to join MIT. They were sentenced to four to six years in prison.
Several were killed fighting alongside the Eastern Indonesia Mujahideen, and in July 2015, four Uyghurs were jailed after being caught trying to join the group on Sulawesi island.
Santoso became involved in Islamic extremism during fighting between Muslims and Christians around Poso, which left hundreds dead from the late 1990s to the early 2000s, according to Agence France-Presse.
He then formed MIT, landing at the top of the nation's most wanted list after his men began killing civilians and police officers and launching attacks on local police stations.
In 2014, Santoso pledged his allegiance to the Islamic State and earlier this year the U.S. State Department added his name to its list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists.
Zahara Tiba and Ismira Lutfia Tisnadibrata in Jakarta contributed to this report.


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BENARNEWS- Dozens of barefoot children squatted or sat in a circle in a field in Taronggo village.
They ranged in age from 6 to 13 years old.
Some were armed with shabby books and pencils. Others came empty-handed. One child used a stick to write in the dirt as his peers watched.
All these children from the Tau Taa Wana tribe, who live in an isolated corner of Indonesia's Central Sulawesi province, had assembled in this outdoors classroom with no walls but with one purpose in mind: to learn to read and write as they took instruction from two female teachers.
"I'm so excited to learn how to write," 10-year-old Ugo told BenarNews.
Surrounded by hills, their village is so remote it is only accessible by foot. The nearest elementary school to Taronggo is 15 km (9 miles) away, and the nearest high school is twice as far off.
The students were taking part in a class at their Skola Lipu (village school), which is part of a program offered by a local NGO, Yayasan Merah Putih (Red White Foundation). The goal is to provide basic education focusing on reading and writing, as well as Bahasa Indonesia language instruction for children from the Tau Taa Tana who live in North Morawali, a regency of Central Sulawesi.
Since 2007, Yayasan has established such open-air schools in nine villages across the regency. The program also offers instruction for adults.
"With the presence of the school we hope to bring knowledge to the villagers," Yayasan coordinator Abdul Ghofur told BenarNews.
"We also want to help them to be more self-reliant and to implement their local wisdom in community development."
North Morowali Deputy Regent Mohd. Ashrar Abd Samad expressed his appreciation for the foundation's effort and vowed to propose that the school get support from the Ministry of National Education.
Tools of learning
Ugo and his classmates mostly study outdoors, but sometimes they are allowed to receive instruction in a banua bae, a traditional stage house that has no walls.
When harvest time arrives, the children are allowed to skip classes so they can help their parents on their farms.
Their parents will ask their kids to pass on to them the knowledge they have acquired in the open-air classrooms.
The teachers provided by the foundation prefer to be called tau mampatundek, or learning facilitators. Some of them went to formal schools, but did not complete all levels.
Facilitators start by teaching the children how to spell and write letters on a board. If they run out of chalk, they use dried cassava. Early on, children used young banana leaves for paper, and lidi – sticks from dried coconut leaves – for pencils.
The school now has a library which is called a banua baca, or reading house. Most of the books were donated.
'No deadline here'
"We used to see more students participating, but now only few are left," foundation information and campaign manager Kiki Rizki Amelia told BenarNews.
Fewer students does not mean that children neglect their education. Many of them have prolonged their study in formal schools because their parents have to appreciate the importance of education for their children's future.
"There is no deadline here. If the kids and their parents think they are able to send them to formal schools, we support them all the way," Kiki said.
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Tau Taa Wana children study in the open at Taronggo Village, June 29, 2016. [Keisyah Aprilia/BenarNews]


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BENARNEWS- Nineteen years after arriving in the United States, then suffering abuse and slavery-like conditions  as a domestic servant, Ima Matul Maisaroh made history Tuesday by becoming the first Indonesian to address a mass meeting where U.S. presidential candidates are selected.
Ima spoke about her experiences before thousands of people who had gathered to nominate former senator and secretary of state Hillary Clinton as candidate for president at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Pa.
"Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that I would share a stage with so many leaders and visionaries," Ima said after being introduced by U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
"I grew up in a poor village in Indonesia. When I was 17 years old, I was brought to Los Angeles with the promise of a job as a nanny. Instead, I spent the next three years in domestic servitude being abused," she said.
After escaping, she went on to work for the organization that helped her recover, the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST). In December 2015, U.S. President Barack Obama appointed her to the United States Advisory Council on Human Trafficking, a new task force charged with helping the U.S. government formulate anti-trafficking policy.
"Human trafficking is not just happening overseas; it is happening right here in our backyard. Every day I hear stories just like my own. Still, I have hope," Ima said.
"There's a growing awareness about the devastating impact of human trafficking. There's a growing embrace of survivors in our communities and businesses and churches. And there's a growing commitment to finding innovative solutions to make sure this generation of survivors will be the last."
'The scars are still visible'
In her native village of Kanigoro, in Malang Regency of East Java province, her parents – both farmers – spoke with quiet pride of the amazing life journey of their eldest daughter.
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Turiyono (right) and Alimah show pictures of their daughter Ima Matul Maisaroh at their home in Malang, East Java, July 25, 2016. [Heny Rahayu/BenarNews]
Ima dropped out of high school due to an arranged marriage with a man 12 years her senior. The marriage ended quickly, her father, Turiyono, 65, told BenarNews during a recent visit to his home.
Five months later, in 1997, she registered to become an overseas domestic worker at an employment agency in the nearby city of Malang.
She was placed for training with a family in Malang where her boss offered her a position working for a cousin in the United States at a salary of $150 a month, Turiyono said. Ima chose to go, abandoning the path laid out for her by the employment agency.
"I sold grain to pay shelter and travel costs to America," Turiyono said.
Once there Ima, who could not speak English, was abused by her employer, her parents said.
"The scars are still visible on parts of her body," said her mother, Alimah, 52.
Eventually, American neighbors helped her escape.
"When I finally had the courage to escape my trafficker, I found a home at the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking. After I got the support I needed, I found the strength to organize survivors from across the country."
Turiyono sent her diploma from a local madrassa so Ima could continue her education.
Agustin Hariwati, the head of Khairudin High School, which Ima briefly attended, said his staff were still looking for her school records. Teachers there have concluded she spent less than a year at the school before getting married.
"In the 1990s, a lot of students dropped out because they had to work or get married. One of them was Ima," he told BenarNews.
'Working in America is hard'
Ima has married in the United States and has three children, according to Alimah. But she comes home to Indonesia from time to time.
"When she comes home she often tells her siblings and cousins not to test fate by going to America because they may experience the same kind of suffering she did. Working in America is hard, especially if you are unskilled," she said.
Many people in Malang regency go overseas to find work to overcome economic hardship at home, local officials said. The Malang Manpower Office has no record of Ima travelling to the United States 19 years ago.
"There is almost no data about Indonesian laborers going to the United States. Indonesian does not have a migrant labor agreement with the U.S.," said Sukardi, head of manpower placement and transmigration for Malang Regency.
In a July 25 statement, the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta confirmed that Ima had become a U.S. citizen and lives in Los Angeles.


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BENARNEWS- Indonesia executed four drug convicts by firing squad early Friday (local time), but postponed putting to death 10 others who faced capital punishment, officials said.
An Indonesian, two Nigerians and a South African were executed at Nusakambangan, a prison island in Central Java province, at around 12:45 a.m., Deputy Attorney General Noor Rachmad told reporters.
Pending executions of the 10 other drug felons were postponed indefinitely,  Noor added but without giving a reason.
"They [the four] are executed first because of their roles as drug dealers, suppliers and dealers. The executions took place at the police station at Nusakambangan," Noor said, adding, "This was through a comprehensive consideration because their acts were massive. ..."
He identified the executed convicts as Indonesian Freddy Budiman, Nigerians Humprey "Jeff" Ejike Eleweke and Michael Titus Igweh, and South African Seck Osmane.
"This is not a fun job. For us, this is really a sad job because it involves people's lives," AFP quoted Noor as saying. "This was done not in order to take lives, but to stop evil intentions, and the evil act of drug trafficking.
"As of now, we don't know whether the others will seek clemency. There  are many considerations that must be studied," he said.
The final hours
Hours earlier on Thursday, family members and lawyers representing the 14 – identified as four Indonesians, five Nigerians, and one each from India, Pakistan, Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone and South Africa – revealed that their executions would take place on Friday morning.
"Yes, it is final. The execution will be conducted after midnight. We, the family have been told by the prosecutor. We and our lawyers had been gathered inside," a relative of one of the convicts told BenarNews upon leaving a closed-door meeting at the Cilacap District Attorney's office on Thursday evening.
According to Indian media reports, India's foreign minister, Sushma Swaraj, was busy Thursday with eleventh-hour efforts to win a reprieve for Gurdip Singh, the lone Indian among the 14 convicts condemned to die in Indonesia.
The executions of the four were the third set carried out under the administration of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo since he took office in October 2014. Previously, Indonesia executed eight drug convicts, including two Australians, a Brazilian and two Nigerians, on April 29, 2015, and six others drug felons on Jan. 18, 2015.
Ricky Gunawan, a lawyer representing Ejike Eleweke, complained about the process.
"From Monday until now, the process has not been transparent," Gunawan told BenarNews, pointing out that officers had told him and his client's family only that they should be ready on Thursday night.
In Jakarta on Thursday, Attorney General Muhammad Prasetyo asked all parties to not speculate about when the imminent executions would occur.
"This is about a person's life. Even though they are guilty and lose their right to live, they have to be respected, appreciated ...," he told reporters.
"Every minute, every second, there is an appeal. It is not a simple thing. Be patient," he said, adding that his office had considered all aspects of judicial decisions in each death-sentence case.
"Once you take the life of a person, you can't return it," he said.
Final preparation
Throughout the daytime, ferries carrying 17 ambulances and coffins departed Wijayapura Pier for Nusakambangan island, the penal island Cilacap regency.
Dozens of armed police officers patrolled the area, which was barricaded and closed to the public. All told, about 1,500 personnel were deployed to maintain security around the executions.
"This ambulance will go straight to Nusakambangan, I do not know when I will return," said Saripto, a driver waiting for the ferry.
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Ambulances wait on Wijayapura Pier to be ferried to Nusakambangan island, July 28, 2016. (Kusumasari Ayuningtyas/BeritaBenar)
Protests
While preparations continued on the island, activists from the Indonesian Women Coalition in Cilacap, rallied in front of the Wijayapura pier in the late afternoon to protest against the scheduled execution of Merri Utami, an Indonesian female convict.
"We support the execution of a drug kingpin, but Merri is a victim," said a protester identified as Muji.
The rally lasted less than 10 minutes before police broke it up, taking the protesters into custody to be questioned at a police station.
Amnesty International also protested the executions, according to The Guardian.
"There is no evidence to support President Widodo's position. The death penalty does not deter crime," said Josef Benedict, Amnesty International's deputy director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific. "Carrying out executions will not rid Indonesia of drugs. It is never the solution, and it will damage Indonesia's standing in the world."
Arie Firdaus and Tia Asmara in Jakarta contributed to this rep


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BENARNEWS-Close relations between parents and children are powerful tools in the struggle to prevent young people from being lured to join the so-called Islamic State (IS) group, according to an Indonesian teen who knows firsthand.
Teuku Akbar Maulana, a 17-year-old from Aceh province, was on the verge of joining IS, but communication with his parents was one of the main reasons he chose to stay away from the militant group in the end.
"I backed down from joining [IS] because I am close with my parents. I often have heart-to-heart talks with them," Akbar said during a discussion after the recent screening in Jakarta of a 50-minute documentary film, titled "Jihad Selfie."
The term became popular last year when IS fighters uploaded photos of themselves brandishing weapons or posing in front of tanks or armored vehicles to justify their decisions to family and friends back home. Such "selfies" went viral over social media and serve as a recruitment tool to convince young people that it's cool to join IS, according to Indonesian security experts.
Akbar's story is one of many told in the film by local terrorism expert Noor Huda Ismail. The pair answered questions following a screening in Jakarta on July 24.
Saved from crossing over
Part of the film tells the story of a special bond between the two and how they met in the Turkish town of Kayseri two years ago. Akbar was studying there through a Turkish government high-school level scholarship and Noor Huda was on a sightseeing break while attending a conference.
Upon learning that they were both Indonesians, they struck up a conversation during which Akbar revealed that he was waiting for someone to pick him up and take him "across."
"What he actually meant was across the border to Syria," said Noor Huda, who is working on his doctoral dissertation about gender and masculinity in terrorism at Australia's Monash University.
Noor Huda also runs a program to reintegrate former convicted terrorists and ex-combatants, who fought with militant groups abroad, through hiring them as workers at steak houses in Solo and Semarang, Central Java.
Akbar, who knew nothing about Noor Huda's background as a terrorism expert, showed him a Facebook conversation he was having with a friend, Yazid. A teenager from Surabaya, East Java, Yazid studied in the same school as Akbar before joining IS, and invited Akbar to join him.
Noor Huda said he could not say much to Akbar at that time, but gave the teenager his contact number. Akbar lucked out when his friend stood him up. The film revealed that Yazid later died in Syria.
Akbar soon got in touch with Noor Huda and their friendship grew. Noor Huda said he was then compelled to make the documentary to show that the accepted norm of radicalized Islamic ideology is not the only route that IS uses to recruit members.
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Teuku Akbar Maulana (left) and Noor Huda Ismail answer questions following the screening of the documentary film "Jihad Selfie," in Jakarta, July 24, 2016. [Ismira Lutfia Tisnadibrata/BeritaBenar]
Angst-ridden
Noor Huda's film, which won't be released commercially but has been shown in limited screenings since he finished his documentary last year, reveals the angst that many teens experience as they search for their identity. The film's message is that the lack of a warm, close relationship with parents can play a role in some becoming radicalized.
Yazid and a teen from East Java, Wildan Mulkholad, who was killed in a suicide bomb attack in Iraq in 2014, were not close to their parents, especially their fathers, Akbar and Noor Huda said.
"The film is actually about parenting," Noor Huda said, adding he dedicated it to his two children.
Akbar said he was lured by Yazid's Facebook photo in which he clutched an AK-47 that garnered a lot of "likes." He also said that Yazid talked him into joining IS by telling him that life was good because he received an allowance and could eat kebab every day.
"Actually there were bad stories about IS, but there were also those on social media," Akbar said.
'Just a meatball seller'
Yazid was known as a loner and often spent hours in an internet café, playing online games and interacting on social media.
Another character who appears in the film is Fauzan Anshori, an IS supporter in Indonesia and founder of an Islamic boarding school in West Java.
In the film, he acknowledges that social media can be powerful in disseminating propaganda.
"I have no problem that it was the Jews who created Facebook and WhatsApp. Alhamdulillah [Thank God] they created them for us to use," says Fauzan, who would die of natural causes at a hospital in West Java in December 2015.
Other scenes tell the story of Ahmad Junaidi, who is serving a three-year prison term for joining IS. A meatball seller in Malang, East Java, he was sentenced after Densus 88, the country's anti-terrorism squad, arrested him in March 2015.
"Ahmad Junaidi is more like a victim of radicalization. He was just a meatball seller. But those who recruited him and provided financial means [to go to Syria] were never arrested," Noor Huda said.
According to Noor Huda, telling these stories can help prevent Indonesians from being lured to join IS. In his eyes, no one is born a terrorist.
"Terrorism is not just a security issue but also a social issue," he said.
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A scene is "Jihad Selfie" shows young IS recruits. [Courtesy of Noor Huda Huda Ismail]


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BENARNEWS- Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo called on Muslim nations on Tuesday to emphasize innovation, saying they should exploit their relatively younger population to advance in the fields of artificial intelligence and genetic engineering.
"The Muslim community should use one of its fundamental strengths, which is its demographic potential," he said in his opening remarks during a three-day meeting in Jakarta aimed at improving the business skills of small and medium enterprises in Muslim nations.
Jokowi and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak jointly opened the 12th World Islamic Economic Forum, which brought together government and private sector leaders as well as scholars and regional experts from about 70 countries.
Jokowi, leader of the world's most populous Muslim nation, said the Muslim world should exploit its "demographic bonus" to fuel innovation even as it grapples with economic, political and trade-related challenges.
According to the nonpartisan Pew Research Center, the median age of the world's Muslim population stands at 23 years, seven years younger than the median age of non-Muslims.
This gives Muslims power to enhance innovation, Jokowi said.
He also said that despite facing many challenges including high unemployment among the younger generation, Islamic fashion, cuisine, arts and architecture in Muslim nations are surging and have vast business potential to fuel the international economy.
The theme of the meeting is "Decentralizing Growth, Empowering Future Business" and is aimed at boosting "efforts to strengthen decentralization of growth through empowerment of micro, small and medium enterprises," a conference statement said.
It said that the global Islamic economy was thriving as more Muslims are becoming increasingly active as investors and manufacturers, bankers and traders, competitors and suppliers.
It cited Muslim consumer spending as an example, saying it was rising as demand for ethical finance, investment and insurance services, and for halal food, modest fashion and halal tourism increases.
"Even non-Muslims are attracted to the Islamic economy's underlying socially-conscious ethos embodied in the various sectors," the statement said.
Key issues to be discussed include sukuk (Islamic bonds) for infrastructure financing, integration of halal sectors and Islamic finance.
Attention is to be given to the halal food industry, development of the modest fashion industry and improving funding access for smaller enterprises, among other topics.


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BENARNEWS- A resident of Olak-Olak Kubu, a village in Indonesia's West Kalimantan province, could not hold back tears while testifying this week about how police had surrounded her home.
"People said the police were looking for my husband. They besieged my house. I fled into the woods," Renawati, 32, said Monday as she testified before the provincial chapter of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM).
Renawati had traveled about 62 km (38 miles) to Pontianak, the capital of the province, to join about 300 fellow residents of Olak-Olak Kubu who had fled their homes after they said that police had arrested two locals and raided their homes.
The residents of the village in Kubu Raya regency, who have been caught up in a land-rights dispute with a powerful palm oil company, went before the commission this week to complain about alleged collusion in their case between the firm and local authorities.
Village leader Sunarno said tensions escalated on July 23 when about 400 villagers held a rally and occupied a concession area owned by P.T. Sintang Raya, one of region's largest palm oil businesses.
The villagers wanted to set up camp and recite verses from the Quran, hoping that government officials would take notice and help them resolve their conflict with the company over property rights.
"As we were walking, scores of policemen blocked our way. They told us to dismiss ourselves, but we refused to do so and we ended up pushing and shoving with the police. A policeman fell to the ground and the police accused us of assaulting him, which we didn't do at all," Sunarno told BenarNews.
During the rally officers arrested a villager and, two days later, police arrested another resident of Olak-Olak Kubu, 47-year-old Katin, at his house, locals said.
"The way they arrested Katin was unusual, it was like arresting a terrorist," Sunarno said.
Katin's wife, Purwaningsih, said he was accused of assaulting one of the company's employees during a rally in February.
"We begged for leniency on medical treatment grounds because he was sick, but they rejected us. My husband was arrested in front of our children," she said.
Another village leader, Musri, said locals rallied six months ago to proclaim rights over land claimed by the company as well. The local government got involved in mediation, but it failed to produce any results.
"We demanded that police withdraw their colleagues that were prowling around our village because their presence was making us nervous. We also demanded a solution to our land conflict with the company," Musri said.
Police deny allegations
Suhadi S.W., a spokesman for West Kalimantan police, defended the department against the villagers' allegations, saying that officers went to Olak-Olak Kubu to keep the peace.
"Why would police take someone hostage? Police are state law enforcers authorized to probe people, goods, correspondence as well as to arrest and detain someone suspected to have committed a crime," he told BenarNews.
Harlen Sitorus, a lawyer representing P.T. Sintang Raya, said the villagers had filed a lawsuit to revoke the company's rights to 11,130 hectares (27,500 acres). A review by Indonesia's Supreme Court had ordered the company to release 5 hectares (12.3 acres) for the villagers, he said.
"The land that we have to give up is only 5 hectares, not the entire property like the community perceived," Harlen told BenarNews.
Meanwhile, after receiving the complaints from the villagers, Komnas HAM provincial chairman Kasful Anwar contacted police. He said police had guaranteed that the people of the village would be safe in their homes.
"I gave them my phone number in case they face intimidations, arrest or raids," Kasful told BenarNews.
According to Anton P. Wijaya, who directs the local chapter of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), the conflict in Olak-Olak Kubu stems from the community's farmlands being annexed by P.T. Sintang Raya without the company communicating with the villagers properly.
Forest fires
Along with squabbles over land rights, the region on Borneo island faces an onslaught of agricultural fires each year, including many that are set illegally to clear land for palm oil plantations. The recurring fires have been a source for a hazardous smog blanketing other parts of Indonesia and neighboring countries in Southeast Asia.
The Ministry of Environment and Forestry reported that 12 provinces suffered from forest fires in 2015, with West Kalimantan being badly affected by them. Forest fires in the province burned at least 900.20 hectares (2,225 acres), according to the ministry.
Suhadi, who serves as chairman of the West Kalimantan' Forest Fire Countermeasures task force, stated that 35 cases of fires were investigated since last year. Four of the fires were allegedly started by corporations, and 31 by individuals.
Charges against four suspects – one corporation and three individuals – were dropped over lack of evidence, Suhadi told BenarNews, without releasing details about those involved.


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BENARNEWS- A case being heard by an Indonesian court could make gay sex between consenting adults illegal if judges endorse a proposed revision of the nation's criminal code.
There are no laws on the books on gay sex in Muslim-majority Indonesia, except in westernmost Aceh province, where sharia law is in effect.
LGBT people have been a visible and generally accepted subgroup in Indonesia, but they have come under pressure in recent years amid growing social conservatism.
In a petition submitted earlier this year, a civil society group called the Indonesian Family Love Alliance (AILA) asked the country's Constitutional Court (MK) to review three articles in the country's penal code, arguing that they are unconstitutional.
The one that concerns LGBT activists is article 292, which criminalizes same-sex acts between adults and minors. AILA wants to amend the article to include homosexual acts between adults.
The article states, "Adults who engage in same-sex obscene acts with an adolescent partner or someone who should have been properly perceived to be adolescent can face a maximum five years' incarceration."
AILA's proposed revision of the clause states, "People who engage in same-sex obscene acts with persons of the same sex can face a maximum of five years' incarceration."
The MK cannot revise the criminal code, but acceptance of AILA's petition would set a legal precedent and open the way for legislative and executive bodies to do so.
The case has already had five hearings since June 7.
"If the articles are amended to penalize [LGBT], they could trigger intolerant acts," LGBT activist Dede Oetomo told BenarNews on Aug. 5.
"The law enforcers will have the 'blessing' to harass and discriminate if the review is approved," said Dede, the founder of GAYa Nusantara, the first organization in Indonesia that campaigns for the rights and protection of homosexuals in the country.
Civilian rights activist Lies Marcoes agreed.
"We don't want people to take the law into their own hands towards the LGBT people, if the Constitutional Court approves the reviews," she said.
Legal certainty
AILA chairwoman Rita Hendrawati Soebagio dismissed the notion that revising the criminal code could promote intolerance.
She said harassment toward LGBT people stems from the lack of clear laws about homosexuality.
"If the laws are in place, the public would be aware,' she said.
The group, based in the Jakarta area, promotes what it says are Islamic family values, campaigns against homosexuality and provides counselling to "heal" LGBT people.
Adrian Husaini, a lecturer on Islamic thought at the Ibnu Khaldun Bogor University and Higher Islamic Boarding School Husnayain Jakarta, agreed.
"Law enforcers so far are confused in the field because they don't have the legal basis (to handle LGBT cases)," Adrian, who testified as an expert witness in the matter before the MK, told BenarNews.
"What we need to understand is that there is a moral standard in this country," he added.
Other expert witnesses brought by the plaintiffs include physician Dewi Inong Irana, who spoke about treating sexually transmitted diseases in homosexual and transgender patients, and University of Indonesia legal expert Neng Djubaedah, who discussed the clauses in question and their links to religious teachings.
More testimony is scheduled for the next court hearing, on Aug. 23.
Dede Oetomo urged the MK's nine justices to consider the ruling carefully.
"This is a test for the MK," said Dede, "whether they would be wise to reach a decision that is based on science and human rights, instead of on the sectarian morality of a certain group."
Vice chairwoman of the National Commission on Women (Komnas Perempuan) Masruchah urged the court to seek diverse opinions on the matter.
During the hearings to date, plaintiffs have tried a number of times to correlate this issue with health and psychiatric issues, she said.
"There should be (testimony) from other parties or experts who have different perspectives," she said.


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BENARNEWS-Countries that want to combat terrorism must look at the root causes of this global phenomenon, Indonesia's Vice President Jusuf Kalla told an international counter-terrorism conference in Bali on Wednesday.
Anger toward government policy, misconceptions of religion and ideology, and a lack of hope in facing the future are at the core of these causes, Kalla said in a keynote address at the International Meeting on Counter Terrorism (IMCT) in Nusa Dua.
"We feel angry seeing victims of terrorism but we also need to look at the roots of the problem in order to resolve it," he said.
The vice president opened the one-day conference of 23 countries and three intergovernmental bodies, which Indonesia co-hosted with Australia and that ran in parallel with an international counter-terrorism financing conference at the same venue.
On Wednesday, Australian officials at the Bali meetings announced that Australia and Indonesia – in conjunction with Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines – had launched a first-of-its-kind, regional assessment of terror financing.
"This is probably the first time that any region across the globe has got together to assess what are the terror financing risk we are in it," Australian Minister of Justice Michael Keenan said, according to an official transcript.
"From Australia's perspective we believe it will be a very useful document to highlight the area of concerns that we can do better with in Australia, but also where we can share our expertise skill with others in the region to ensure that terrorists can't move money around the Southeast Asian region," he added.
Kalla Evokes U.S. Invasion of Iraq
In his speech before some 200 participants and attendees, Kalla said the so-called Islamic State (IS) had emerged in Iraq and Syria as a result of political instability in those two countries fomented by a superpower's invasion.
"Therefore, big countries shouldn't invade other countries for no clear reason," he said.
Kalla added that terrorism cannot be solved with weapons and violence alone, since it arises from distorted ideology and misunderstanding of religion.
"The perpetrators of terrorism including what happened recently in Belgium and Paris are people who do not understand religion correctly," he said.
Part of addressing the problem of terrorism, therefore, is changing the thinking of terrorists, he said.
"Based on my experience resolving the conflict in Poso, they join terror groups because they are tempted to reach heaven quickly. After I told them they would go to hell, they became aware," he said.
In December 2001, Kalla helped bring about the 10-point Malino Declaration, a peace pact that helped bring an end to Muslim-Christian violence raging in Poso, a regency of Central Sulawesi province, since 1998.
Another issue that has to be anticipated by countries combatting terrorism, Kalla said, is the phenomenon of militants returning to their home countries after becoming Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTF).
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Russia was among the 23 countries attending the IMCT conference in Nusa Dua, Bali, Aug. 10, 2016. (Anton Muhajir/BeritaBenar)
'Lone wolf'
The theme of IMCT was countering cross-border movement on terrorism.
"The participation of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), the U.N., and Interpol underlines that efforts by specific countries must be accompanied by robust bilateral, regional and even global cooperation," Indonesia's newly appointed Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, Wiranto, said in opening the meeting.
Attacks all over the world point to the need for all countries to be involved in the effort to prevent terrorism, he added.
"We choose to strengthen cooperation in a sustainable manner," he said.
In addition to political instability and radical ideologies, another reason for the emergence of terrorism, according to Wiranto, is the use of cyber media, the flow of illegal terrorism financing and the return of foreign terrorist fighters to their home countries.
Combined, these forces have given rise to the "lone wolf" phenomenon, he said, in which individuals are radicalized and carry out attacks without belonging to any terrorist network or organization.
The ease of movement of people, goods and money across national borders has also fed the emergence of foreign terrorist fighters and lone wolf terrorists, he noted.
Paul Jevtovic, the chief of the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (AUSTRAC), told reporters in Bali that the lone-wolf phenomenon was one of the key areas that the countries participating in the regional risk assessment would collaborate on.
Self-funded lone-wolves "is one of the key findings that is consistent across the region," Reuters quoted Jevtovic as saying.
ASEAN
Southeast Asian nations are aware of the Foreign Terrorist Fighter phenomenon, ASEAN General Secretary Le Luong Minh told the gathering.
ASEAN has already forged pacts that are key to handling the matter, such as the Declaration on Transnational Crime adopted in Manila in 1997, in which signatory countries agreed to increase their cooperation in fighting cross-border crime including terrorism.
Those commitments were renewed last year with the adoption of the Kuala Lumpur Declaration in Combating Transnational Crime, he said.
ASEAN also agreed to the Convention in Counter-Terrorism.
At a meeting in Kuala Lumpur in October 2015, ASEAN ministers agreed to place greater emphasis on de-radicalization and rehabilitation of militant individuals, as part of their overall approach to combatting terrorism.
"This approach was to help those already radicalized or extreme to return to society and to prevent a relapse or return to a militant or terrorist group," he said.
The United Nations has also committed to preventing the proliferation of lone wolves.
"Foreign terrorist fighters are increasing the intensity and time period of conflicts issuing significant threats to the countries they stop in and later in their home countries upon return," said Weixiong Chen, deputy executive director of the Counter Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate at the United Nations.


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BENARNEWS- Twenty-six nations wrapped up a meeting in Bali on countering terror financing Thursday by pledging to cooperate in strengthening intelligence efforts in cutting off funding sources even as terrorists change their methods of delivering cash.
In a joint statement co-hosts Indonesia and Australia, along with Malaysia, Thailand and other participants at the 2016 Counter-Terrorism Financing Summit committed to working together to reduce four major financing risks to the Southeast Asia and Australian region: self-funding from legitimate sources; at-risk non-profit organizations (NPO); fundraising through social media and crowd sourcing; and criminal activity.
"There needs to be a rule that charities are not misusing donations, including channeling funds for terrorism," Muhammad Yusuf, chairman of Indonesian Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK), told reporters at the end of the four-day meeting.
The four major risks to the region were assessed in a 48-page document published at the meeting, titled the Terrorism Financing Regional Risk Assessment 2016 report, and which was co-produced by Australia and Indonesia in conjunction with the other nations.
Among its findings, the report pointed to the likelihood that terrorists were adapting and changing their financing methods including through increasing the use of stored value cards similar to gift cards, because law enforcement had disrupted previous funding methods.
According to the report, foreign terrorist fighters have used stored value cards before and after departure to their destinations. The cards can be loaded with cash or through non-reportable electronic methods, easily carried to another country and are not subject to reporting requirements, the report said.
Funds can be redeemed through ATM withdrawals restricted only by limits on how much cash can be taken out. Cards can be reloaded remotely and anonymously by third parties, meaning that the face value of some cards can understate their value, the report stated.
Risk levels
The report included a chart that rated Indonesia as at high risk for each of the four sources, while Malaysia was rated at high risk for self-funding from legitimate sources and fund raising through social media. Thailand was at high risk for self-funding and at-risk through non-profit organizations.
Other key points highlighted in the report include that Indonesia faces a high threat of terrorism because about 258 Indonesians are involved in conflicts in Syria and Iraq conflict and 183 are believed to have returned home. The report has identified 11 active designated terrorist groups – and some of the most active are linked to the Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda.
Malaysia elevated the risk of terrorism and financing in 2014 because of threats posed by IS and foreign terrorists. The report estimates that 73 Malaysian nationals have joined or attempted to join extremist groups in Syria and Iraq, and at least 19 have been killed.
"Malaysia continues to be a transit country for recruits for terrorist groups active in other countries," the report said.
Thailand, which claims no known foreign fighters, sees its national security influenced by the conflicts in the Deep South, the report stated.
"Thailand's porous national borders increase its exposure to illegal movement of weapons, people, cash and goods of exchange," the report states.
Funding sources
Self-funding – a high risk for all three Southeast Asian participants – is likely to "remain a key enduring risk across the region over the next three to five years," the report went on to say.
It pointed out that in Malaysia, self-funding is used primarily for tactical, short-term purposes such as lone actor or small-scale attacks. In Indonesia, a terror group collected legitimately sourced funds that were then used to finance military training, the report said.
The level of misuse of non-profit organizations to fund terrorists is lower than expected across the region, the report stated. Still, some NPOs in Thailand have diverted money to fund propaganda to support separatist insurgents in the country's Deep South.
The report suggested that financial investigative units (FIU) should collaborate more closely with relevant NPO supervisors or regulators to improve oversight; reporting institutions to ensure due diligence; and NPO leaders to build community trust.
It pointed to Malaysia's positive efforts. "In contrast to many regional countries, Malaysia has conducted a comprehensive risk assessment of the sector and has adopted target approaches to risk mitigation."
Online fundraising
The report said online activity had been minimal and largely opportunistic.
Terrorists are more likely to use social media as a communication channel to solicit and broadcast calls for funding, and not actually collect funds, it said. These platforms can be used by FIUs to detect terrorist activities and suspicious activities.
Criminal activity remains a key source for funding terrorist organizations in the region, the report added.
Kidnapping for ransom remains a source of income for the Abu Sayyaf Group in the Philippines, while militants in Indonesia rely on violent robbery to raise funds, the report said. In Thailand, Deep South insurgents have stolen cars and smuggled oil, but rely mainly on extortion to raise funds.
While conference participants focused on Asia and Australia, Malaysia Home Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said his proposal for combating terrorists globally drew support from the other attendees, according to Malaysian state news agency Bernama.
Hamidi proposed the formation of a global secretariat to combat international terrorism.
"Interpol Executive Director Jürgen Stock met me personally and will take up the recommendation for its implementation and coordination by the United Nations," he told Bernama.


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BENARNEWS- The locals in Central Java province's Cilacap Regency know Charles Patrick Burrows, a Catholic priest from Ireland, by another name: Romo Carolus.
He landed in Indonesia in 1973 and has stayed on since, working to help alleviate poverty in the regency and, relatively recently, offering comfort to inmates on death row at nearby Nusakambangan prison and escorting some as they walked toward the firing lines.
Romo Carolus began by counseling Catholic inmates, but provides guidance for other inmates as well.
"I'm a Catholic, but I feel honored to counsel people from other religions," Carolus, 73, told BenarNews.
He also opposes the death penalty and has campaigned against capital punishment in Indonesia, which still strictly enforces executions of convicted drug offenders, despite widespread criticism from aboard.
The priest shared his memory of witnessing the executions in June 2008 of two Nigerians convicted of drug trafficking.
"I still remember it clearly when they were released from the ropes tying them up. For a moment, they were groaning before they died," he said.
That same year, the priest testified against Indonesia's death penalty law before the Constitutional Court in Jakarta, calling executions by firing squad "torture."
Romo Carolus – now an Indonesian citizen – urged the government to consider a more humane way of execution, if capital punishment was inevitable.
But officials have not change the policy and, since then, no religious leader has been allowed to accompany inmates and observe their executions at Nusakambangan, a prison island in Central Java.
"We were asked to leave before they were executed," he said.
In late July, Indonesia executed four more drug convicts by firing squad at Nusakambangan, but postponed putting to death 10 others who faced capital punishment. An Indonesian, two Nigerians and a South African were lined up and shot on July 28.
While hoping that the government will change the law, Romo Carolus keeps providing counseling to inmates there who are condemned to die.
"They can't choose how they die, but at least let them die in dignity," he said.
The universal values that Romo Carolus expresses have left a deep impression on a Muslim cleric and long-time colleague at the prision, Hasan Makarim.
"We have known each other for a long time and we are solid working together," Hasan told BenarNews.
Helping to fight poverty
When Carolus, a member of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate in Dublin, arrived in Indonesia 43 years ago, he encountered poverty in Cilacap Regency during a visit to Kampung Laut, a fishing village.
At the time, the village was known as a home for sympathizers of the banned Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI), whose membership and leadership was wiped out during a bloody anti-communist purge in 1965-66.
When he first arrived in Kampung Laut, villagers were suffering from an outbreak of eye infections. He treated them and later initiated efforts to construct a road and bridge in order to open access to the village. It then only had one small road that passed between swamps and sea.
After becoming an Indonesian citizen in 1983, Carolus set up Yayasan Sosial Bina Sejahtera, a nongovernmental organization working to eradicate poverty. The foundation has helped 25 schools – kindergarten, elementary school, junior high, high school and special-needs – in and around Cilacap.
With the love and passion of faith, he taught villagers to empower themselves by preserving fish and planting vegetables in vacant lots to improve their quality of life.
In 2012, Romo Carolus, who was assigned to St. Stephanus parish church in Cilacap, received the Maarif Award from the Maarif Institute for Culture and Humanity for his role as a local figure helping to preserve and observe universal religious values.
Cilacap Regent Tatto Suwarto Pamuji said he appreciated the old priest's efforts.
"He always visits the neighborhoods and listens to the public complaints by himself," Tatto said.
Do good unto others
Carolus stresses the importance of education as the only way to reduce poverty and ignorance. God provides people with everything as long as they want to give their best, he said, adding that all people are meant to live on their own without waiting for others' help.
Whenever there is a chance, no matter how small, he advised everyone to show good will toward others.
"Even when death is coming to you and you still have time to plant a tree, then plant it. Show generosity in every chance, even the tiniest one," he said.




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BENARNEWS- Two Indonesian sailors escaped from Abu Sayyaf militants in the southern Philippines who had held them and others hostage for nearly two months after hijacking their tugboat, Indonesian and Philippine officials confirmed Wednesday.
Elsewhere, the crew of a fuel tanker sailed from Malaysia to Indonesia's Batam Island on Wednesday over a dispute with their employer, Malaysian and Indonesian officials said.
Muhamad Sofyan, one of seven crew members of the tugboat Charles 001, had fled from his Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) captors, Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs official Lalu Muhammad Iqbal told reporters in Jakarta.
"At 1 p.m. today, the Indonesian Foreign Minister communicated with the Philippine Foreign Minister and received confirmation about the escape of that one hostage," he said, adding that Sofyan was taken to the Sulu police station.
Locals found Sofyan, 28, around 7:30 a.m., according to the Philippines police. He apparently escaped from the Abu Sayyaf after the group threatened to behead him.
Sofyan had swum to safety and was rescued by residents of the southern Philippine island of Jolo, who found him trapped in fishnets in a mangrove, according to the Associated Press, who quoted Maj. Filemon Tan, a spokesman for the Western Mindanao Command.
At 4:30 p.m., Tan said, another crew member from the tugboat, identified as Ismail, was found in Barangay Bual, the same area in the southern Philippines where Sofyan was found, according to CNN.
The escapees were two of seven Indonesians taken hostage from the Tugboat Charles on June 20, in waters between Jolo and Tawi Tawi.  On July 9, three more Indonesians were kidnapped from a Malaysian-flagged ship near Sabah, Malaysia, by Abu Sayyaf militants. And on Aug. 3, an Indonesian captain on another Malaysian-flagged ship was kidnapped by four armed men near Sabah. Four Malaysian sailors, whose vessel was hijacked off Sabah in July 18, also remain in ASG custody.
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The crew of the MT Vier Harmoni, pictured in this undated photo, sailed from Malaysia to Batam Island over a dispute with their employer, Aug. 17, 2016. [Courtesy of Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency]
Tanker crew sailed from Kuantan Port
Meanwhile, the 10-member crew of a tanker carrying 900,000 liters (237,000 gallons) of diesel fuel left Kuantan Port, Malaysia, and sailed into Indonesian waters over a dispute with their employer, a top Malaysian maritime official confirmed to BenarNews on Wednesday. The crew of MT Vier Harmoni deliberately took the ship over the dispute, said Malaysian Maritime Agency (MMEA) Director General Ahmad Puzi Ab Kahar.
The Indonesian navy confirmed this report."[T]he ship was not hijacked but was taken by its crew back to Batam," First Adm. Edi Sucipto told BenarNews in a written statement.
Sucipto praised the coordination between the Indonesia navy's Western Fleet Quick Response, in the province of Riau, and the MMEA. Malaysia deployed ships and a helicopter in its search for the tanker. Singapore assisted in the efforts in Malaysian and Indonesian waters.
The MMEA stopped its search for MT Vier Harmoni midday Wednesday when its Indonesian counterpart confirmed that the tanker was anchored off Batam, Ahmad Puzi said.
Officials communicated with the crew members, who are mostly Indonesians, and determined that the ship had not been hijacked. Indonesian officials confirmed that the ship is owned by PT Vierlines, an Indonesian company, and was chartered by a Malaysian company.
Ahmad Puzi said the owner had not made bond payments to the Malaysian authorities to allow the ship to sail in its waters. Bond payments are necessary to ensure that ships be held accountable for incidents such as oil spills.
"We are still investigating this incident thoroughly and hope both sides cooperate so further action can be taken," he said.
The agency's enforcement director, Mohammad Taha Ibrahim, said all 10 crew members were safe when the agency contacted the ship's captain Wednesday afternoon.
Hata Wahari in Kuala Lumpur contributed to this report.


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BENARNEWS-The last Uyghur member of the Eastern Indonesia Mujahideen (MIT) – a militant group allied with the extremist group Islamic State (IS) – was killed in a shootout with security forces in Central Sulawesi province on Wednesday, a police official said.
The shootout started soon after members of a task force spotted two men during a patrol at Kilo, a village in Poso regency, Central Sulawesi Police Chief Brig. Gen. Rudy Sufahriadi said. When officers shouted out for a code word, the two men responded by shooting and throwing homemade bombs at the security forces.
"One of the two members of the MIT was shot and killed on the spot, while another escaped with an M-16," Rudy told reporters in Palu, the provincial capital. He added that the security forces were pursuing the second man.
"From information received from my staff at the ground, based on their investigation, the one killed is MIT member, a Uyghur named Ibrohim," he added.
Ibrohim's body was to be taken to a military hospital in Palu, the capital of Central Sulawesi province, to complete the identification process.
Ibrohim, who had been on a list of wanted persons, joined MIT in mid-2015 with five other Uyghurs – all of whom have since been killed in gun battles with Indonesian security personnel – according to police. The six had taken part in acts of terror around Poso, including the killing of two local farmers in September 2015, police said.
Uyghurs are members of a Muslim minority in China who mostly live in the northwestern Xinjiang region. They also are spread across Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkey.
Some Uyghurs have been accused of being involved in militant groups and committing acts of terrorism.
MIT weakening
The task force was taking part in Operation Tinombala, which began in January and involves hundreds of police officers and military personnel, and whose goal is to capture or kill MIT's remaining members.
The operation claimed its biggest prize about a month ago when members killed MIT leader Santoso (alias Abu Wardah), who ranked No. 1 on Indonesia's list of most wanted militants.
Police believe that MIT has weakened following his death in a shootout with security forces in Poso on July 18. The number of surviving members hiding in the forests and mountains of Poso is believed to be 14, including two women.
"Their weaponry is also weakening. Based on the intelligence information, they have only five rifles, some homemade weapons and homemade bombs," Rudy, the province's police chief, said.
Central Sulawesi Gov. Longki Djanggola has urged the remaining MIT members to surrender.
"I've spoken directly with the national police chief on the continuation of the operation in Poso. It will continue until the MIT followers hiding in Poso are caught," Longki said.

Last week, Rudy coordinated with the National Commission on Human Rights to form a 13-member team of non-military professionals tasked with persuading the MIT members to surrender.


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BENARNEWS- An Indonesian linked to al-Qaeda masterminds Osama bin Laden and Khalid Sheikh Mohammad said he had no ill will towards the United States when he appeared Thursday before a hearing at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The appearance by Encep Nurjaman, also known as Hambali, before a review board hearing to determine if he should be released from custody marked the first time he was seen in public since being locked up at Guantanamo in September 2006, the Associated Press reported.
A U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) profile of Hambali described him as an operational mastermind for Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), a Southeast Asian militant group linked with al-Qaeda.
Hambali helped plan the Bali bombings that killed 202 people in 2002 and a series of Christmas Eve bombings at 30 churches across Indonesia two years earlier, the profile said.
After his arrest in Thailand in 2003, Hambali was eventually taken to the military prison at Guantanamo, where suspected al-Qaeda operatives and others who were linked to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks have been incarcerated.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, the alleged planner of the 9/11 attacks, is also imprisoned at Guantanamo. Bin Laden, the former head of al-Qaeda, which was behind the attacks on New York and Washington, was killed in a raid by U.S. Special Forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in May 2011.
Hambali did not speak but a U.S. military officer representing him read an opening statement on his behalf, calling the 52-year-old Indonesian "respectful and energetic," according to AP's account of the hearing.
"He always smiles and never hesitates to answer any questions we have," according to a copy of the statement obtained by BenarNews.
While at Guantanamo Hamabali has learned English, taught himself Arabic and has taught fellow detainees. "He went so far as to have homework and tests for them," it said.
"Hambali has stated he has no ill will towards the U.S. He believes America has diversity and sharing of power which is much better than a dictatorship. He states he wants nothing more than to move on with his life and be peaceful," the statement went on to say.
Hambali wore horn-rimmed glasses and a mostly gray beard, and was expressionless during the unclassified portion of the Periodic Review Board hearing, according to AP.
A 'steadfast' extremist: U.S.
The U.S. government also read out a statement at Thursday's hearing. It called Hambali an ongoing security threat, by describing him as being "steadfast in his support for extremist causes and his hatred for the U.S.," AP reported.
"He most likely would look for ways to reconnect with his Indonesian and Malaysian cohorts or attract a new set of followers," the U.S. statement added, noting that he "has been heard promoting violent jihad while leading daily prayers and lectures" at the prison on Guantanamo, by AP's account.
Hambali served as a main liaison between JI and al-Qaeda from 2000 until his capture in 2003, according to the DOD profile.
"Before returning to Southeast Asia in December 2001, Hambali discussed operations with senior al-Qaeda leaders regarding post Sept. 11 attacks against U.S. interests," the report states.
Hambali, who was born in Cianjur, West Java, left Indonesia for Malaysia in the 1980s where he met JI cofounders Abdullah Sungkar and Abu Bakar Bashir, and was exposed to radical Islamic teachings, the DOD said.
The review panel issued no decision on Hambali's status, the AP reported. He is one of 61 detainees housed at the prison in Cuba.
If he were freed, Hambali would not be allowed to return to Indonesia, according to a report in Singapore's Straits Times newspaper.
"They will not deport Hambali to Indonesia. Praise to God. Don't add more problems to this country," Luhut Pandjaitan, who was Indonesia's top security minister at the time, told reporters in March.
An earlier version incorrectly reported that Hambali was arrested in Bangkok.


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BENARNEWS- Radical cleric Abu Bakar Bashir is still revered among Indonesian militants, even as he spends his twilight years behind bars and is running out of legal options to have his 15-year prison term reduced.
The spiritual leader of militant group Jemaah Islamiyah, which carried out the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, recently lost an appeal against his 2011 conviction for financing a militant training camp in the remote mountains of Aceh province.
On July 27 Indonesia's Supreme Court rejected his appeal after judges decided that they did not find fresh evidence to overturn his conviction. His lawyers argued that Bashir had meant to donate the money for a Palestinian cause and was unaware that the money he gave was instead used to finance the paramilitary training in Aceh.
On Wednesday, Indonesia's Independence Day, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo moved to reduce Bashir's prison term by three months as part of sentence reductions handed out to thousands of convicts every year on the national holiday, the Associated Press reported.
Bashir turned 78 on the same day, and this was the second three-month reduction given to the cleric, according to AP.
A request to have more than one appeal is possible, according a Supreme Court circular, if the convict can present a new situation or evidence to support the claim.
Achmad Michdan, Bashir's lawyer, said a second appeal was possible, pointing to an irregularity. He said the judges who ruled in the appeal were different than the panel appointed to review the case.
"We weren't notified that there was a change. We are going to question this because this is odd and for us, this is a legal problem," Achmad told BenarNews.
Supreme Court spokesman Suhadi confirmed that one of the three appointed judges, Artidjo Alkostar, recused himself after he realized he had served in a previous case against Bashir.
Terrorism analyst Rakyan Adibrata said he did not expect appeals to work, telling BenarNews that Bashir could leave prison if he lived long enough to complete his sentence.
Bashir revered
During his time in prison over the past five years, Bashir has resorted to pursuing appeals in Indonesia's secular legal system that he despises, potentially hampering his credibility as a promoter of replacing the Indonesian government with an Islamic caliphate.
Bashir, who reportedly pledged his allegiance to the so-called Islamic State (IS) group from Nusakambangan prison in Central Java two years ago, remains a revered figure among Muslim militants in the country.
"Yes, he is, no doubt," Rakyan said, adding that Bashir remains by far an irreplaceable, notable figure among extremist Muslims in the country.
Rakyan, who is with the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights, said that two rival militant factions in Indonesia were vying for Bashir's endorsement to their respective views regarding IS.
The Jemaah Ansharut Tauhid (JAT) that Bashir founded, and another Muslim hardline group, Tauhid Wal Jihad, are supporters of IS.
Those in the non-supporting IS faction are the Indonesian Mujahideen Council (MMI), whose leader is Muhammad Thalib, and Jemaah Ansharusy Syariah (JAS). The second group was founded in 2014 by Bashir's sons and his top aide in JAT, Muhammad Achwan, after Bashir said that those who did not support IS should leave JAT.
Rakyan said Bashir's sons and Achwan wanted him to denounce his alliance with IS while the faction of supporters led by Aman wanted him to support Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the militant organization's self-appointed Caliph, because Bashir remains a magnet to draw people to IS.
In April, Achmad told BenarNews that Bashir has denounced his allegiance to IS, saying he was misinformed about the militant group – but Bashir has not released any statement formally denouncing his support.
History of militancy
Bashir has had brushes with the authorities for his fundamentalist views since the era of President Suharto, who ruled from 1967 to 1998, when even aspiring to establish an Islamic state in Indonesia was considered subversive.
He was convicted in 2004 and sentenced to 30 months imprisonment for inciting the 2002 Bali bombings and the bombing of the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Jakarta a year later.
In December 2006, the Supreme Court overturned his conviction after he served out his first prison term.
After his second conviction in 2011, Bashir was sent to Nusakambangan, a penal island in Central Java's Cilicap regency. This year, he was transferred to a prison in Bogor, West Java, so he could have better access to medical treatment, but he remains in isolation.
"Bashir is considered high risk because he has fanatical followers and it could be a problem if he tells them to attack anyone that stands in the way of their target to establish a new country," Dinny Mutiah, whose master's thesis at the Paramadina Graduate School of Diplomacy in Jakarta examined the flow of terror financing, told BenarNews.
According to terrorism analyst Taufik Andrie, who is executive director of the Institute for International Peacebuilding, the government should consider leniency to Bashir's prison sentence for humanitarian reasons and in light of his need for medical care.
"But in terms of his ideology, who could limit one's thoughts? At least it is unlikely that it would materialize into concrete, physical form such as planning or launching a terror attack," said Andrie, who runs a program to help former convicted terrorist reintegrate into the society by starting small businesses.
An earlier version incorrectly identified the leader of Indonesian Mujahideen Council.


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BENARNEWS- An Indonesian program that offers tax dodgers an amnesty and hopes to lure wealthy citizens into repatriating billions in assets held overseas is lagging far behind its target of collecting more than U.S. $12 billion by March 2017, officials acknowledge.
Since the government launched the eight-month amnesty program in mid-July, only about 7,000 taxpayers have paid 1.18 trillion rupiah (U.S. $89 million) – or 0.7 percent of the 165 trillion rupiah (U.S. $12.5 billion) in tax targeted for collection through next March – according to figures released Thursday on the website of the Finance Ministry's Directorate General of Taxes.
A Tax Amnesty Law passed by the House of Representatives on June 28 cleared the way for the government to offer a time-limited amnesty to tax dodgers, by encouraging them to bring back their assets from abroad through the incentive of paying a very low tax rate.
Under the program, those who enroll before September pay a tax rate of 2 percent.  The tax increases to 3 percent for those who enroll from October through December, to 5 percent for those who enroll from January through March 2017, according to reports. The catch is that the repatriated money must be kept in Indonesia for three years, and held in banks or invested in bonds.
Indonesian officials have touted the program as a way to bring in revenue needed to shore up the tax base, help stimulate a sluggish economy, and bring down a fiscal deficit.
The government is hoping the program will repatriate more than U.S. $70 billion in assets held by Indonesians overseas, Reuters reported. According to The Economist, the overall wealth invested by Indonesians abroad is believed to be much higher – a staggering U.S. $900 billion.
But so far, relatively few tax dodgers have signed up for the amnesty, officials have conceded.
"This is quite worrisome," tax analyst Yustinus Prastowo told BenarNews. "It was expected that many citizens would participate in the first period when the penalty is still low."
Taxation Director General Ken Dwijugiasteadi did not respond to several requests for comment from BenarNews, but acknowledged that the program was not going smoothly, according to Metrotvnews.com.
He said he was baffled by the low response in contrast to the 20,000 people who attended government-sponsored events in several cities that promoted the program and was championed by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo. About 12,000 of those people have not yet enrolled for amnesty.
"The government is not focusing on potential taxpayers," Yustinus said, referring to wealthy citizens who have parked their assets abroad.
Joshua Pardede, an economist at Bank Permata, agreed, saying the amount collected so far was insignificant.
This stark lack of a people signing up for the program may lead to the government having to cut spending because not enough money is coming in, he warned.
"This is because the impact of tax amnesty has yet to materialize," he said.
Several ministries were forced to cut their budgets this year because of the lack of funding, government officials said.
The government's effort to persuade wealthy citizens to repatriate their money is complicated by the fact that neighboring Singapore – where many rich Indonesians keep their assets – is trying to block it through persuading them to not withdraw those from the city-state. Singapore has offered to waive a 4 percent declaration fee for Indonesians who keep their assets there, according to reports.
Heaven or hell?
Meanwhile, Indonesia's newly installed finance minister, Sri Mulyani Indrawati, has warned that she would go after dodgers after the amnesty program expires at the end of March, and it was in their interest to take advantage of the opportunity now.
"Basically, it's a choice between heaven and hell," Sri Mulyani told journalists. "Now there is a chance to go to heaven, with only 2 percent penalty and pardoned sins."
A former World Bank director who previously served as finance minister from 2005 to 2010, she was re-appointed in that role last month by Jokowi.
"If you're not using the opportunity this time, I'm not going to play around," she added, according to Reuters.


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BENARNEWS- Indonesia has all but decimated the Eastern Indonesia Mujahideen (MIT), a band of militants once considered the nation's most deadly domestic terror group.
But in the waning months of a massive security operation in Central Sulawesi where the MIT is based, humanitarian workers and rights activists are joining efforts to persuade 14 people still hiding in the jungles of Poso Regency to turn themselves in.
National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) chief Imdadun Rahmat traveled to the provincial capital of Palu this week to underline the need for humane treatment of prisoners.
"We continue to support and encourage the government initiative to restore the losses suffered by the community following the conflict in Poso, and urge good treatment of those prisoners who were captured alive," Imdadun told reporters here Wednesday.
"The main point is, no more blood in Poso. We are taking these steps together, prioritizing a persuasive approach," Central Sulawesi police chief Brig. Gen. Rudy Sufahriadi said as he repeated appeals for the remaining militants to give up.
Officials have approached relatives of remaining MIT members to assure them that those who surrender will not be deprived of their rights, he said.
"Certainly we will treat them well, whether they are captured or surrender during the operation," Rudy said.
MIT holdouts include women
Estimated to have about 32 members in early 2016, the MIT is now less than half that size, officials said. Holdouts include two of the group's leaders, Basri (alias Bagong) and Ali Kalora, and their wives.
Hundreds of security personnel have been on the ground in remote Poso regency since January 2015 in two operations code-named Camar Maleo and Tinombala.
Security forces killed 14 MIT members, including six ethnic Uyghurs, in 2016. Seven were killed in 2015, and another 31 captured.
In July of this year, Indonesia confirmed that its most wanted militant – MIT leader Santoso – had been shot dead.
Santoso, who had pledged allegiance to the extremist group Islamic State (IS), died in a shootout with security forces in Poso on July 18, police said.
Officials vowed to prolong a security operation aimed at capturing or killing the remnants of the MIT. That operation is scheduled to continue for two more months.
Local police and rights activists say they have received intelligence that the holdouts are willing to surrender, but they are afraid to do so.
Therapy
After capture or surrender, MIT members will be put in de-radicalization programs, National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) chief Suhardi Alius said in Palu on Wednesday.
Community members will be involved in this process, not just religious scholars and government officials, he added.
He described it as an intensive program designed "so that it can really provide therapy for those who have been exposed to radicalization."
Several other activists and public figures have come to the region to join the efforts and assist local communities traumatized by years of violence.
The group includes members of the medical charity Medical Emergency Rescue Committee (Mer-C). Team 13, as it has been dubbed, is already in Poso but unwilling to talk to the press.
Trapped
Over the past two years, rights activists from the Central Sulawesi Institute for Legal Studies and Human Rights Advocacy (LPS-HAM Sulteng) often protested when security forces killed suspected militants instead of capturing them alive.
They also criticized security forces for failing to capture Santoso and the two other MIT leaders over 18 months.
After Santoso was killed, the chief of LPS-HAM Sulteng, Mohd Affandi, called for a halt to security sweeps.
"If the military operation stops, Team 13 can freely move on the field. Unfortunately the operation is still in progress, so the team will automatically get trouble," Affandi told BenarNews.
Locals in the impoverished area have been trapped between armed militants and security forces.
"Farmers did not go to work because of they were worried if there is a clash between armed civilian groups and security forces," Celebes Institute Director Adriany Badrah once said.
In September 2015, three farmers were decapitated in Central Sulawesi's Parigi Moutong regency. Officials said Santoso's group was likely behind the killings and urged farmers to suspend agricultural activities for the time being.
Prior to the rise of IS and its spread in the archipelago, MIT was seen as the most dangerous terror group on Indonesian soil, a remnant of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), the network that carried out the 2002 and 2005 Bali bombings.
Hundreds of Indonesians have gone to Iraq and Syria to join IS, and an IS-claimed attack in Jakarta in Jan. 2015 left eight dead.


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BENARNEWS- An Indonesian steakhouse owner and former convicted radical says he's savoring his freedom and has renounced his old ways, but helps friends who are still behind bars through small kindnesses.
Yusuf Adirima has been out of prison for more than seven years now, after serving slightly more than half of a 10-year sentence on terrorism-related charges for stockpiling 26 bombs and ammunition at a house in Semarang, Central Java, in 2003.
"Now I can eat whatever I want and it is very easy. While in the prison, if you want to eat delicious food you have to think first," Yusuf, the 40-year-old owner of the Dapoer Bistik restaurant in the city of Solo, told BenarNews.
Yusuf (also known as Machmudi Haryono) is a former member of Jemaah Islamiyah, al-Qaeda's Southeast Asian affiliate that carried out the 2002 Bali bombings, among other terrorist acts, and he also served with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), a rebel group in the southern Philippines.
In an interview, he related how he drifted into radicalism following his graduation from high school. After leaving high school, Yusuf enrolled at an Islamic boarding school (pesantren) in Jombang, East Java.
While studying there, he said he learned about another pesantren in Lamongan, which was run by Amrozi, a militant who was later convicted and executed for his role in the Bali bombings that killed 202 people.
"The pesantren was in the jungle, very small and even had no mosque," Yusuf said.
He said he was surprised to discover that it had classes where primary grade students were trained to use weapons.
In 2000, he set off with 35 other people "on a journey to jihad." He headed to Malaysia, and then to the Philippines, where he wound up in a camp operated by the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), another militant group based in the southern Philippines. Abu Sayyaf has recently carried out maritime kidnappings of Indonesian and Malaysian sailors.
"There, I saw for myself how small children carried weapons, just like in my jihadist books. They were holding M-16s," Yusuf recalled.
He received weapons training, became a marksman and returned to Indonesia in mid-2002. He was arrested the next year.
Helping others
Since being freed from prison in January 2009, Yusuf has built a nice life for himself.
He says he has put his radical past behind him, but stays in touch with former friends in the old terrorist networks who remain locked up.
He tries to find time to get away from his restaurant and rental car businesses to visit them in prison, sometimes bringing along steak dinners that he cooks up for them in the prison yard.
He will help friends with special requests that are harmless. One pal who is serving a life sentence asked Yusuf for a pair of jeans, which Yusuf promised he would deliver during his next visit to the prison
"A simple thing, a simple request, but it is difficult for him to fulfill since he is in prison," Yusuf said.
He will also pick up his friends who need rides when they are released from prison. If Yusof isn't free, he will ask his car rental employees to fetch them because he does not want the ex-prisoners to be lonely.
"If, after their release, they want to return to the community or to their family, I will help. But if they want to go back to bombing, please do business with Densus 88 – I do not want to be involved," Yusof said, referring to the Indonesian police's special anti-terror unit.
"Many of them invited me to bomb again. They said what I do now is for materialistic purposes while bombing is a way to heaven," Yusuf said.
"I have a religious teacher who received a life sentence, who always [tried to persuade] me to become an IS [Islamic State] supporter, every time I visited him. After I was asked for the fourth time, I stopped seeing him," he added.
Not afraid
Meanwhile, people in the Solo community know that Yusuf is an ex-militant who owns a local restaurant, but that hasn't scared them from frequenting his establishment.
"The important thing is the food is yummy and cheap," said Anangga, a customer who often dines at the steakhouse with his wife and two children.
While Yusuf owns the place and does a lot of the cooking, he has entrusted the restaurant's management to a friend, Widodo, with whom Yusuf worked at a restaurant close to the Central Java police headquarters in 2009.
"He is a good person, helpful and quick to respond," Widodo, 39, said about his friend.
Although Yusuf occasionally answers questions from police, who come by asking questions related to investigations into terrorist cases, he says that he is not on the payroll of National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT).
Liliek Darmanto, a spokesman for Central Java police, acknowledged that officers do keep an eye out on Yusuf even though he has served out his prison term.
"Just to know how he has been, if he is OK, that's all. The rest of the monitoring is by the community," Liliek told BenarNews.


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BENARBEWS- Indonesian police Wednesday arrested a man they claim took control of the militant group Eastern Indonesia Mujahidin (MIT) following the death of leader Santoso, cutting the number of its members at large to a dozen.
Muhammad Basri, a 41-year-old deputy to Santoso, whose MIT swore allegiance to Islamic State (IS), was caught in Tangkura village in Central Sulawesi province's Poso Regency along with his wife, Nurmi Orman (also known as Oma), officials said. Police said they also recovered the body of another suspected MIT member.
Basri's arrest further weakens MIT, according to terrorism analyst Taufik Andrie.
"Their movement is already limited, their choices are few because their ammunition is lacking. So it is expected that soon they will be caught dead or alive," Taufik, executive director of the Institute for International Peacebuilding in Jakarta, told BenarNews.
Authorities said they captured Basri and his wife, who were on the national police's most wanted list, soon after discovering the body of a suspected MIT member Andika in a local river. The cause of his death remained unclear.
"After discovering the body we carried out an investigation at the scene. We found Basri not far from the river and his wife trapped in the river. They were immediately arrested," provincial police spokesman Hari Suprapto told reporters.
Police did not release details about how Nurmi was trapped. A homemade bomb was found in a vest that Andika was wearing, and Basri was not armed, police said.
Another suspect MIT militant, Adji Pandu (alias Suwotono or Subron), was with the group but escaped from a joint security task force, officials said.
Members of Operation Tinombala, a task force comprising police officers and soldiers and that was set up to hunt down Santoso's group, are now searching for Adji and the other 11 MIT members who remain at large.
Hundreds of security personnel have been on the ground in remote Poso regency since January 2015 in two operations code-named Camar Maleo and Tinombala.
Officers transported Basri and his wife to a military hospital in Palu around 4 p.m. (local time). After arriving, Basri smiled and bowed his head, but did not answer reporters' questions.
"Let him go in to be examined first," Police commander Guruh Arif Darmawan told the journalists.
Sought in many cases
Police claim that Basri took the lead of MIT following the death of Santoso on July 18. Until then, Santoso (alias Abu Wardah) was  Indonesia's most wanted militant.
According to police, Basri allegedly had roles in 18 criminal cases during his time with MIT.
"Basri was involved in the mutilation of three schoolgirls in Tentena on Oct. 29, 2005," Central Sulawesi police chief Brig. Gen. Rudy Sufahriadi said recently.
Born Mohammad Basri bin Baco Sampe, the militant has several aliases including Bagong, Opa and Ayas. Basri left his first wife to join MIT, and later married Nurmi in April 2013. Her first husband was a MIT militant killed in Poso, police said.
'No more blood in Poso'
In recent weeks, a team of humanitarian workers and human rights activists had joined efforts to persuade the few remaining MIT holdouts  to surrender to the authorities peacefully.
"By involving family, friends and relatives, this can give a guarantee of safety without involving bloodshed. I think MIT members need to consider the government's offer," Taufik said.
Imdadun Rahmat, the head of National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM), traveled to the provincial capital, Palu, two weeks ago to plead to authorities that they treat the remaining militants at large humanely.
"We continue to support and encourage the government initiative to restore the losses suffered by the community following the conflict in Poso, and urge good treatment of those prisoners who were captured alive," Imdadun told reporters at the time.
Rudy, the local police chief, echoed that sentiment.
"The main point is, no more blood in Poso. We are taking these steps together, prioritizing a persuasive approach," Rudy said at the time as he called again on the remaining militants to give up.


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BENARNEWS- Haze from thousands of peatland and timber fires in Indonesia last year may lead to as many as 100,000 deaths, U.S. researchers claimed in a report issued Monday.
Scientists from Harvard and Columbia universities used new analytical tools, satellite observations, and population information to locate the source of fires, gauge the toxicity of emissions and "estimate the resulting morbidity and premature mortality in downwind populations," according to a study published in Environmental Research Letters.
"We estimate that haze in 2015 resulted in 100,300 excess deaths across Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, more than double those of the 2006 event, with much of the increase due to fires in Indonesia's South Sumatra Province," said the study, titled "Public Health Impacts of the Severe Haze in Equatorial Asia in September-October 2015: Demonstration of a New Framework for Informing Fire Management Strategies to Reduce Downwind Smoke Exposure."
A combination of the El Niño weather phenomenon and positive Indian Ocean Dipole (pIOD), where the western portion of the ocean becomes warmer than the eastern portion, promoted drought in September and October 2015 and greatly enhanced fire danger in the region, the study said.
2015 saw the worst Southeast Asia haze crisis since 1997, but since modern satellite technology was not available then, researchers compared 2015 to "another large smoke episode" in 2006 that caused 37,000 excess deaths, according to the study.
"The degraded peatlands that typically burn during such episodes contain significant combustible organic material and so release large amounts of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), the leading cause of global pollution-related mortality...," the study said.
"As in previous episodes, the prevailing winds in 2015 transported the smoke to densely populated areas across Indonesia and the Malay Peninsula, including Singapore and Kuala Lumpur."
Child mortality not counted
However, most of the deaths occurred in Indonesia, according to the study.
Using U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards for unhealthy air, and based on projected smoke exposure in 2015, the researchers concluded that "excess deaths" linked to the 2015 haze could be 91,600 in Indonesia, 6,500 in Malaysia and 2,200 in Singapore.
The projection ignored potential child deaths. "We also focus only on adult mortality due to lack of knowledge on the effects of air pollution on child mortality, even though impacts on children are likely significant," the study said.
Across Indonesia, fires are used to burn agricultural residue, clear forests, or prepare land for plantations. Satellite imaging showed that many of the fires in Sumatra were linked to timber operations and peatlands, although peat fires can be difficult to spot.
"Peat fires can smolder in the subsurface for weeks to months after ignition, often at temperatures too low to be detected accurately from space," the report said.
At the height of the fire season in October 2015, Indonesia's National Board for Disaster Management blamed the resulting haze for killing 10 people and making thousands sick.
"The long-term impact could also be serious illness such as lung cancer. The government needs to anticipate potential secondary hazards like this," Nanang Subana, director of Oxfam in Indonesia, told BenarNews in October 2015.
'Real action' needed
In an angry reaction to the numbers contained in the study Monday, environmental group Greenpeace said failing to prevent further deaths would be criminal.
"As last year's fires raged, the Indonesian government said that 43 million people were exposed to smoke across the country, and half a million suffered from smoke-related respiratory illness. Now that we know the scale of the death toll, failure to act immediately to stem the loss of life would be a crime," said Yuyun Indradi, a Greenpeace forest campaigner in Indonesia.
"Now fires are back again. If nothing changes, this killer haze will carry on taking a terrible toll, year after year. Industry and government must take real action to stop forest clearing and peatland drainage for plantations," he said.
Dr. Nursyam Ibrahim, deputy director of the West Kalimantan chapter of the Indonesian Medical Association, said the elderly and children were most at risk from haze. Kalimantan, or Indonesian Borneo, is another key area for agricultural burning.
"The greatest impact from breathing particles from peat fire smoke falls on vulnerable groups such as the elderly, pregnant women, babies and children. What is at stake is a decline in the quality of Indonesia's future human resources," he was quoted as saying by Greenpeace.
"We are the doctors who care for the vulnerable groups exposed to toxic smoke in every medical center, and we know how awful it is to see the disease symptoms experienced by babies and children in our care," he said.


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BENARNEWS- Three Indonesian sailors held hostage for 10 weeks by Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) militants in the southern Philippines were freed over the weekend without any ransom being paid, Indonesia's defense minister said.
They regained their freedom a day after the militant group released Norwegian national Kjartan Sekkingstad, according to reports.
"I feel so relieved that now we are free because I was thinking that I would be beheaded," Freed Indonesian hostage Teodorus Kopong Koten, 42, said according to Philippine news website Inquirer.net.
ASG, which has pledged its allegiance to Islamic State (IS), is still holding six Indonesians captive. Five crew members of the Charles tugboat, who were kidnapped in the waters of Tawi-Tawi in the southern Philippines on June 20, are identified as Ferry Arifin, Muh Mahbrur Dahri, Edi Suryono, Muh Nasir and Robin Piter. Two of their crew, Ismail and Muhamad Sofyan, reportedly escaped from ASG custody on Aug. 17.
Another Indonesian, Herman Manggak, the captain of a Malaysian-flagged ship, was abducted at sea on Aug. 3.
Among other hostages, five Malaysians who were abducted from their ship off the coast of the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah remain in the hands of Abu Sayyaf militants in the southern Philippines, Wan Abdul Bari Abdul Khalid, who heads the Eastern Sabah Security Command, told BenarNews on Monday.
He said the captives were alive but he could not provide more details.
The release of the Norwegian hostage and three Indonesians occurred even as the Philippines and neighboring Malaysia and Indonesia have yet to begin joint maritime patrols to halt kidnappings by ASG and other militant groups in the Sulu and Celebes seas that separate the countries. In June, the three nations agreed to coordinate such efforts.
Abu Sayyaf has a reputation for executing hostages when its ransom demands are not met. Within the past year, ASG beheaded two Canadians and a Malaysian, Bernard Then.
Sekkingstad was abducted from a Philippine resort a year ago along with John Ridsdel and Robert Hall, the Canadians who were later beheaded by their ASG captors, Agence France-Presse reported.
When the two were killed in April and June, the Norwegian said he was close enough "that you could hear the cries when it happened," AFP quoted him as saying.
'Very hard life'
 
The three freed Indonesians, Lorens Lagadoni Koten, 34, Teodorus Kopong Koten, 42, and Emanuel Arakian Maran, 46, are residents of East Nusa Tenggara province. They were among the crew of a Malaysian tug boat who were kidnapped in the waters of Lahad Datu, Sabah state, on July 9.
After their release, Teodorus told reporters of their life in captivity, Inquirer.net reported.
"That is why we request the Philippine and Indonesian governments keep conducting operations and as soon as possible to crush the ASG," he said.
The hostages were turned over to envoy Jesus Dureza on Jolo island, according to AFP. The transfer took place at the heavily guarded camp of Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) founder Nur Misuari, whose group assisted in the release, according to Philippine officials.
Indonesian Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu, who traveled to Zamboanga, Philippines, thanked Nur's group.
"We appreciate the assistance of the MNLF. They know very well the terrain, they are very professional and they know what to do," Ryamizard told reporters on Sunday night, according to Inquirer.net.
Cooperation
Ryamizard said the release resulted from cooperation between both countries' militaries and ministries of defense.
"This is a realization of the follow-up on the trilateral agreement between Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia that signed in Bali some time ago," he said in an official press release, in which he stated that no ransom was paid to secure the sailors' freedom.
"What is for sure that the governments of Indonesia and the Philippines did not spend any penny to pay the ransom," Ryamizard said. "If we obey them [their demand to pay a ransom], it means we are under their power," Ryamizard said.
Still, media in the Philippines reported that a ransom of about 30 million Philippines pesos (8.2 billion Indonesian rupiah; U.S. $620,000) had been paid to ASG.
Ryamizard said the three released hostages immediately returned to Indonesia. Meanwhile, efforts continue to free the remaining hostages.
Muzliza Mustaffa in Kuala Lumpur contributed to this report.


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BENARNEWS- Indonesian health officials on Tuesday downplayed a scientific study projecting that haze from last year's peatland and timber fires could lead to as many as 100,000 deaths.
"It must be understood, this figure represents deaths before the age of life expectancy, not at the time of the fires. The prediction comes from a study model," Oscar Primadi, a spokesman for the Indonesian Health Ministry, told BenarNews.
Further research is needed to test the validity of the model, he added.
Mohammad Suboh, the Indonesian government's director general of disease control and environmental health, called the study's estimate "overblown."
"That figure, in my view, is overblown, and it's difficult to know where it came from. All the deaths were documented with death certificates," he said, according to Tribunnews.
"According to the data that we have, from the health ministry, only 19 people died, and not as a direct impact of the smoke. They were already sick and their condition worsened due to the smoke," Suboh said.
Mortality burden
In a study published Monday in Environmental Research Letters, scientists from Harvard and Columbia universities used computer modelling, satellite data and population information to locate the fires in Indonesia in 2015, gauge toxicity of emissions and "estimate the resulting morbidity and premature mortality in downwind populations."
The researchers concluded that "excess deaths" linked to the 2015 haze could be 91,600 in Indonesia, 6,500 in Malaysia and 2,200 in Singapore.
Those deaths would likely occur within a year of exposure to the haze, Jonathan Buonocore of Harvard University, one of the study authors, told BenarNews.
Buonocore said could not comment on Indonesian government statistics because he did not have information about how they were collected.
"It is important to note that the deaths we estimated are not just due to acute smoke inhalation. The health effects of air pollution can include other illnesses like respiratory disease, heart attack, and stroke, among others, which can lead to death," he said.
"Using our model calculations of the contribution of fires to air pollution in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, and the large body of research on air pollution and health, our results are able to capture this mortality burden. The approach used here is standard for estimating the health burden of air pollution sources such as this, and is used by the US Environmental Protection Agency, the World Bank, the World Health Organization, among many others," he said in an email.
"Everything wrong"
2015 saw the worst Southeast Asia haze crisis since 1997. Smoke from the fires choked nearby countries for weeks, including Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines, and sent Indonesia's greenhouse gas emissions soaring.
The fires, set to clear land for economic activity, burned 2.6 million hectares (6.4 million acres) between June and October and cost Indonesia an estimated U.S. $16.1 billion, the World Bank said its Indonesia Economic Quarterly report issued in December 2015.
Mukri Friatna, an activist with the environmental group Walhi, said that while the death toll was debatable, last year's fires created a tremendous disaster risk.
"The government did everything wrong. It didn't call the incident a national disaster, with the excuse that it didn't want corporate fire setters to escape responsibility, but at the same time law enforcement did not do its job," he told BenarNews.
"Not a single company was punished. No corporate entity was convicted and sentenced for knowingly burning the forests, or due to negligence. This is a bad precedent in law enforcement," he said.


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BENARNEWS- Anyone can monitor illegal burning in Indonesia and elsewhere, thanks to a tool created by NASA that superimposes temperature data on near real-time satellite imagery.
https://goo.gl/5f8rnb
To check for today's hotspots, open the link to NASA Worldview. Red dots represent fires or volcanic activity. To obtain the latest imagery, move the grey slider at the bottom of the screen to the right. Use the  +, - icons on the right side of the screen to zoom in or out.
Not all fires may be pictured, due to cloud cover or their relatively low intensity, scientists say. "Peat fires can smolder in the subsurface for weeks to months after ignition, often at temperatures too low to be detected accurately from space," according to a recent study by researchers at Columbia and Harvard universities.
Last year, haze from agricultural fires in Indonesia blanketed a swath of Southeast Asia, creating a public health hazard, disrupting air travel and shuttering schools. The extreme conditions from the 2015 fire season in Indonesia may have led to tens of thousands of premature deaths in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, the Columbia-Harvard study said.


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BENARNEWS- Indonesian authorities said Thursday they had detained a ship in Bali and seized its unauthorized cargo of about 30 tons of fertilizer that could be used to make explosives.
The cargo of ammonium nitrate – the same material used in the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people – likely was intended for use as bombs for fishing, authorities said according to international news reports.  While illegal in Indonesia, fishing bombs are used to stun or kill schools of fish to make harvesting easier.
"I can only say that some of the usage of this ammonium nitrate is to make homemade fish bombs, so far there is no link to terrorism," National Police Criminal Investigation Department Brig. Gen. Agung Setya told reporters in Bali.
Bali Police Chief Sugeng Priyanto supported Agung's claim.
"For the use of terror acts, so far there is no indication," he told BenarNews in a telephone interview.
Another Bali police official, Hendra Suhartiyono, took a different position, pointing out that the shipment of fertilizer was to be delivered to Sulawesi. The island is the home of militant group Eastern Indonesia Mujahidin that was led by Santoso, Indonesia's most wanted man, until he was killed in a shootout with security forces in July.
MIT's membership, however, has dwindled to only a dozen members at large. Last week, police in Central Sulawesi province, announced the arrest of Muhammad Basri, who is suspected of serving as Santoso's deputy and who took over the MIT after the top leader's demise.
"We are not closed to the possibility that this chemical material ... could also be for the benefit of terrorist groups in Sulawesi to make low-impact and high-impact bombs," Hendra told Reuters.

Routine patrol
On Tuesday, customs boats on routine patrol stopped the boat carrying thousands of sacks of ammonium nitrate in Buleleng, North Bali, according to news.com.au. Officials claimed that the crew did not have official paperwork required for hauling the load in Indonesian waters.
The wooden boat was escorted to Padang Bai Port in Karangasem, eastern Bali, where the six crew members were being interrogated by police and customs officers on Thursday.
The crew members could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted of violating Indonesia's customs law for hauling the load without documentation, Husni Saiful, chief of customs in Bali, told reporters.
In addition, an Indonesian fishery law declares that any person who deliberately possesses, controls, carries, and/or uses fishing tools (in this case a homemade bomb) that can disrupt and destroy the sustainability of the fisheries resource, on board a fishing vessel can face five years in prison and be fined as much as 2 billion rupiahs (U.S. $153,000).
The ship sailed from Pasir Gudang in Malaysia for Selayar Island in Sulawesi, Husni told news.com.au. He said the crew dumped some of the chemicals into the ocean because the boat was leaking.
Agung said police have investigated three cases since April where officers suspected that fertilizer was to be used to make fishing bombs, according to the Associated Press. Two women were killed last year in an explosion at a housing complex in South Sulawesi where police said fishing bombs were being made, Indonesian media reported.


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BENARNEWS- Indonesia's counterterrorism force Densus 88 has arrested a man suspected of sending Indonesian citizens to Syria to join the Islamic State (IS) group.
"He was arrested at 8 o'clock this morning in Bekasi, West Java," National Police spokesman Boy Rafli Amar told journalists in Jakarta on Wednesday. He gave the initials of the suspect, A.R., and an alias, Abu Fauzan.
Fauzan four times sent Indonesian nationals to join IS in Syria, Boy said. Three of the departures took place from October-November 2015. The fourth was in January 2016.
"His expertise is in preparing, motivating and provisioning people who want to go, and teaching them techniques for lying if they are caught," Boy said.
Fauzan was captured thanks to a failed attempt to send seven other Indonesians to Syria via Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Sept. 22, Boy explained.
Three of the seven were arrested and have been named as suspects while the other four are being classified as witnesses. Fauzi's role was uncovered during interrogation of the three suspects.
"They said they were getting orders from Abu Fauzan," Boy said.
Fauzan and the three other suspects were charged under Law No. 15, 2003 on Combatting Criminal Acts of Terrorism. Convictions under the law carry sentences of up to 15 years.
Linked to Bahrun Naim?
Police said they were still investigating whether Fauzan was working for Bahrun Naim or for Bahrumsyah, two Indonesian IS figures based in Syria who are jockeying for influence within the group, analysts believe.
Al Chaidar, a terrorism expert from Malikussaleh University in Lhokseumawe, Aceh, said Fauzan was likely a follower of Bahrun Naim, who is suspected of having masterminded an attack in Jakarta in Jan. 2016 that left eight people dead.
"They've known each other for a long time. From when there were both in Poso," Chaidar told BenarNews, referring to a regency in Central Sulawesi where the militant group Eastern Indonesia Mujahideen (MIT) is based.
MIT's numbers have dwindled to less than a dozen after its leader, Santoso, was killed in July following a months-long military operation there.
Prevention
According to the Coordinating Ministry of Political, Legal and Security Affairs, some 800 Indonesian citizens had joined IS by the end of 2015. The National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) puts the number at around 500.
The data discrepancy is not surprising, according to BNPT spokesman Irfan Idris. People who go to Syria do so via illegal routes, and their numbers are therefore hard to know exactly.
People are still joining IS in Syria due to its propaganda, circulated in books, websites and social media, he added.
Indonesia law currently allows people to be arrested only after they carry out acts of terrorism. "So we are asking for a revision of Law No. 15, 2003, so that it can be used for prevention" Irfan said.
"If that happens, people suspected of spreading radical ideology can be sanctioned. The dissemination can be stopped."
But in Chaidar's view, economic inequality is also driving people toward IS.
Interest in joining the IS is not solely triggered by ideology, but also the lure of a salary, he said.
"Economic recovery is the key" to removing that motivation, he said.


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BENARNEWS- A man who allegedly planned bomb attacks in Indonesia with his handler in Syria on the Telegram app was sentenced Monday in a Jakarta court to six years in prison.
Judges found Arif Hidayatullah bin Soekarno, alias Abu Mushab, guilty of conspiracy to commit terrorism acts based on the testimony of eight witnesses and the accused himself, chief judge Siti Jamzanah told East Jakarta District Court.
Arif communicated over Telegram with Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian member of the Islamic State (IS) based in Syria, in June 2015. The two discussed plans to mount bomb attacks in Indonesia, the court heard.
Targets discussed by the two men included Jewish and Shia Muslim communities in Bogor, West Java, Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama ("Ahok") and National Police Chief Tito Karnavian, who at the time was Jakarta metropolitan area police chief.
Bahrun also instructed Arif to meet an ethnic Uyghur man named Nur Muhammet Abdullah, alias Ali, when he arrived in Indonesia at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, the court was told. Police investigations revealed that Ali was being groomed to become a suicide bomber.
"The actions of the accused disturb and endanger society, so criminal sanctions are merited," the judge said.
Denials
The defendant, dressed in a long white shirt and red kaffiyeh, appeared calm in court and smiled several times at his wife, who was sitting among the spectators.
Prosecutors had asked that the 32-year-old be sentenced to eight years in jail, but judges trimmed the sentence by two years because he had no prior criminal record.
In comments to BenarNews after his sentencing, Arif denied he was planning bombings or acting as Bahrun Naim's "right-hand man."
"That's not right," he said of those points.
Arif said that he knew Bahrun Naim from when they were both in high school in Solo, Central Java. He did not deny that he had talked to Bahrun on Telegram in June 2015.
"But, Bahrun only told me to be istiqamah (steadfast). There was no discussion of bomb plans," Arif said.
"That in fact was my first communication with him since our school days," he added.
These points could become part of their defense if they decide to appeal the decision to Jakarta High Court, according to Khadafi, Arif's lawyer.
"We are still thinking about it," Khadafi said of the decision to appeal the ruling.
Networks
Arif was arrested on Dec. 23 in Bekasi, West Java, a city on the eastern outskirts of Jakarta, as he was on his way to work at an automotive company. He was charged with possessing a list of IS supporters in Indonesia and a photocopy of a book about explosives, according to media reports at the time.
Information gleaned from Arif led to the arrest later that day of the Uyghur man who was nabbed at a boarding house with a false Indonesian identity card.
"This Ali is allegedly a Uyghur who was studying Indonesian. He was being groomed as a suicide bomber," National Police chief Badrodin Haiti said shortly after the arrest.
The arrests were among 13 carried out in various parts of Java in the last two weeks of 2015, with police claiming they had disrupted a major plot backed by an IS leader in Syria to attack public figures and places of worship in Indonesia.
On Jan. 14, 2016, four men carried out a bomb and gun attack outside a shopping center in downtown Jakarta, just 3 km (1.86 miles) from the Presidential Palace. The attack left eight people dead, including the attackers, and 24 injured. It was the first attack claimed by IS in Indonesia.
The second occurred on July 5, 2016, when an IS-linked suicide bomber attacked police headquarters in Solo, blowing himself up and injuring an officer, Indonesian authorities said.
Police identified the attacker as Nur Rohman, 31, through an identification card found at the scene, and said he was a member of a local terror cell headed by Arif Hidayatullah, police told reporters at the time.
At least 20 Indonesians have been prosecuted and sentenced to prison terms for supporting IS. The National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) reports that some 500 Indonesian nationals have gone to Syria and Iraq to join the extremist group.


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BENARNEWS- A man who represents relatives of three Indonesian sailors who were freed from Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) custody over the weekend claims their company sent money to the southern Philippine militant group before their release.
"There is no free lunch. [The company] did not pay ransom but gave 'thank you' money to cover the meals and all costs when they were held hostage," Amrullah, who represents families of crew members of the tugboat Charles 001 who were kidnapped at sea in June, told BenarNews in an interview.
"How much it was, only the company knows. Even if I knew, I would not tell because there are still two of our colleagues who are detained by Abu Sayyaf," said Amrullah, chairman of the Indonesian Seafarers Union in Samarinda, East Kalimantan province.
A spokesman for the company, P.T. Rusianto Brothers, declined to respond to the allegation.
"Regarding ransom, I don't want to comment," Taufikrahman told BenarNews on Tuesday.
A government official said Indonesia did not pay for the sailors' release.
The three sailors who were released on Saturday have been identified as Ferry Arifin, 26, Muhammad Mahbrur Dahri, 27, and Edi Suryono, 27. Fellow shipmates Muhammad Nasir and Robin Pieter and six Malaysians are still in ASG custody.
Following the abduction of seven crew members off the tugboat Charles 001 on June 20, reports surfaced that ASG had demanded a ransom of 200 million Philippine pesos (U.S. $4.1 million) for their release.
Two of the crew members, Muhamad Sofyan and Ismail were rescued after they reportedly escaped from their captors.
Government: No ransom paid
The Indonesian government has consistently maintained that it has never paid any ransom money to secure the release of citizens being held captive by the militant group based in the southern Philippines.
"Maybe, it is costly, but the government will never compromise to terrorists by paying ransom," Lalu Muhammad Iqbal, the foreign ministry's director of protection and legal assistance for Indonesians overseas, told journalists.
Despite the government's claim, Philippine-based news website Rappler.com reported last month that ASG had collected at least 354.1 Philippine million pesos (U.S. $7.3 million) in 2016 from ransoms paid for hostages. Of that amount, at least 324.1 million pesos ($6.7 million) was raised through ransoms paid for Southeast Asian sailors.
Ransoms have been paid for 17 Indonesians who have been released by Abu Sayyaf this year, Rappler reported.
Joint sea, air patrols discussed
The release of the three hostages occurred as the Philippine Department of National Defense (DND) announced that it was working with Indonesian and Malaysian defense officials to explore joint air patrols for safeguarding the seaways that separate the three neighbors.
These discussions took place during a meeting in Hawaii over the weekend between defense officials from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the United States, Philippine media reported.
In a statement DND noted that the three nations were finalizing plans for similar maritime patrols in what they consider areas of common concern in the Sulu and Celebes seas.
"The phenomenon of returning fighters from the conflict in the Middle East could eventually create security challenges for the three countries, something which the ministers recognized, and hence, their decision to further get their act together," DND said in a press release.
Contact
Amrullah said he was able to maintain contact with the hostages while they were being held because he was in communication with Abu Qhasadah, also known as Pak Jul, the leader of the ASG faction holding them.
Amrullah said he had talked with the hostages several times to say hello, and ask about their health.
"I did not interfere in the release efforts by the government. I just merely asked about how they were, and gave them encouragement to survive," he said.


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BENARNEWS- Home to a dizzying array of endemic flora and fauna, Borneo's rainforests are among the globe's most precious.
And yet, no other tropical landscape is being lost as fast, with a third of the island's old-growth forests – a chunk nearly the size of Syria – having been lost over the last four decades.
Many point to the expansion of industrial agriculture to explain the loss; in particular, the boom in palm oil plantations, which today cover some 10 percent of the island's 74.3 million square hectares.
But a recent study published in Scientific Reports, which sets out to test this thesis, found that although the palm oil industry is a major driver of deforestation, location matters more.
Drawing on 40 years of satellite imagery, researchers concluded that while the palm oil industry was the top deforestation driver on the Malaysian side of the island (26 percent of the land mass), its role in deforestation on the Indonesian portion, also called Kalimantan (73 percent of the land mass), was less pronounced. (Brunei has the other 1 percent.)
Only in the last decade has industrial agriculture (pulpwood and palm oil) become the number one driver of forest clearance in Kalimantan, a finding researchers attribute to widespread use of "degraded land" for planting.
"Our study ...clarifies that the role of oil-palm in deforestation is dependent not on the plant, but on where it is planted," the study authors wrote.
"We are thus better able to assess whether industrial plantations are the cause or consequence of forest area loss in Borneo. Unsurprisingly, they are both, though the extent and contribution of each varies by country and period," they added.
Planting on degraded land
To assess the true impact of industrial agricultural on deforestation, researchers examined the time-lag between clearing and planting.
They judged that if plantations were developed within five years of clearance, the owners were likely responsible. Longer delays, however, suggested natural or accidental clearing by fire, as the risk of leaving cleared land idle is known to be significant.
"Once land is deforested, it is likely to be taken by communities or by another company if it is not quickly developed," lead study author David Gaveau told Voice of America (VOA), a sister entity of BenarNews.
"So companies usually do not clear forests long in advance if they do not quickly convert it to plantations or they will lose the land," he added.
In Malaysia, deforested land was found to have been rapidly converted to plantations 57-60 percent of the time, while in Indonesia, the rate was just 15-16 percent.
The low rate in Indonesia, researchers reasoned, was due to the comparatively high availability of degraded forests, or shrublands, for planting. This they attribute to the twin effects of a dry climate and recurrent burning by subsistence farmers.
In modern Kalimantan, "forests have become disturbed by logging, conversion to plantations, etc., and these disturbed forests are now more prone to fires," Gaveau explained.
"This permitted the development of some large-scale industrial plantations, without necessarily causing additional forest loss," he wrote in the study.
Development in Malaysian Borneo, however, which contains some of the wettest rainforests on Earth, tells a different story.
"In Sarawak [one of two provinces in Malaysian Borneo], the climate is much too humid for fires ...in Sabah [the other province] the climate can be as dry as Kalimantan, but does not experience large fires," Gaveau said. "This could be explained by more efficient no-fire practices, but we do not have proof."
Shifting patterns
Despite its unexpected history of degraded land use, Kalimantan's deforestation rate skyrocketed over the last 15 years. It was a trend that mirrored the growth of the industry as a whole.
Indeed, more than half of the current number of plantations in Borneo, island-wide, were established between 2005-2015 - and nearly 70 percent of that growth was in Kalimantan, where rapid conversion soared.
"Rapid, within-five-year, conversion in Indonesian Borneo increased from 7 percent in 1973-2000 to 51 percent in 2010–2015," the study found.
According to Gaveau, Indonesia's dream of becoming the world's number one palm oil producer, as well as a 2005 economic boom, were major factors in the deforestation increase.
Herry Purnomo, a scientist at CIFOR, said the political economy of land burning was also a key influence.
To truly understand all the factors, he said, "We need to map the rate of deforestation with the political agenda. There is much evidence that fires and deforestation were connected to local elections, [when local heads] used land allocations/permits to attract voters."
Even so, he said the study was valuable, and could help inform incentive schemes for no deforestation.
The research team is currently developing an online tool that would allow companies "doing the right thing" to avoid being lumped in with the firms still chopping down forests, Gaveau said.
Such a tool would enable better oversight by certification bodies like the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and, hopefully, help keep Borneo's remaining forests in the ground.
"Planting on degraded lands is a cornerstone of sustainable development," Gaveau said. "Our work reveals which firms...actively cleared forests, and which ones avoided deforestation by planting on degraded lands over the last four decades."
"Right now REDD (reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation) is not really working, but our data sets a 42-year baseline for future effectiveness assessments."


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BENARNEWS- Indonesia is closely monitoring nearly 50 citizens who have returned from combat stints with the Islamic State (IS) group in the Middle East, but the lack of a tough anti-terror law makes it hard for authorities to arrest them, officials said.
Forty-seven IS fighters from Indonesia are under surveillance back home but they cannot be prosecuted under the country's present laws for supporting or traveling abroad to join a foreign-based militant group such as IS, Indonesian counter-terror officials said.
Authorities can arrest people only if they have evidence that they are planning terrorist attacks, according to officials. Now, the Indonesian parliament is considering a bill to revise the country's 2003 anti-terrorism law to give police greater enforcement powers against suspected militants in halting potential attacks.
IS claimed responsibility for an attack in central Jakarta that killed eight people in January, including the four suspected attackers, and officials have been warning that citizens returning from combat tours with IS could plot more attacks on home soil.
"We are only able to monitor them. We do not have the legal framework for further action," Inspector Gen. Arif Darmawan, deputy head of the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT), told BenarNews.
Meanwhile, Muhammad Syafii, who chairs a special parliamentary committee revising the antiterrorism law, said his committee was still gathering testimony from interested parties. He acknowledged that the ongoing discussions meant that the committee's work would be delayed.
"We may be able to finish it in 2017," he told BenarNews.
'They can evade our detection'
Based on international intelligence reports, 47 IS combatants who are believed to have the skill to carry out attacks have returned to Indonesia, BNPT officials said.
As of August, according to the agency, 237 Indonesian adults and 46 children were living in Syria. Additionally, 67 Indonesian citizens have been declared dead in Syria and 283 citizens who tried to enter Syria illegally were expelled by other countries back to Indonesia.
National Police Chief Gen. Tito Karnavian expressed concern about the nearly four dozen who have been identified as former IS combatants and who have returned to Indonesia.
"We are getting in touch with them but they can evade our detection. We believe they are organizing secretly and building interactions with other (radical) networks," Tito told the Reuters news agency this week.
'The dangerous ones'
But, according to one security expert's reading, the public need not be concerned about the activities of the 47 IS veterans under surveillance.
"As they are already detected, we have no need to worry. They just need to be monitored. The government has their data, their names and addresses," Ridlwan Habib, a terrorism analyst from the University of Indonesia in Jakarta, told BenarNews.
The real concern, he said, is those who have returned to Indonesia but have not detected by the government. Ridlwan explained that they enter Indonesia through several ways, such as pretending to be Hajj pilgrims returning home or by using false passports.
"Those who returned alone are the dangerous ones and have to be watched because their whereabouts are not known. They have the ability to build new networks that are not detected," he said.
Harits Abu Ulya, a terrorism expert with the Community of Ideological Islamic Analysts (CIIA), said the assumption that former IS combatants would return to Indonesia is not accurate because, in his view, the militant group's followers would not want to go back to their countries of origin.
"That is, if they reach their destination, for example Syria, for them is a glory to live and die in that place. They will be completely dedicated to the IS," he said in a statement to BenarNews.
Suspected followers of IS who have returned to Indonesia have done so because they were deported, or they no longer share the common ideology with IS, Harits said.
"Most were arrested before arriving in Syria," he said, pointing out there were stopped before leaving the country or were caught in Malaysia, Singapore, Pakistan, Hong Kong or Turkey.


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BENARNEWS- An Indonesian court on Thursday convicted and handed jail terms to the first two suspects prosecuted in connection with a deadly terrorist attack in Jakarta nine months ago.
Dodi Suridi, 23, who was accused of supplying parts for and helping assemble one of the bombs used in the Jan. 14 attack claimed by Islamic State (IS), was sentenced to 10 years for violating Indonesia's anti-terrorism laws.
"The defendant is proven guilty for conspiring to commit terrorism and providing material support for terrorism," ruled Judge Ahmad Fauzi who presided over the trial held at West Jakarta District Court.
Ali Hamka, 48, who had been arrested a month before the attack but was linked to the suspects, received a four-year term for serving as a middle-man.
The plot resulted in the deaths of eight people in central Jakarta, including the four men who carried it out. At least 40 people have been taken into custody for alleged links to the first act of terror claimed by IS on Indonesian soil.
The two men were sentenced the same day that Indonesian police shot and killed a suspected supporter of IS, after the knife-wielding man injured three police officers and threw pipe bombs that did not explode during an attack in Tangerang, a satellite city of Jakarta, according to reports.
A police spokesman said the attacker stuck an Islamic State (IS) sticker on a traffic post before attacking the officers.
IS, through its Amaq News Agency, claimed responsibility for Thursday's attack, according to SITE Intelligence, a U.S.-based group that monitors extremist communications online.
'It's the risk I have to take'
Dodi was arrested the day after the Jakarta attack in Orimalang village, West Java province.
Prosecutors said he was responsible for buying a gas canister and turning it into a casing for a bomb that exploded near a police post during the attack.
"The defendant was informed that the gas canister would be used as a bomb casing, and he still followed the order," the judge said.
That order came from Adi Wijaya on Jan. 7, prosecutors allege. The men met on the social media site Telegram.
Investigators determined that Adi had been in touch with Muhammad Ali, 40, one of the militants who was killed during the attack. The trial revealed that they met several times before the attack.
Prosecutors claim that Ali ordered Dodi to pick up pipes to make the bomb in Tegal, West Java, in December 2015. Both men attended a meeting in Tegal a month before launching the attack.
Leaving the courtroom, Dodi said he accepted the ruling.
"It's the risk I have to take for being a terrorist. I accept the sentence," he said, then shouted, "Allahu Akbar!"
Gun Supplier
Ali Hamka was arrested by Densus 88, the national anti-terror squad, in December in Sumedang, West Java. He was charged with serving as a middleman between Muhammad Ali and gun supplier Dadang Kumis.
Muhammad Ali failed to purchase guns from Dadang in September 2015, but the judges determined that Ali Hamka was guilty of conspiring to commit terrorism and providing material support for terrorism.
"He knew gun possession by members of the public is strictly prohibited in this country, but he still carried out his attempt," Judge Maha Nikmah said.
While the sentence was shorter than the six years sought by prosecutors, Ali Hamka said he was considering whether to appeal.
"I have to carefully think about it," he said.
He has one week to challenge the sentence.
JAT leader
The trial revealed that Ali Hamka is a leader of Indramayu chapter of Jamaah Ansorut Tauhid (JAT), an extremist group led by Abu Bakar Bashir, the radical Islamic cleric who recently lost an appeal against his 2011 conviction for financing a militant training camp.
As the chapter leader, Ali Hamka was responsible for recruiting new members and he aided the Eastern Indonesia Mujahiddin (MIT), a militant group that pledged allegiance to IS. He sent his son, Musa Al Kosam, to Poso, Central Sulawesi, to help MIT militants.
"His affiliation with a terrorist organization is another attempt of conspiring to commit terrorism and providing material support for terrorism," the judge said.
Earlier this month, an East Jakarta court sentenced Arif Hidayatullah, a top deputy of Bahrun Naim, to six years in prison. Bahrun, an Indonesian national who is in Syria fighting for IS, is considered the mastermind of the Jakarta terror attack.


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BENARNEWS- Four years a single parent and three months a widow, the first wife of slain Indonesian militant Santoso is struggling to raise their three daughters in the town where he once lived.
To scratch out a living, Suwarni, 35, runs a small shop in front of her house in Poso regency, just off the main road that runs along the east coast of Central Sulawesi province and not far from where Santoso – the leader of the Eastern Indonesia Mujahideen (MIT) and the country's most wanted militant – was killed in July after an 18-month manhunt.
She last saw him in 2012 and learned of his militant activities when police billboards with pictures of wanted fugitives started going up in Poso two years ago, according to Yusmanto, the head of Bakti Agung Village.
"For sure Suwarni was shocked, as were other people of the village," Yusmanto told BenarNews.
That same year, security forces began stopping at Suwarni's house, he said.
"Many of them came, asking where Santoso was hiding and what he was doing. Suwarni could only answer 'I don't know,' because indeed she did not know," he said.
Hundreds of police officers and soldiers began scouring the mountains and jungles of Poso regency in January 2015 in an effort to find the MIT. It numbered about 30 individuals at the time, including six ethnic Uyghur men from China, three women, and several former members of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), al-Qaeda's Southeast Asian affiliate.
One of the women, the widow of a former militant, traveled hundreds of miles from her home in West Nusa Tenggara province to join the MIT in 2014 and became Santoso's second wife.
Jumiatun Muslimayatun, 22, was arrested on July 23, five days after Santoso was killed, and named a terrorism suspect. Only 10 of Santoso's followers remain at-large in the rugged terrain of Central Sulawesi.
Sick again
During a recent visit to Bakti Agung Village, a BenarNews reporter was accompanied by village officials or police at all times. Yusmanto said he had relayed an interview request to Suwarni, but she had declined.
"Suwarni is sick again, so she doesn't want to see anyone. What's for certain is that she's waiting for help from the government or charitable individuals," Yusmanto said.
Suwarni suffers from diabetes and has often been sick in recent months, according to Yusmanto, who said she had given him permission to speak on her behalf.
"Seeing other villagers is not a problem. But she doesn't want to meet new people, especially journalists," Yusmanto said.
Suwarni married Santoso in 1998, when she was 16 or 17 years old. He was four years her senior. She gave birth to three daughters between 2002 and 2009.
"After leaving four years ago, Santoso never came home," Yusmanto said.
Suwarni became increasingly dejected and withdrawn after learning of his death, he said.
She was tasked with identifying his body at a hospital in the provincial capital, Palu, according to the Jakarta Post.
"Suwarni was hear to burst into tears minutes after she entered the hospital mortuary. She was accompanied by two of her relatives and under a tight security guard. The woman, wearing a black chador, gave no statements but directly entered a vehicle after examining her husband's corpse," the newspaper reported.
Coping
Villagers have not ostracized Suwarni but have tried to help her cope with her fate, local officials said.
"If there is support from the village, Suwarni is prioritized," said Kahar, the head of the village-level police force.
Suwarni and her children were recently issued government cards that confer health and education benefits to low-income Indonesians, he said.
Bakti Agung Village has 1,650 residents, including Christians, Muslims and Hindus, he said.
"Here, people respect each other. Including Santoso's wife. Though they know she is the wife of the leader of a radical group, they still accept her and do what they can to help her live well," Kahar said. He claimed the same was true for her children.
Santoso in his youth
Santoso, the son of Javanese trans migrants, lived in Bakti Agung from his teenage years. People knew him as someone who drank and gambled, but worked hard and was kind, according to Daeng Ala, a Bakti Agung resident.
Santoso did various types of work, including selling books, making utensils and plates, carpentry and stonework. He helped build a temple that is used by Hindus in the village today, as well as several houses, Daeng recalled.
"He was a creative person, and lived here for about 20 years. He married Suwarni in this village," he said.
Villagers were stunned to learn that he had abandoned his family to join a radical Islamist group, he said. Growing up, Santoso didn't care much about religion.
"Never mind the five daily prayers. Santoso never even did Friday prayers," Daeng said.


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BENARNEWS- Southeast Asian law enforcers are not prepared for a growing cross-border threat from Malaysian and Indonesian militants declaring loyalty to a Filipino leader who has been endorsed by the Islamic State (IS), according to a new report.
While the Middle East-based terror group has been able to deepen cooperation among extremists in Southeast Asia, most law enforcement agencies retain a national orientation and lack in-house expertise on groups outside their borders, the Jakarta think-tank Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) said in its report published on Tuesday.
"At a time when an accurate assessment of the security threat in Indonesia or Malaysia may depend in part on understanding developments in the Philippines, this gap needs to be filled. It is especially urgent because in the short term, ISIS losses in the Middle East could increase the incentive to undertake acts of violence at home," IPAC said in its 28-page report, referring to IS by another acronym.
As an example of Southeast Asian militants unifying across borders, IPAC cited a video posted on YouTube four months ago that showed Malaysian Mohd Rafi Udin and Indonesian Mohd Karim Yusop Faiz declaring allegiance to Isnilon Hapilon, a leader of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in the southern Philippines who has been endorsed by IS as its emir in Southeast Asia.
When the video was disseminated in June, IPAC Director Sidney Jones said it appeared to be a preliminary step to declaring the southern Philippines a Southeast Asian province of IS. Such a declaration had not been made as of Tuesday.
The report pointed to possible implications of Indonesian and Malaysian militants supporting groups allied with IS in the Philippines.
"It has facilitated cooperation across clan and ethnic lines, widened the extremist recruitment pool to include computer-savvy university students and opened new international communication and possibly funding channels," it warned.
"It means that more deadly violence in the Philippines involving alliances of pro-ISIS groups is a matter of when, not if. It may also increase the possibility of cross-border extremist operations," it claimed.
'Wild card'
The southern Philippines, where Abu Sayyaf and other militant groups are active and have carried out abductions of foreigners, lies just across the Sulu and Celebes seas from Indonesian and Malaysian Borneo.
According to IPAC, Abu Sayyaf holds "the Malaysian wild card" because Basilan in the southern Philippines, an island which is home to the militant group, has close ties to Sandakan, a town in the East Malaysia state of Sabah. "[The] Malaysian connection has been a source for years for personnel and funding," the report stated.
"More interesting, and more dangerous because better educated and more ideological, are the Malaysians who linked up with Basilan ASG from peninsular Malaysia."
The report named three men, Mahmud Ahmad, formerly a lecturer in Islamic studies at the University of Malaya; Muhammad Joraimee Awang Raimee (alias Abu Nur); and Mohd. Najib bin Husein (alias Abu Anas al-Muhajir), who was killed in December 2015. The three left as a group for the southern Philippines in April 2014.
"Malaysians, like other foreigners, have the advantage of not being bound by Philippine clan and family links, and they can move easily among different groups. They can provide expertise, international contacts and perhaps funding," the report said.
The report also delved into the case of Indonesian bomb-making instructor Ibrahim Ali Sucipto, who had become a key assistant to the leader of the IS-linked Ansarul Khilafah Philippines at the time of his death during a battle with Philippine soldiers in late November 2015.
IPAC described Sucipto as a conduit for funding through Indonesia, a source of weapons for the Eastern Indonesia Mujahideen (MIT) when it was led by Santoso, and a direct link to Katibah Nusantara, IS's Malay-speaking fighting unit in Syria.
"ISIS has brought an ideological justification for unity that has turned into operational collaboration" the report concluded.
"Even as ISIS declines in strength, it is more important than ever to understand the followers it has spawned in Southeast Asia and how they are interacting with each other."


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BENARNEWS- An Indonesian who helped plan the 2002 Bali bombings still poses "a significant threat" to the United States and will remain locked up at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where he has stayed for 10 years, a review board has determined.
Inmate Encep Nurjaman, who is also known as Hambali and has been linked to al-Qaeda, should stay at Guantanamo Bay to protect against an ongoing threat to U.S. security, a Department of Defense (DOD) Periodic Review Board found by consensus in a final determination released on Tuesday.
A DOD profile of Hambali described him as an operational mastermind for Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), a Southeast Asian militant group affiliated with al-Qaeda – the group that carried out the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. Hambali helped plan the Bali bombings that killed 202 people in 2002 and a series of Christmas Eve bombings at 30 churches across Indonesia two years earlier.
During a hearing before the board in August, Hambali said he had no ill will toward the United States. Media reported it was the first time he had been seen in public since being sent to the military prison in September 2006.
While Hambali did not speak at that hearing, a U.S. military officer read a statement on his behalf. In it, Hambali presented himself as a changed man.
"Hambali has stated he has no ill will towards the U.S. He believes America has diversity and sharing of power which is much better than a dictatorship. He states he wants nothing more than to move on with his life and be peaceful," the statement said.
The review board rejected that claim, pointing to Hambali's lengthy history as a militant, working as a facilitator, attending al-Qaeda training and having a significant role in major terror attacks including the Bali bombings.
"The Board noted that the detainee was not willing to accept any responsibility nor demonstrate any remorse for any of the activities or operations to which he has been connected, and the lack of supporting evidence of a change in mindset," the board said in its final determination that was dated Sept. 19 but released on Tuesday.
"In fact, the Board noted that the detainee's claimed change of mindset is contradicted by other reporting," the board added. "Lastly, the Board considered the detainee's testimony to be elusive and non-credible, including half-truths and clear attempts to minimize and conceal his pre-detention activities."
In Jakarta on Wednesday, Indonesian National Police Chief Tito Karnavian declined to answer reporters' questions about Hambali.
Two Malaysians remain at prison
The board's decision follows similar determinations for two Malaysians who are also imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay and who served as lieutenants to Hambali, according to U.S. government documents.
Mohamad Bashir Lap and Mohamad Farik Amin remain incarcerated there while Malaysian and U.S. officials discuss the de-radicalization process necessary to potentially allow one of the them to return to Malaysia.
In its assessment of Bashir, dated Sept. 15, the board noted that it looked forward to reviewing his file in six months, and it encouraged the Malaysian government to prepare for his possible transfer out of Guantanamo. In Farik's case, the board did not mention a potential review in six months and noted a lack of credible evidence that he could be de-radicalized.
At the time a U.S. State Department spokesman told BenarNews that all detainees who were not approved for transfer by the board would receive a file review in six months.


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BENARNEWS- An Indonesian court on Wednesday sentenced an ethnic Uyghur immigrant to six years in prison, saying he had planned to carry out a suicide bombing targeting Shia Muslims.
Nur Muhammet Abdullah (alias Ali) was part of a terror cell linked to the Islamic State (IS) that was planning several attacks in the Jakarta area last year, the court heard during trial proceedings.
Two of the men who testified against him are already serving terrorism sentences. According to them, Ali "had the job of taking explosive powder out of firecrackers for use in making bombs when he was in Puncak, West Java," chief judge Novvry Tammy Oroh said in court Wednesday.
Ali was also being groomed to become a suicide bomber to attack a community of minority Shia Muslims in Bogor, West Java, about 40 miles from the Indonesian capital, Novvry said.
One member of the cell, Arif Hidayatullah, was the "right hand" of Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian IS member in Syria who was behind the Jan. 14 terror attack in central Jakarta that left eight people dead, according to police and court testimony.
Bahrun instructed Arif to meet Ali when he arrived in Indonesia at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, prosecutors said during Arif's trial.
The East Jakarta District Court sentenced Arif to six years in prison in early October.
Conflict
The terror cell was also plotting to attack a Jewish community in Bogor, as well as top police officials and Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, according to prosecutors.
But the plans did not materialize due to conflict within the group, which then split up. Anti-terror police arrested Arif and Ali in Bekasi, West Java on Dec. 23, 2015.
Two other militants went to Solo, a city in Central Java. Andika Bagus Setiawan was arrested on Dec. 29, 2015 and sentenced to five years in prison in February. Nur Rohman blew himself up outside a police station in Solo on July 5, 2016.
"The failure of those actions was due to differences of opinion among themselves," Novvry said. Despite this, criminal intent was present, he added.
'We accept it'
Arman Remy, Ali's attorney, said his client acknowledged wrongdoing and accepted the sentence handed down by the court, which was two years shorter than the punishment requested by prosecutors.
Ali was convicted of violating Indonesian anti-terrorism laws – Law No 15, 2003 and Law No. 9, 2013. The laws permit maximum sentences of up to 20 years behind bars.
The sentence "could have been higher. Yes, we accept it," Arman told BenarNews after the hearing.
In court, Arman told the judge that Ali had originally planned to go to Turkey but now wanted to become an Indonesian citizen.
"He should carry out his sentence first, then he can take care of becoming a citizen," Novvry replied.
Ali is one of several Uyghurs linked to terrorism in Indonesia.
In 2015, North Jakarta District Court found four Uyghur men guilty of trying to join the Eastern Indonesia Mujahideen (MIT), a militant group based in Central Sulawesi.
Six other Uyghur men who succeeded in joining MIT were killed earlier this year during a large security operation in Poso regency aimed at obliterating the group, which has dwindled to about 10 members. MIT leader Santoso was killed in July.
The Uyghurs are a Muslim minority within China, and mostly live in the western Xinjiang region. Uyghurs also are spread across Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,Uzbekistan and Turkey.
During the last couple of years, Uyghurs have been leaving China in large numbers to escape persecution and repression by authorities, who consider them separatists and terrorists and have cracked down on their religion and culture.
Chinese authorities have blamed an upsurge of violence in Xinjiang since 2012 on "terrorists" and insurgents seeking to establish an independent state.
A spokesman for the World Uyghur Congress, a diaspora organization based in the United States, urged authorities in Jakarta to be "careful" when cooperating with China on anti-terrorism cases related to Uyghurs.
"We oppose any action taken by Jakarta that justifies China's widespread and systematic human rights violations in Xinjiang," Dilshat Rishit said.


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BENARNEWS- Indonesian security analysts are welcoming their government's invitation to Australia to conduct joint patrols in the South China Sea in an effort to boost regional stability.
The move reflects disappointment, they say, that the Philippines has cozied up to Beijing instead of using momentum from its recent international court victory against China to press it to resolve overlapping territorial claims in the strategic, resource-rich sea.
"The Philippines even appears close to China. If this can't be resolved by the countries in conflict, there's no harm in bringing in external countries like Australia, India and others, because all countries have legitimate rights in the South China Sea," said Muhammad Arif, a South China Sea analyst at the Habibie Center, a Jakarta think-tank.
"It's a good development in the long term because it shows that all countries have the right to sail the South China Sea," Arif told BenarNews.
Ruling in July on a suit brought by the Philippines in 2013, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PAC) at The Hague unanimously dismissed Chinese maritime claims in the South China Sea delineated by a nine-dash line on a 1940s-era Chinese map.
The court ruled that China had violated the Philippines' sovereign rights by interfering with fishing and oil exploration, constructing artificial islands and failing to prevent Chinese boats from fishing in exclusive economic zones (EEZs) established under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
But in his recent four-day visit to China, new Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte reportedly played down the tribunal decision and announced he was aligning his country with China's "ideological flow."
For the past several years, smaller countries in the region have helplessly witnessed China's expansion into areas such as the Spratly Islands, which are claimed by Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei and Taiwan as well as the Philippines and China.
"This joint patrol is a good effort that can send a strong warning to China that they can't impose their will in the South China Sea and create inconvenience for users of international sea lanes in the South China Sea," Melda Kamil Ariadno, an international law expert from Universitas Indonesia, told BenarNews.
At the moment it's difficult to halt Chinese hegemony in the South China Sea region, in her view – especially when the Philippine president appears to be supporting China.
"Coastal states can cooperate with user states, and Australia is the major user of the South China Sea," Melda said.
'Everyone's natural resources'
On Oct. 28, following an international meeting in Bali, Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu said that Indonesia was exploring maritime cooperation with a number of countries and had proposed joint South China Sea patrols to Australia.
"Yes, right. That is the wish of the defense minister, he's going to invite Australia to carry out coordinated joint patrols," Defense Ministry spokesman Djundan Eko confirmed to BenarNews on Wednesday.
But it was too early to give further details as many parties still need to provide input on the matter, he added.
"With Australia [we] will also conduct joint exercises. There will be another meeting to discuss this matter, they agreed to the basic outline of it," Ryamizard told reporters in Bali.
Indonesia, he said, did not intend to disturb its good relations with any countries in the region, including China. "We just want to secure the fish, everyone's natural resources," he said.
Indonesia has maintained a neutral stance for years on the simmering territorial disputes but has been drawn closer to the fray in recent months following repeated incursions by Chinese fishermen near Indonesia's Natuna Islands.
In June, Indonesian President Joko Widodo held a cabinet meeting on a warship in the Natunas, in what some described as a "defiant gesture" to China following tense stand offs with Chinese vessels in the area in March, May and June.
Australian response
In Australia, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said Canberra was considering Indonesia's proposal for joint patrols, as it is aligned with Australia's policy regarding freedom of navigation guaranteed by international law.
"We have agreed to explore options to increase maritime cooperation and of course that would include coordinated activities in the South China Sea and the Sulu Sea, " Bishop told ABC Radio on Nov. 1.
"[T]his is all consistent with our policy of exercising our right of freedom of navigation. And that's in accordance with international law and our support for peace and stability and security in the region," she added.


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BENARNEWS- Indonesian police have announced they will summon the Christian governor of Jakarta for allegedly defaming a verse in the Quran, amid huge rallies by Muslims demanding he be investigated for blasphemy.
Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, the ethnic Chinese governor of Jakarta and former right-hand man to President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, has long been disliked by conservative Muslim groups in Indonesia, but tensions have soared since an excerpt of remarks he made in September went viral on social media.
"He is scheduled (for questioning) on Monday morning. He is summoned as a witness," national police criminal investigation division head Comr. Gen. Ari Dono Sukmanto told reporters in Jakarta on Thursday.
The statement came as police were beefing up security in the capital ahead of a planned rally by tens of thousands of Muslims from across the country on Friday demanding police thoroughly investigate the matter.
Some 20,000 security personnel had been deployed to oversee the protest amid concerns it could erupt into violence or be infiltrated by violent extremists.
Muslim leaders said they aimed to stage a peaceful protest. They insist the drive to prosecute Ahok was unrelated to his religion, ethnicity or candidacy in the Jakarta gubernatorial election in February.
Doubt
Ahok is accused of alleged blasphemy for telling attendees at an event in September that people might "fool them" into not voting for him using the Quran's Surah Al-Maida Verse 51, which some interpret as prohibiting Muslims from having non-Muslim leaders.
A number of Muslim organizations reported Ahok to the police for alleged blasphemy after a video recording of the event circulated widely.
The governor apologized for causing a flap and reported to police of his own accord on Oct. 24 to discuss the remarks. Muslim leaders have said that while they accepted his apology, his case should still be prosecuted.
Muslims in Jakarta and other cities held rallies on Oct. 14 demanding legal action against Ahok and decrying what they saw as foot-dragging by police and silence from Jokowi on the matter.
"The president's silence is perceived as taking (Ahok's) side. There is doubt that Jokowi is being neutral in this matter," political analyst from elections monitoring group Lingkar Madani Untuk Indonesia (Lima), Ray Rangkuti told BenarNews on Thursday.
Ahok was Jokowi's deputy when the president was Jakarta governor from 2012 to 2014. Ahok assumed the governorship when Jokowi was sworn in as president.
Indonesia's major Muslim organizations and its top clerical body have all expressed the view that Ahok defamed the Quran and should be investigated for the allegation.
'We are a pluralistic country'
On Tuesday, Jokowi met with leaders of Nahdlatul Ulama, Muhammadiyah and the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) at the Presidential Palace in a bid to soothe the tensions.
The group discussed Ahok's comment about the Quranic verse, according to Ma'ruf Amin, the head of the MUI.
"The president said it should be processed [under the law] and he is not going to intervene in this matter," Ma'ruf said.
Abdul Mu'ti, the secretary general of Muhammadiyah, said Jokowi should meet with the head of the Islamic Defenders' Front (FPI), the hardline group organizing the rally.
"The president also needs to sit down with Habib Rizieq, just like he sat down with Prabowo," Mu'ti told reporters.
The meetings followed Jokowi's unusual visit the day before to his rival in the 2014 presidential election, Prabowo Subianto, at his residence in Bogor, West Java.
Jokowi said it was a long-planned visit but Rangkuti, the analyst, said the timing suggested the encounter was related to the upcoming rally.
In a press conference broadcast live after the meeting, Prabowo warned against "elements that want to divide the nation" in the run-up to local elections across the nation in February.
"That's something we really watch for. We are a pluralistic country. Our country has many tribes, many religions, many races. If there are problems, let's resolve them in a cool-headed way, a peaceful way," he said.
Former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono also paid visits to top administration officials this week, another move that appeared to heighten tension, because his son, Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, is running against Ahok in the Jakarta gubernatorial race.
Warnings
Foreign embassies issued warning to their citizens residing in the capital to steer clear of the rally and take caution in areas with large gatherings.
"U.S. citizens are reminded that even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and escalate into violence," the U.S. Embassy said on its website.
At a discussion on radicalism and the Jakarta election on Tuesday, Sidney Jones, the director of Jakarta-based Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC), said there was a possibility that terrorist groups could infiltrate the rally.
"A number of parties could take advantage of the rally, including organizations committed to wage war like (the Islamic State) and other groups in Syria," she said.
She said that although the chances were slim for a terrorist attack, problems could arise from anger boiling over.
"The government's mistake is letting the radical groups control the political agenda. Why was there no effort to get them all together and cool down the situation?" Jones said.


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BENARNEWS- A peaceful march by some 100,000 people protesting alleged blasphemy by Jakarta's governor disintegrated into chaos Friday as angry crowds attacked police barricades around the Presidential Palace, set fires and looted stores.
Security personnel fired teargas and used water cannons to hold back surging protesters who hurled objects at officers and set fire to two police trucks, eyewitnesses said.
Separately, in north Jakarta, a mob ransacked a minimarket and a flower shop, and groups of people tried to enter the housing complex where Jakarta Gov. Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama lives.
An elderly man died but his cause of death was not yet known, AFP quoted Jakarta police spokesman Awi Setiyono as saying. Twelve people including eight police were injured, he said.
The violence erupted in the evening, after Islamic groups marched in central Jakarta calling for Ahok to be prosecuted for an allegedly blasphemous remark made in September. Ahok, a Christian member of Indonesia's ethnic Chinese minority, is running for re-election in February.
Indonesian authorities were bracing for the possibility of the protest turning violent, and had deployed some 20,000 security personnel to safeguard the streets of central Jakarta.
Just after midnight, speaking from the Presidential Palace, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said he regretted that the demonstration had ended in violence.
"As a democracy, we cherish the process of expressing aspirations through a demonstration that was carried out today in a peaceful and orderly way," he said, thanking Islamic leaders and security personnel who had helped keep the situation under control.
"But we deplore the events after evening prayers when it was time to disband and rioting broke out. And here we see infiltration by political actors exploiting the situation," he said. He did not elaborate on who those "actors" might be.
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Protesters burn tires near the Presidential Palace in Jakarta, Nov. 4, 2016. [Yasin Purnomo/BenarNews]
Police to question Ahok
Friday morning, tens of thousands of Muslims from across the country gathered outside the National Mosque in Jakarta to kick off a protest demanding the prosecution of Ahok.
The white-clad demonstrators marched peacefully to the Presidential Palace and listened to speeches urging Jokowi not to intervene in the blasphemy investigation.
"The number of demonstrators was about 100,000 people," national police spokesman Boy Rafli Amar said.
Similar demonstrations were staged in other Indonesian cities, including Solo and Malang in Java; Palu, Sulawesi; Balikpapan, in East Kalimantan; and Banda Aceh, Medan and Padang in Sumatra.
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Thousands of people protesting an allegedly blasphemous remark by the Jakarta governor march peacefully in central Jakarta, Nov. 4, 2016. [Tia Asmara/BenarNews]
Jokowi said he had sent Vice President Jusuf Kalla, security minister Wiranto, national police chief Tito Karnavian and military chief Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo to meet a delegation of protesters on Friday afternoon.
"In that meeting it was communicated that legal proceedings against Basuki Tjahaja Purnama will be carried out rigorously, quickly and transparently," he said, flanked by senior security officials.
Ahok is popular among many Jakartans but has long been disliked by conservative Muslim groups in Indonesia. Tensions have soared since an excerpt of remarks he made in September went viral on social media.
Ahok is accused of blasphemy for telling attendees at an event that people might "fool them" into not voting for him using the Quran's Surah Al-Maida Verse 51, which some interpret as prohibiting Muslims from having non-Muslim leaders.
The governor apologized for causing a flap and reported to police on Oct. 24 of his own accord to discuss the remarks. Muslim leaders said that while they accepted his apology, his case should still be prosecuted.
Muslims in Jakarta and other cities held rallies on Oct. 14 demanding legal action against Ahok and decrying what they saw as foot-dragging by police and silence from Jokowi on the matter.
Ahok was Jokowi's deputy when the president was the governor of Jakarta from 2012 to 2014. Ahok assumed the governorship when Jokowi was sworn in as president two years ago.
On Thursday, as thousands of soldiers and police officers deployed around Jakarta to guard against violence around the rally, police announced that Ahok would be summoned for questioning Monday "as a witness" in the case.
Three days of rioting in Jakarta in May 1998 helped bring about the resignation of long-time dictator Suharto later that month. But ethnic Chinese homes and shops were targeted in those riots. Hundreds of people died and dozens of women were raped.
Nosa Normanda and Zahara Tiba contributed to this report.


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BENARNEWS- Following the weekend kidnapping of two Indonesian sailors off Borneo island, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi met with her Malaysian counterpart in Kuala Lumpur on Monday to focus on kick-starting efforts for trilateral sea patrols with the Philippines.
A day earlier, Retno announced that two Indonesian sailors from Southeast Sulawesi province had been abducted Saturday from ships in waters off the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah.
The two were taken from different ships by gunmen believed to be from the southern Philippines, said Wan Abdul Bari Abdul Khalid, head of the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM). Retno said the abducted men were Indonesian captains of Malaysian fishing boats.
The latest kidnappings of Indonesian sailors in waters that separate the southern Philippines from Malaysian Borneo occurred although the three Southeast Asian countries have talked for months about implementing joint plans to safeguard the Sulu and Celebes seas from piracy.
"I really hope we can do it in the near future," Indonesian Armed Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Wuryanto told BenarNews. "We feel a bit disgraced now [because] the kidnappings keep going on and on."
Retno expressed similar concerns over the recurring kidnappings of Indonesian sailors in Malaysian waters.
"We have been working together closely with Malaysian authorities, ship owners and the released hostages," Retno said.
According to Retno, the government has warned Indonesian sailors to stay away from Sabah waters until a certain security level is reached. Despite the warnings, as many as 6,000 Indonesians work on fishing boats in the region.
Saturday's first kidnapping occurred around 11 a.m. when five gunmen hijacked the ship and kidnapped its captain, La Utu La Rali, 52. Forty-five minutes later, gunmen kidnapped La Hadi La Edi, 46, leaving six crew members behind, Wan Abdul Bari told BenarNews.
While no one had yet claimed responsibility for Saturday's abductions, southern Philippine-based Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) militants have reportedly carried out kidnappings of Indonesian and Malaysian sailors earlier this year, demanding ransoms for their release.
Two Indonesians remain hostages of ASG following their kidnapping in June, while five of their crewmates have been freed. Six Malaysian sailors are also still believed to be in ASG captivity.
ASG was blamed Monday for the kidnapping of a German sailor from his yacht off the southern Philippines and the killing of his female sailing partner, according to media reports. The two appear to have also been kidnapped by Somali pirates and held for 53 days in 2008 before a ransom was paid, reports said.
Obstacles
During their meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Retno and Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman vowed to increase cooperation under the Trilateral Cooperative Arrangement (TCA), which was signed with the Philippines earlier this year to prioritize maritime security in the region, including through joint nautical patrols.
"We also agreed to increase efforts in setting relevant standard operation procedures under the framework and ensuring effective attempts guided by the TCA," the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
The foreign ministers also agreed to work with the Philippines to search for, confirm the safety of and guarantee the release of hostages held by ASG and other militants.
A series of obstacles have slowed efforts to launch the joint patrols, said Wuryanto, the spokesman for Indonesia's armed forces.
"We have not yet implemented the Trilateral Cooperative Arragement, because we still have some issues to discuss at the Ministry of Defense. The Armed Forces are still waiting for the instruction of the ministry over the mechanism of joint patrols. Technically, we still don't know yet how to implement it," Wuryanto told BenarNews on Monday.
Meeting in Bali three months ago, officials from the three nations agreed to maintain security in the Sulu Sea, including by implementing joint patrols, exchanging intelligence information and increasing communication tied to maritime security.
As part of the agreement the nations also agreed to build a joint command post.
"We still have not yet been informed about the joint command post. All I can tell is we still can't implement the joint patrols," Wuryanto said.


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BENARNEWS- President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said Tuesday he would not shield Jakarta's governor from a police probe into alleged blasphemy, which led to a massive protest in the Indonesian capital that ended in violence last week.
Jakarta Gov. Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, a Christian and member of Indonesia's ethnic Chinese minority who served as Jokowi's deputy when Jokowi was governor of the capital, was interrogated by police for nine hours on Monday over alleged anti-Muslim comments made in September. Under Indonesia's laws, people can be prosecuted for blasphemous speech.
"I emphasize here - and [want] all people  to know- that I will not protect Basuki Tjahaja Purnama because [his case] is being legally processed," Jokowi told a news conference in Jakarta following a meeting with leaders of Muhammadiyah, Indonesia's second largest Muslim organization.
Monday's interrogation of Ahok was the second time since Oct. 24 that he was questioned over the allegations of blasphemy, but the latest interrogation came three days after some 100,000 Muslim protestors marched in central Jakarta on Friday as they called for the governor to be prosecuted for speech perceived as offensive to Islam.
The rally was largely peaceful but it ended in violence as angry people attacked police barricades, started fires and looted stores in central Jakarta, while police and security personnel fired tear gas and water cannons to control the crowd.
In the mayhem one person was killed and more than 100 were injured, including 79 police and military personnel, national police said Monday.
An elderly man who had asthma died during the protest, Jakarta police spokesman Setiyono Awi said.
"Eleven policemen are still hospitalized," he said.
As of Tuesday, authorities had arrested at least five members of the Muslim Students' Association – including the group's secretary general – on suspicion of assaulting police officers during Friday night's riot, Setiyono said.
'We would conduct the legal process'
Ahok, who is running for re-election in February, is accused of blasphemous speech for telling attendees at an event in September that people might "fool them" into not voting for him by using the Quran's Surah Al-Maida Verse 51 – which some interpret as prohibiting Muslims from having non-Muslim leaders.
The governor has since apologized for the flap, but he declined to answer reporters' questions as he left police headquarters on Monday.
The violence led to Jokowi cancelling a trip to Australia planned for this week.
In the hours that followed the violent end to the street demonstration, Jokowi appeared on national television to deplore the turn of events and accuse "political actors" of infiltrating the march to foment unrest. He added then that those responsible for sparking the riot would be prosecuted and that police would not hesitate to enforce the law.
National Police Chief Gen. Tito Karnavian said Tuesday that officers were still gathering evidence about those responsible for the riot and were considering treason charges against them.
"If this fits under article of treason, yes, we would conduct the legal process," Tito said.
Upcoming Ahok hearing
Meanwhile, authorities were moving to schedule a court hearing for Ahok sometime next week, and planned to open it to the public, an official said.
"Regarding the development of [Ahok's] legal status, please just wait for his case hearing next week," said Senior Commander Rikwanto, a police spokesman, without specifying a date.
Plans to open the hearing, however, are being challenged by one of the rally organizers, the conservative Islamic Defenders Front (FPI).
FPI spokesman Munarman suggested this was a ploy to influence public opinion in Ahok's favor, tribunnews.com reported.
"I have information that police would bring around 80 percent of witnesses who would state that Ahok is innocent. If the hearing is still held open, this is only to fool the public," he said.
Police spokesman Rikwanto dismissed that comment.
"This is to make everything clear. Let the public see it, but the conclusion remains in the hands of the investigators," he said.


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BENARNEWS- Security officials from 164 countries agreed at a meeting in Indonesia to boost efforts to gather and share biometric data to help catch foreign terrorist fighters who cross borders using false names and travel documents.
The resolution was adopted at the 85th General Assembly of the international police organization Interpol that closed Thursday after a four-day meeting on the Indonesian island of Bali.
It urged countries to consider "the systematic collection and recording" of DNA and fingerprints of suspects or convicted individuals following counter-terrorism actions.
The recommendation covered individuals who travel to conflict zones to support or join terrorist groups; people recently deported or incarcerated for terrorism-related offenses; and returnees from conflict zones "assessed as posing a high risk of cross-border mobility and reoffending," the resolution said.
According to Interpol, some 15,000 foreign terrorist fighters in the Middle East could pose a threat back home through joining radical groups or carrying out terror acts after returning from abroad.
Interpol has files on some 9,000 of these individuals but fewer than 900 of them contain biometric data or high resolution images that could be used for facial recognition, an Interpol statement said.
"The proliferation of aliases, the complexity of fake travel documents, deception tactics falsely declaring individuals have died in the conflict zones, and even basic issues linked to transliteration present mounting challenges to law enforcement in the field," the statement said, referring to different spelling of names in different languages.
"Although information shared via Interpol has enabled national law enforcement agencies to prevent numerous terrorists and aspiring foreign terrorist fighters from traveling, the lack of biometric data remains a weak link," Interpol Secretary General Jürgen Stock said.
Interpol member-countries are not exchanging much biometric data on terrorists, he added.
"Governments should take a closer look at the reasons why they cannot or will not share biometric data on terrorists when it is clear that doing so greatly increases the chances of foiling potentially lethal attacks committed by returning fighters," he said.
He pointed to a case where biometric data helped identify a detainee in Mali as a suspect wanted in Algeria. His fingerprints were also found at the scene of an attack claimed by al-Qaeda on the Grand Bassam resort in Ivory Coast in March that killed 16.
A lack of technology
Interpol already has a tool to counter cross-border movement of foreign terrorist fighters: its Stolen and Lost Travel Documents database, which enables immigration and law enforcement agencies to ensure the validity of travel documents within seconds.
The database has more than 68 million entries from 174 member countries. From January to September, it was searched more than 1.2 million times, yielding 115,000 positive matches.
But some Interpol member countries lack the technology to create their own databases or share such information with others.
"There has been strengthening cooperation in the field of operational capabilities to fight terrorism. But for the exchange of biometric data, not all countries have the infrastructure readiness," Johanes Agus Mulyono, executive director of ASEANPOL, told BenarNews. ASEAN is the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Sutep Dechrugsa, head of the Thai delegation to the Interpol assembly, claimed that his country was not facing as great a threat from cross-border terrorism as other ASEAN nations including the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia.
"We are not afraid of terrorism. We are not afraid," he told BenarNews. Thailand already collects DNA samples of suspected insurgents in its Deep South region, where an insurgency has raged for more than a decade, claiming some 6,700 lives since 2004.
No borders
In a closing speech to the Interpol assembly, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi underlined the importance of global cooperation in fighting terrorism.
"Terrorism has no religion. They are not friends of any religion. In a situation that has no borders, no single country can deal with this common enemy alone," she told some 830 participants from 164 countries.
Officials in both Indonesia and neighboring Malaysia for many months have warned of a threat of the extremist group Islamic State (IS) recruiting young citizens to its ranks via social media, and of IS veterans carrying out terror plots on home soil after returning from the Middle East.
"Therefore, there is no question, we need stronger cooperation.  Our partnership must go beyond traditional boundaries more concretely and strategically to counter this threat."


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BENARNEWS- Indonesian police Wednesday named Jakarta Gov. Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama a suspect in a blasphemy case, following mass protests demanding his prosecution, but this will not bar him from seeking reelection in February, officials said.
Ahok, a Christian and first member of Indonesia's ethnic Chinese minority to serve as governor of the capital, had been questioned by police on more than one occasion over alleged anti-Muslim comments he had made in September. On Tuesday, national police held a 10-hour, closed-door hearing in Jakarta to determine whether they should declare Ahok a suspect, during which dozens of witnesses and experts testified.
"Even though it was not unanimous, we reached an agreement that this case should be processed in an open trial," Gen. Ari Dono, the commander of the National Police's Criminal Investigation Department who presided over the hearing, told reporters at national police headquarters on Wednesday.
"Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, alias Ahok, has been named a suspect," Ari said.
Ahok, who said he was still in the race for the gubernatorial election in February despite the announcement by police, is accused of blasphemous speech for telling attendees at an event in September that people might "fool them" into not voting for him by using the Quran's Surah Al-Maida Verse 51 – which some interpret as prohibiting Muslims from having non-Muslim leaders.
Ahok apologized for the flap that he had caused, but some Muslim organizations reported him to the authorities after a video recording of the event went viral online.
Muslim anger over his remarks did not die down and led to mass demonstrations against the governor. On Nov. 4, an anti-Ahok demonstration that drew some 100,000 protesters to central Jakarta ended in violence as angry crowds attacked police barricades, set fires and looted stores.
'Not ineligible'
According to the Indonesian General Election Commission, Ahok will be allowed to contest the upcoming polls, although police have now named him as a suspected blasphemer. Under the laws of Indonesia, the country with the world's largest Muslim majority, speech deemed blasphemous or offensive to members of a particular faith is open to prosecution.
"[He is] not ineligible, unless the court later decides to sentence Ahok to five years or more," Sumarno, chairman of the Jakarta office of the General Election Commission, told BenarNews on Wednesday.
Citing Indonesian electoral regulations, Sumarno said that a person's candidacy for public office would be terminated if a court convicted and sentenced a candidate to the long prison term.
Reacting to Wednesday's announcement, Ahok said he remained confident that he would still win the election, and that he would allow the potential criminal case against him to go through the courts without trying to block it.
"I am grateful to the police for the process. I will accept [this]. I think this is a good example for democracy," MetroTV quoted Ahok as saying.
More protests coming?
Now that Ahok is officially a suspect in the blasphemy probe, one political observer expressed hope that this could calm tensions and anger among Muslims who have demanded that he be prosecuted.
"[The noise] can certainly be reduced," Adi Prayitno, a political analyst from the State Islamic University of Jakarta, told BenarNews. "The anger of Muslims at least can be eased."
After police made the announcement, plans of another anti-Ahok demonstration circulated, but Indonesia's police chief urged people to hold off on more protesting because the legal process against the governor was now under way.
"So, if anyone wants to take to the streets, for what? There is only one answer – the agenda is not about Ahok," National Police Chief Tito Karnavian said.
An earlier version incorrectly reported that Ahok was elected to the office of governor.


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BENARNEWS- Two-year-old Intan Olivia Banjarnahor wore a lace-trimmed pink hat and twirled around in a knee-length dress on Sunday, the morning she was fatally injured in a Molotov cocktail attack at a church in Indonesia's East Kalimantan province, her father recalled.
The victims of the attack were all children. Apart from Intan, whose family routinely attended Sunday services at the Oikumene Church in the Sengkotek area of Samarinda, the provincial capital, three other children – all under the age of 5 – were injured in the blast in front of the place of worship.
Among the others, Triniti Hutahaya, who is 3, remains in critical condition at a local hospital, her aunt said. The other two, Alvaro Aurelius Tristan Sinaga, 4, and Anita Kristobel Sihotang, 2, are still receiving medical care at the A.W. Sjahranie Hospital in Samarinda.
"The church is not far from home, and Intan was eager to go there to meet and play with her friends," her father, Marbun, told BenarNews.
His voice quivering, he described how Intan waited impatiently that morning, tugging on her mother's dress.
The attack on Nov. 13 marked the fourth time in recent months that suspected militants targeted members of Indonesia's Christian minority – which represents 10 percent of the population of the Muslim majority nation – in acts of violence or other types of threats.
On Aug. 28, a would-be suicide bomber failed to detonate his bomb in a packed church in Medan, North Sumatra province, during Sunday Mass. The alleged perpetrator, an 18-year-old man, used an axe to attack a priest before being detained.
On Nov. 7, suspicious packages shaped like homemade bombs were found at the courtyard of a church in Bireuen, Aceh, and in a Buddhist temple in Lhokseumawe, Aceh province. Police determined that the packages were not bombs, but considered the incidents to be acts of terror.
And on Monday, two motorcyclists threw Molotov cocktails at a Buddhist monastery in West Kalimantan, and a Catholic church in East Java received a bomb threat, police said.
At least three suspects have been arrested in connection with Sunday's attack in East Kalimantan. On the day of the attack, neighbors were able to capture the man suspected of throwing the Molotov cocktail. He was out on parole following his conviction on attempted bombing charges.
'We could only pray'
Intan died from her injuries on Monday. Seventy percent of her body was burned in the explosion.
She was Marbun's only daughter.
"We could only pray, we hoped that Jesus would save [her]. Her father was at a loss for words. Tears were streaming down his face as he held on to his daughter," Balutan Julianto Banjarnahor, Intan's uncle, told BenarNews, recalling the scene at the hospital.
The toddler was buried Tuesday at a Christian cemetery in Kutai Kartanegara.
"Intan was a cheerful kid. She just started talking and she liked to move to the music, imitating singers on television," Marbun said the day after his niece's funeral.
Triniti's aunt said that the little girl's mother remained  at her bedside at the hospital.
"Her mother is traumatized, especially after learning that Intan died. She was distressed even more," the aunt, Roina Simanjuntak, told BenarNews as she waited in the foyer of the hospital's pediatric intensive care unit.
But on Wednesday morning, the hopes of Triniti's family picked up.
"She cried and moaned after undergoing treatment to cleanse the smoke in her lungs," Roina said.
Hospital director Rachim Dinata said the surviving patients should undergo the treatment.
"One of Intan's causes of death was her swollen lungs. Other victims should undergo surgery to cleanse their lungs," he told BenarNews.
"The two other victims suffered burns to about 16 percent of their bodies, so they also have to have their lungs cleansed," Rachim said.
Suspect identified, two others arrested
The alleged attacker who was caught on Sunday was identified as Jo bin Muhammad Aceng Kurnia (alias Juhanda), who tried to escape by jumping into the nearby Mahakam River. He was a janitor and worked as a fish seller on the riverbank.
Five years ago, Juhanda was involved in a bomb plot at the Center for Science and Technology Research (Puspiptek) in Serpong, Banten province, and was paroled in July 2014 following his conviction in 2012, police said.
On Friday, members of Densus 88, the national anti-terror squad, arrested two men in East Kalimantan who were linked to the attack, according to provincial police spokesman Fajar Setiawan. Police could not release the identities of the men or their roles in the attack, but both remained under investigation, he said.


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BENARNEWS- Philippine forces are patrolling the area around Tawi-Tawi island and Sulu by air and sea to locate an armed group that kidnapped two Indonesian fishermen over the weekend, the Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) spokesman said Monday.
Five gunmen, suspected to be militants with the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), grabbed the two Indonesians in waters off Kunak, a small coastal town in the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah, before fleeing toward Tawi-Tawi in the southern Philippines on Saturday, according to a Malaysian official.
The kidnappings occurred despite efforts by Philippine and Malaysian security forces to issue warnings about the gunmen. Philippine forces sent out an alert of a boat heading toward Malaysia and Malaysian forces issued their own alert after the kidnappings, according to security officials.
The communication efforts followed talks earlier this month by leaders of both countries to work together to ward off such maritime abductions, which lately have plagued the seas separating the southern Philippines from Borneo island.
After hosting new Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Nov. 10, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said Duterte had granted permission for Malaysian ships to enter his country's waters during hot pursuits of kidnappers.
A week later, Malaysian Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said he had discussed the issue with his counterparts from Indonesia and the Philippines during the Fourth Trilateral Ministerial Level Meeting on the Sulu Seas Initiative.
"Discussions focused heavily on operationalizing joint exercises, coordinated maritime patrols and joint air patrols that are soon to be initiated among the three nations," Hishammuddin said in a statement following the talks.
Kidnapping details
ASG, a group that has sought a separate state in the Philippines' predominantly Muslim south, is believed to have kidnapped Indonesians Saparuddin Kone, 43, and Sawal Maryam, 36. Indonesian officials were made aware of the kidnapping on Saturday and deployed a team from the consulate in Tawau, Malaysia, to Lahad Datu to gather information, an Indonesian Foreign Affairs spokesman said.
After destroying the boat's communications equipment and stealing cash and mobile phones, the gunmen left 11 other crewmen unharmed, according to Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) commander Wan Abdul Bari Wan Abdul Khalid.
He said Malaysian authorities were alerted by Philippine authorities of a speedboat that they were pursuing near Tawi-Tawi's Taganak Island.
Wan Abdul said Malaysian security forces were placed on alert at 6:40 p.m. Saturday – about an hour before the incident – because Taganak Island is about 27 km (17 miles) from the coastal town of Sandakan, the site of previous kidnappings. In the past, such cooperation was hampered by the Philippines' long-standing territorial claim on Sabah.
"We were informed. However, I cannot confirm whether the boat crossed over into Malaysian waters or was involved in the kidnapping," Wan Abdul told local media on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Westmincom spokesman Maj. Filemon Tan Jr. said Philippine forces were informed by Malaysian authorities that an abduction had been reported at about 7:30 p.m., according to The Philippines Star. The abduction occurred near Kunak, 129 km (80 miles) south of Sandakan, Sabah.
Following Saturday's kidnapping, Tan said militants were holding 24 people captive – five Malaysians, a Dutch national, a German, a South Korean, four Indonesians, six Vietnamese and six Filipinos.
ASG, which has pledged allegiance to the extremist group Islamic State (IS), has collected millions of dollars through kidnappings in recent years, according to online reports. This year alone, ASG has collected at least 354.1 million Philippines pesos (U.S. $7.3 million) from ransom paid for hostages, Philippine-based news website Rappler.com reported.
Philippine leader transferred
In the Philippines, government officials were denying claims that the removal of Brig. Gen. Arnel de la Vega as commander of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Joint Task Force Sulu was tied to the series of kidnappings linked to ASG, the Manila Times reported.
"It has nothing to do with the reported continuous kidnappings. This is based on the promotion system," Col. Edgard Arevalo, AFP public affairs office chief, told the Times. The Board of Generals recommended de la Vega serve as commandant of the AFP Command and General Staff College, replacing Maj. Gen. Rodolfo Santiago who reached mandatory retirement age.


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BENARNEWS- Police questioned Jakarta Gov. Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama for nine hours on Tuesday during his first interrogation since being named a blasphemy suspect, while Indonesia's president said his government was determined to stop radicalism in the world's most populous Muslim country.
Ahok, who is running for re-election in February, was formally named a suspect last week for alleged anti-Muslim comments he made in September, which led to mass protests demanding his prosecution.
An anti-Ahok protest drew some 100,000 demonstrators to central Jakarta on Nov. 4, but it disintegrated into violence at the end, as an angry crowd attacked police barricades, set fires and looted stores.
The violence was the worst in Jakarta since riots in 1998, during which Indonesia's ethnic Chinese minority was targeted. Ahok, a Christian, is Jakarta's first ethnic Chinese governor. He is the former deputy of Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and succeeded him as governor, when Jokowi became president two years ago.
The police's decision to name Ahok a blasphemy suspect, however, has not diminished calls by conservative Muslim groups demanding his arrest. Some of these are calling for another mass protest against the governor that is expected to take place in Jakarta on Dec. 2
Ahok is accused of blasphemous speech – a violation of Indonesian law – for telling attendees at a campaign event that people might "fool them" into not voting for him by using the Quran's Surah Al-Maida Verse 51 – which some interpret as prohibiting Muslims from having non-Muslim leaders.
On Tuesday, Ahok lawyer Sirra Prayuna said investigators asked 27 questions, many of which were similar to those asked before his client was named a suspect.
"This is actually only to get more detailed information from the previous investigation to make the case more clear," he said.
If prosecuted and convicted, Ahok would face up to five years and six years in prison, respectively, for violating Indonesia's blasphemy and electronic communications laws. A video of Ahok's controversial comments, for which he has apologized, went viral on social media.
Speaking to reporters at National Police Headquarters in Jakarta, spokesman Senior Commander Rikwanto on Tuesday urged all parties to respect the investigation into the Ahok case.
"We already agreed to no intervention from any party. Please trust the police that this case will go to court. So, please no more requests for police to do this or that," Rikwanto said.
No room for radicalism
Meanwhile, Jokowi called for maintaining national unity and countering radical ideology from growing in multi-religious and multi-ethnic Indonesia.
"What is very important is that government is determined, I repeat, the government is determined with all of its power to prevent the growth of radicalism in our country, Indonesia," Jokowi told reporters at the Jakarta State Palace, after two days of meetings with political leaders.
Jokowi has reached out to Muslim religious leaders, top military and police in an effort to calm the nation following the Nov. 4 rally attended by 100,000 people in Jakarta that started peacefully but turned violent in the evening.
His comments followed a weekend rally in which thousands of people marched in the streets of Jakarta, in a counter-protest to the anti-Ahok rallies. Demonstrators called for upholding the nation's diversity and unity that are among its core values.
Another anti-Ahok rally planned
Elsewhere, two conservative groups, the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) and the National Movement to Protect the MUI Fatwa (GNPF MUI), announced plans for another rally on Dec. 2 to demand Ahok's arrest. Both groups organized the Nov. 4 rally and a non-violent rally on Oct. 14.
"Since Ahok has not been arrested, the GNPF MUI will stage Aksi Bela Islam III (The Third Act to Defend Islam) on Dec. 2," FPI spokesman Munarman said, according to Antara, Indonesia's national news agency. The organization had planned a rally on Friday as well, although police officials are unsure if it will be held, according to the Jakarta Globe.
Organizers expect the Dec. 2 rally featuring a massive group Friday prayer in Jakarta's two main streets to be twice as large as the Nov. 4 rally.
National Police Chief Gen. Tito Karnavian questioned the motives of holding another rally because, he said, police had proceeded appropriately in the Ahok case. Tito referred to the proposed rally as potential treason.
"There have been hidden attempts by some groups who want to get into the House of Representatives and attempt to control the Parliament. For us, the police and military, this is a clear violation of law," CNN Indonesia quoted him as saying earlier this week.
Munarman of the FPI said police overreacted.
"There are those who want to disturb the demonstration," Munarman told BenarNews, calling the planned rally nothing more than a peaceful demonstration filled with prayer.
"There is no act of treason," he said.


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BENARNEWS- An Indonesian court on Wednesday sentenced a man to nine years in prison for providing cash and a firearm to one of the men who mounted a terror attack claimed by the so-called Islamic State in central Jakarta in January.
Saiful Muthohir, alias Abu Gar, 43, is the fourth man sent to prison thus far in connection with the attack, which left eight dead, including four perpetrators, and at least 24 people injured.
"In late December [2015], the defendant met Muhammad Ali in Srengseng, West Jakarta, to give him operation money in the amount of 70 million rupiah ($5,171)," head judge Eris Sudjarwanto said while delivering the ruling in court.
Muhammad Ali, 40, was one of four men who attacked a coffee shop near international embassies and the iconic National Monument (Monas) with explosives and guns at mid-morning on Jan. 14, 2016.
The judge said the cash handed over by Abu Gar was provided by Iwan Darmawan, also known as Rois, a man who is on death row for his role in the 2004 bombing at the Australian Embassy in Jakarta that killed 11 people.
In March, then-Jakarta Police Chief Tito Karnavian revealed that the Australian Embassy bomber was a local coordinator of the Jakarta 2016 attack, together with another convicted terrorist, Aman Abdurrahman, The Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) reported at the time. Both men are incarcerated at Nusakambangan Prison.
Abu Gar also passed instructions to Ali Rois to pick up a firearm at Serang, Banten, that was later found at the scene of the attack, the court heard.
"So the elements of conspiring, attempting or assisting a terrorist act are legally fulfilled," Eris said.
The native of Cilacap, Central Java, was arrested on Feb. 19, 2016 in Malang, East Java. After hearing the sentence, Abu Gar, clad in a green shirt and blue cap, said simply, "I accept it."
Second conviction
Three other men have already been sentenced in the attack: Dodi Suridi alias Ibnu Arsad, 23, Ali Makhmudin alias Lulu, 41, and Ali Hamka alias Abu Ibrahim, 48.
Dodi and Lulu were sentenced to 10 and eight years, respectively, for making bomb containers, while Ali Hamka was given a four-year sentence for facilitating acquisition of weapons for the attack from an illegal arms dealer in Sumedang, West Java.
Wednesday's sentence marked the second time Abu Gar has been placed behind bars. In 2005, he was sentenced to nine years in jail for sheltering a perpetrator and hiding information about an attack on a police station in Loki, Ambon, that killed five police officers. But Abu Gar served only six years of that sentence.
At the same courthouse on Wednesday, three men found guilty of participating in a militant training in Cipanas, West Java, in November 2015 were each sentenced to three years in prison.
Abu Gar instructed participants in bomb-making at that training, according to Eris, the judge.
The men – Ahmad Rido, 40, Romlan alias Romli, 40, and Rudi Hadianto, 37 – were also arrested in Malang, East Java in February.


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BENARNEWS- Indonesian police said they arrested three suspected militants over the weekend who were allegedly planning to bomb the House of Representatives and Myanmar's embassy in Jakarta, among other targets, and are linked to Islamic State (IS).
The arrests were connected to the Nov. 23 capture in West Java province of another suspected militant, Rio Priatna Wibowo, who was caught with explosives potentially twice as powerful as those used in the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, police said.
Two of three suspects were nabbed on Sunday by anti-terror squad Densus 88 at two locations in Banten, a province about 55 miles southwest of Jakarta. Saiful Bahri (alias Abu Shifa) was arrested in Serang regency and Hendra (alias Abu Pase) was arrested in Tangerang city, police said.
A day earlier, Densus 88 arrested another suspect, Bahrain Agam, in Aceh province. Police allege that Bahrain provided 7 million rupiah (U.S. $518) to purchase explosives.
Boy Rafli Amar, a spokesman for national police, said the three were linked to Rio, who was picked up in Majalengka, a town in West Java last, for allegedly making explosives.
During his arrest at his residence, police seized bomb-making materials including RDX (Royal Demolition Explosive), HMTD (Hexamethylene triperoxide diamini), TNT and black powder.  Tests at the police forensic laboratory determined that the explosives were at least twice as powerful as the bombs used in the attacks that targeted tourist hotspots in Bali 14 years ago.
Information extracted from Rio during interrogation led to the arrests of the three other suspects, Boy said. The four were allegedly plotting to attack the Indonesian parliament, the national police headquarters, some TV stations and the Myanmar embassy. Anger has been growing in Indonesia – the world's largest predominantly Muslim nation – over violence targeting members of Myanmar's Rohingya Muslim minority in recent weeks.
Additionally, the suspects are believed to be members of the Jamaah Ansharut Daulah network, which is aligned with the Mid-East extremist Islamic State (IS), Boy told BenarNews.
Linked to anti-Ahok protest, Bahrun Naim?
National Police Chief Gen. Tito Karnavian said the four suspects, through Jamaah Ansharut Daulah, may have been part of a larger group of suspected militants that police are investigating in connection with violence that marred a huge rally against the governor of Jakarta, Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, in the Indonesian capital on Nov. 4.
The rally, which called for Ahok's arrest over alleged blasphemy toward Islam, began peacefully but turned violent as it dispersed in the evening.
"There are some elements that exploited the issue and the (Nov.4) mass gathering for their own purposes. One of them is a terror group," National Police Chief Gen. Tito Karnavian told a news conference on Monday.
Boy, the police spokesman, added that Rio was associated with Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian IS leader based in Syria who was the alleged mastermind of an IS-claimed terror attack in Jakarta that killed four civilians and four alleged attackers on Jan. 14.
The allegation against Bahrun, however, has been challenged by terrorism analyst Sidney Jones, director of the Jakarta-based Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC), who said the attack was plotted and executed by a home-based group, whose ideological leader is imprisoned Indonesian Muslim cleric Aman Abdurrahman.


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BENARNEWS- Thousands of Indonesians from different faiths on Wednesday joined rallies organized across the country by the military as a show of national unity amid tensions over allegations of anti-Muslim blasphemy by the governor of Jakarta.
Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo, the chief of Indonesia's armed forces (TNI) who led efforts to organize the nationwide interfaith rallies dubbed Nusantara Bersatu (United Archipelago), attended the main one held at the National Monument in Jakarta.
"This proves that with only a two-day notice, everyone can stand united. It's wonderful to see this in Indonesia," Gatot said.
The principal of "unity in diversity" ("bhineka tungga ika") – a theme of Wednesday's rallies that unfolded from Aceh province in Indonesia's far west to Papua province in its far east – is one of the five founding principles of the archipelago that are known as Pancasila.
The National Monument is the same landmark in the Indonesian capital where tens of thousands of protestors from conservative Muslim groups are expected to demonstrate on Friday against Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, Jakarta's first ethnic Chinese governor and a Christian who is running for election in February.
Police have named Ahok a suspect in an alleged case of blasphemy, and Muslim protestors have called for his arrest. On Wednesday, the Office of the State Prosecutor announced that the police dossier against Ahok met legal requirements for him to face trial.
Ahok is accused of blasphemous speech – a violation of Indonesian law – for telling attendees at a campaign event that people might "fool them" into not voting for him by using the Quran's Surah Al-Maida Verse 51 – which some interpret as prohibiting Muslims from having non-Muslim leaders.
The rally planned for Friday, known as the Third Act to Defend Islam, follows a protest on Nov. 4 that drew about 100,000 Muslims to Central Jakarta. It started peacefully but turned violent after nightfall when protesters attacked police barricades, set fires and looted stores.
National Police spokesman Boy Rafli Amar said about 22,000 security personnel would be on duty across the capital to ensure safety during the upcoming rally, Tempo.co reported.
Leaders attend unity event
Joining Gatot in Jakarta on Wednesday were National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian, Social Affairs Minister Khofifah Indar Parawansa and Wahid Institute founder Yeni Wahid.
"Love of nation and patriotism are parts of faith," Yeni told the crowd of interfaith leaders, students, artists and rights activists among others.
Acting Jakarta Gov. Soni Sumarsono stressed the importance of people maintaining political stability ahead of the gubernatorial election.
Ahok served as deputy governor to Joko "Jokowi" Widodo prior to Widodo's election as president in 2014.
Accusations against Ahok reflect efforts by political opponents of the Jokowi administration to take steps that include implementing Sharia law in the world's most populous Muslim country, analysts said.
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Members of the Dayak Pahau tribe perform a traditional dance in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, Nov. 30, 2016. [Gunawan/BenarNews]
Country-wide rallies
Cities across the nation held their own versions of Nusantara Bersatu on Wednesday.
In the East Kalimantan provinces, thousands packed Merdeka Pertamina Square in Balikpapan to declare loyalty to the nation.
"Balikpapan people consist of various ethnic groups and will always maintain the integrity of Indonesia," Mayor Rizal Effendy said.
A community leader, Leo Sukoco, said Balikpapan was home to 30 tribes.
"Each tribe can live together in harmony. Moreover, there is no ethnic majority in Balikpapan," he said.
In Solo, Central Java, thousands marched in a "Unity in Diversity Parade," according to the local mayor.
In the city of Klaten, people wearing red-and-white headbands – the colors of Indonesian flag – joined the event that featured a marching band.
In Malang, East Java, religious leaders led an interfaith mass at the military base square.
"Joint prayers show that we live harmoniously united in diversity," said Mochammad Nur Salim, vice chairman of the Communication Forum for Religions in Malang.
"We do not want Indonesia divided because of the issue of ethnicity, religion, race and class," he said.


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BENARNEWS- Foreign governments are warning travelers to avoid Jakarta on Friday due to a mass rally by hardline Muslim groups demanding the arrest of Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama ("Ahok") for alleged blasphemy.
Organizers expect this rally to be bigger than a similar protest in Jakarta on Nov. 4 that drew about 100,000 people and turned violent after nightfall when protesters attacked police barricades, set fires and looted stores.
Foreign ministries of the United States, Australia and Japan issued warnings for their citizens to use caution in Jakarta from about 8 a.m. until the rally's end, expected around 1 p.m., the Associated Press reported.
"Even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and escalate into violence; and there exists the possibility that some extremist groups could take advantage of the Dec. 2 events to incite or carry out violence," the U.S. Embassy said on its website on Thursday.
"You should avoid areas of demonstrations and exercise caution if in the vicinity of any large gatherings, protests, or demonstrations."
As many as 22,000 security personnel will be on duty Friday, according to police, who revealed late last month that nine suspected terrorists had participated in the Nov. 4 rally. The men were arrested days later.
"Police have committed to detect the whereabouts of terrorist networks that may try to take advantage of the event," National Police spokesman Boy Rafli Amar told a press conference in Jakarta on Wednesday.
Dueling rallies
The rally will include mass prayer on the grounds of the iconic National Monument (Monas) in central Jakarta, after organizers gave in to authorities' request not to worship on two major avenues as previously planned.
Dubbed the "Third Act to Defend Islam," Friday's event is being organized by the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) and the National Movement to Protect the MUI Fatwa (GNPF MUI) – the same groups that orchestrated the Nov. 4 rally and a non-violent protest on Oct. 14.
The protests grew from demands that Ahok, the ethnic Chinese governor of Jakarta and former right-hand man to President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, be charged over his alleged defamation of Islam. Shortly after the Nov. 4 rally, Ahok was named a suspect in the case.
Ahok, who is running for re-election, is accused of blasphemy for telling attendees at an event in September that people might "fool them" into not voting for him using the Quran's Surah Al-Maida Verse 51, which some interpret as prohibiting Muslims from having non-Muslim leaders.
On Wednesday, the Office of the State Prosecutor announced that the police dossier against Ahok met legal requirements for him to face trial.
Also on Wednesday, thousands of Indonesians joined rallies organized across the country by the military as a show of national unity and support for the notion of pluralism, which is one of Indonesia's founding principles.
Treason?
Indonesia's huge mainstream Muslim organizations – Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah – are not participating in the Dec. 2 event.
Muhammadiyah chairman Busyro Muqoddas asked members not to participate in Friday's rally, saying it had no clear motive.
"It is not in harmony with the Nov. 4 demonstration," Busyro told BenarNews.
The nation's top Muslim clerical group, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), which is not associated with GNPF MUI, also will not join the rally.
On Nov. 21, National Police Chief Tito Karnavian questioned the motives of holding another rally because, he said, police had proceeded appropriately in the Ahok case. Tito referred to the proposed rally as potential treason.
"There have been hidden attempts by some groups who want to get into the House of Representatives and attempt to control the Parliament. For us, the police and military, this is a clear violation of law," CNN Indonesia quoted him as saying earlier this week.
FPI spokesman Munarman said police were overreacting.
Friday's event is nothing more than a peaceful mass prayer, he told BenarNews.
"There's no act of treason," he said.
Earlier, the director of Jakarta-based Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) expressed concern that militants could infiltrate such events.
"The government's mistake is letting the radical groups control the political agenda. Why was there no effort to get them all together and cool down the situation?" Sidney Jones said prior to the Nov. 4 rally.
"A number of parties could take advantage of the rally, including organizations committed to wage war like (the Islamic State) and other groups in Syria," she said.


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BENARNEWS- Papuan students and activists held small-scale demonstrations in several Indonesian cities Thursday to mark the 55th anniversary of what they consider their aborted independence day.
Hundreds of people gathered in Jayapura, the capital of Papua province, for speeches and prayers, and later signed a huge banner to support the United Liberation Movement for West Papua, an umbrella organization of pro-independence groups.
Speakers at the event included Filep Karma, who was released from prison in 2015 after serving 11 years for raising the so-called Morning Star flag in 2004. Thursday's gathering did not include the flying of the flag, nor did the participants appear to have one.
"Papuans are already aware and do not want to be provoked by violence and conflict. Prayers and speeches such as these show political maturity and a dignified struggle," Karma said.
In Wamena, a town in the Papuan highlands, speeches and prayers were held from midday to 4:00 p.m. at the La Pago Traditional Council office. Engelbert Surabut, who was in charge of the event, claimed that 3,000 people attended the peaceful gathering.
"Two police cars came. We coordinated it before hand," he told BenarNews.
"We had agreed with the police, they only watched from the outside. We are thankful to the Indonesian government who via the police gave us this opportunity to worship," he said.
Arrests in Jakarta
Small demonstrations took place in other parts of Indonesia. Hundreds of students and activists from Papua gathered in front of the Legal Aid Institute (LBH) in Jakarta early Thursday, then began a march to the Hotel Indonesia circle.
Tense moments ensued on Imam Bonjol Street when dozens of police used shields to block the singing and chanting marchers, and the marchers then pulled out headbands bearing the morning star flag symbol, CNN Indonesia reported.
Police then shot water canons at the demonstrators and eventually arrested all of them.
"They were apprehended because they carried Morning Star paraphernalia. We confiscated them because they are not this nation's emblem," Jakarta police official Hendy F Kurniawan told the Jakarta Post.
"All participants in the action, about 150 people, were arrested and transported to  Jakarta Metro Police," Veronica Koman, a lawyer with LBH, told BenarNews.
"In Yogyakarta, reportedly eight people were arrested. We haven't yet checked in Ternate, where there was also a demonstration," she said, referring to a city in the Maluku islands of eastern Indonesia.
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Papuan demonstrators react to water cannon fired at them by police in Jakarta, Dec. 1, 2016. [AFP]
Self-determination?
On November 29, a group in Jakarta calling itself the Indonesian People's Front for West Papua (FRI West Papua) declared support for a Papuan self-determination referendum.
Surya Anta, a spokesman for FRI West Papua, said the group was formed out of awareness of what he termed the deceitful integration of Papua into Indonesia.
"West Papua was a colonial territory without a government acknowledged by the United Nations and Dtuch colonists in 1949. That status won't change until there is self-determination," he told BenarNews.
Octavianus Mote, secretary general of ULMWP, welcomed the statement, saying it showed that some Indonesians "are starting to acknowledge that crimes have been committed by the government and military of Indonesia in Papua."
The provinces of Papua and West Papua, located at the eastern end of the Indonesian archipelago, make up one-fifth of Indonesia's land mass. Only 5.9 million of Indonesia's 250 million people live there.
Migrants from other parts of Indonesia now make up about half the population and dominate commercial activity, according to reports. Indigenous Papuans are ethnically Melanesian and many of them are Christians.
In 1961, the region was a Dutch territory undergoing a decolonization process with the goal of full independence in 1970. Papuans had already commissioned a national anthem and flag, which was flown for the first time on Dec. 1, 1961.
Indonesia, under then-president Soekarno, viewed all former Dutch possessions in the region as rightful parts of Indonesia, and began a military campaign to "liberate" what was then known as West Irian.
Amid escalating tensions, the Dutch abandoned the region and in May 1963, via the United Nations, West Irian was transferred to Indonesia. Some 1,025 Papuans who participated under Indonesian military supervision in a U.N.-mandated "Act of Free Choice" in 1969 unanimously chose integration.
The region has been home to a low-level armed separatist movement, the Organisasi Papua Merdeka (OPM), for decades. The OPM and Indonesian security forces are both guilty of human rights abuses, rights groups say.
Papua is one of the poorest regions of Indonesia, although it is rich in natural resources and home to the world's largest gold and copper mines, run by an Indonesian unit of U.S. mining conglomerate Freeport McMoran Inc.
"Poverty is widespread in Papua and Papua has the lowest level of adult literacy in Indonesia at 74 percent. The region also has a disproportionately high number of HIV/AIDS cases compared with the rest of Indonesia and high rates of infant and maternal mortality," according to the GlobalSecurity.org website.


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BENARNEWS- Indonesian police on Friday arrested 10 people including two retired generals and a former president's sister and charged eight of them with treason for allegedly plotting to occupy the national parliament during a huge rally in Jakarta.
According to police, more than 200,000 Muslims carried out Friday prayers on central streets of the capital to demand that Jakarta Gov. Basuki Tjahaja Purnama ("Ahok") be arrested for allegedly blasphemous remarks uttered in September.
The peaceful rain-soaked rally was twice as large as a similar one in early November that ended in a riot. The arrests Friday began before dawn.
Those detained included Rachmawati Soekarnoputri, 66, a sister of former president Megawati Soekarnoputri; retired army generals Kivlan Zein, 69, and Adityawarman, 70; activist Sri Bintang Pamungkas, 71; and rock musician Ahmad Dhani Prasetyo, 44.
They were being held at police mobile brigade headquarters in Kelapa Dua, West Java, a site where terrorism suspects are typically held, after being arrested from their homes and a hotel.
"Eight of them have been charged with article 107 of the criminal code, and two have been charged with article 28 of the Information and Electronic Transactions Law," National Police spokesman Rikwanto told a press conference later in the day.
On Saturday, Indonesian police said they released eight people including Rachmawati, Zein and Dhani, but are continuing to investigate them, according to the Associated Press.
National police spokesman Boy Rafli Amar said that another man, Alvinida Al-Farasi, was arrested Friday, bringing the number of people under suspicion to 11. Three whose identities were not released remain in custody.
Convictions under Article 107, which concerns rebellion, can carry sentences of up to 15 years in prison, or carry life sentences, in the case of leaders inciting others to treason.
Article 28 states that "any person intentionally and illegally disseminating information meant to incite hatredor hostility against individuals or social groups based on ethnicity, religion, race or group" can be sentenced up to six years in jail.
Infiltrators?
On Nov. 21, National Police Chief Tito Karnavian said police had received information that certain parties intended to infiltrate a huge rally originally planned for Nov. 25 and overthrow the government.
And in a press conference at the office of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) Monday, Tito said the parties were not the rally organizers, the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) and the National Movement to Protect the MUI Fatwa (GNPF MUI).
An earlier rally led by the same groups on Nov. 4 devolved into a riot outside the presidential palace after nightfall. Angry crowd attacked police barricades, set fires and looted stores.
At the time, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said he regretted that the demonstration had ended in violence.
"We deplore the events after evening prayers when it was time to disband and rioting broke out. And here we see infiltration by political actors exploiting the situation," he said. He did not elaborate on who those "actors" might be.
Impeachment calls
In a video uploaded to YouTube on Nov. 27, activist Sri Bintang Pamungkas is seen delivering a speech at an event stating, "Even Suharto, who was backed by the military, was ousted, no way Jokowi can't be ousted. Certainly he can be.
"If you unite, let's flock to the parliament building, and demand the MPR yank Jokowi's mandate as president. Yank it!" he said.
Bintang was a noted figure in student movements of 1998 that helped topple long-time dictator Suharto with days of protests across Indonesia and a parliament sit-in.
In a press conference Thursday, Rachmawati and Ahmad Dhani said they would ask the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), the upper house of Indonesia's legislature, to hold an extraordinary session on restoring the original version of the 1945 Constitution, because amendments to the document had made it too liberal.
Zulkifli Hasan, speaker of the MPR, said Rachmawati had requested permission to hold a demonstration outside the parliament building.
"Yes, she came here frequently to talk about the Dec. 2 rally. She requested for there to be a demonstration here after the demonstration at Monas," he was quoted as saying in Beritasatu.com, using an acronym for the National Monument in central Jakarta.
Neta S. Pane, head of the non-government group Indonesia Police Watch, criticized the arrests.
"The Jakarta police chief does not have a clear legal basis for arresting these eight people. ... The criteria is not legally clear," he said in a statement.
Lawyers can argue about whether those arrested had the influence and resources to carry out an act of treason, Emrus Sihombing, of Pelita Harapan University in Tangerang, West Java told BenarNews.
"If they have not been treated fairly, they may argue that in a legal sphere during the pretrial phase. I see police as having a compelling reason to make these arrests," he said.


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BENARNEWS- The recent gang rape of a 15-year-old Indonesian girl by six young men in Tangerang, West Java, is the latest in a string of cases this year that have brought sexual violence and misogyny onto the country's national agenda.
Public awareness of sexual violence was first raised in May this year following the gang rape and murder of Yuyun, a 14-year-old school girl, by 14 men and boys, including her ex-boyfriend, in Bengkulu regency, Sumatra. Her body was discovered naked and tied up at a rubber plantation two days later.
The case initially went unnoticed, until feminist activists began a social media campaign demanding justice.
The latest victim to make local headlines, identified only as S, boarded a public minivan driven by two of the alleged perpetrators at 1 a.m. on Nov. 24, according to police statements reported by local media. But instead of taking S to her destination, they drove to a rented house, where four of their friends were waiting. The victim was then forced into a bathroom and raped by the suspects.
After their assault, the suspects then let S go. She eventually reported the incident to the police, after which four of the suspects were arrested. Two remain at large.
The suspects may be charged under child protection laws, and could each face up to 15 years in prison.
Sexual attacks on women increasing
According to the National Commission on Violence Against Women (KP), an average of 35 women are victims of sexual violence in Indonesia every day.
"But much sexual violence goes unreported, often due to stigma, family and societal pressure. So this could just be the 'tip of the iceberg'," said Mia Olivia, a KP spokesperson.
Rising levels of sexual violence have coincided with a general increase in violence against women, rising to 321,752 recorded cases in 2015, up from 293,220 in 2014. In approximately 70 percent of these incidents, the perpetrator is the partner or former partner of the victim.
A U.N. report released in 2013 that polled men across Asia found that 31.9 percent of respondents in Indonesia admitted having forced a woman to have sex. And almost three-quarters of those who committed rape said they did so for reasons of "sexual entitlement."
Many have sought to blame inadequate law enforcement and sentencing of offenders for sexual violence in Indonesia. After public outcry was eventually stirred by Yuyun's rape and murder, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo introduced harsh new punishments for sex offenders, including chemical castration or even the death penalty for child-sex offenses.
Harsh laws in place
In an interview with the BBC in October, the president said "chemical castration, if we enforce it consistently, will reduce sex crimes and wipe them out over time."
But activists say the measures are inhumane, reactive and do nothing to address the broader attitudes that legitimize rape.
"We don't support this because we believe in human rights. And it won't help, even with the previous legal framework very few rapists received the maximum punishment anyway," said Tunggal Pawestri, a Jakarta-based women's rights activist. [Reactive punishments] are not the answer, you need to think about how you can overcome these issues by giving more education –sexual and social education so that men learn to respect women."
Indonesia tradition puts women at disadvantage
In Indonesia's highly patriarchal society, the responsibility for rape is often placed on women. In the view of many Indonesians, it is first the responsibility of the woman to protect her "purity" rather than for a man to contain his desire for sex. And in many relationships and marriages, the woman is expected to provide sex to her partner as he pleases.
"Women have been treated as possessions for too many years," said Tunggal.
Although some have more progressive views, conservative attitudes permeate through all levels of society and flippant misogyny can be regularly observed in senior officials and politicians.
In 2013, a candidate for Indonesia's supreme court suggested to a parliamentary commission that victims of sexual violence enjoy being raped. Commenting on the topic of a rape case in 2014, then Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo said women riding public transport should dress conservatively to avoid "unwanted consequences."
Until 2004, rape was catalogued in the Indonesian Penal Code as a "crime against decency," which meant in many cases that the presiding judge was more interested in establishing the "morality" of the female victim rather than whether or not a rape had actually taken place. The law also provided no legal protection for rape within marriage.
Since 2004, women have been protected against sexual violence within marriage by a domestic violence law, but activists say many are unaware of these protections.
At the same time, there remains almost no legal protection against the sexual harassment that is experienced by Indonesian women every day.
For Aditya, a young professional who commutes from Tangerang to work in Jakarta and who did not want to give her full name, sexual harassment is a part of daily life. On Jakarta's packed public transportation, groping of women is common, and catcalling is an everyday occurrence. As a consequence, certain coaches on the TransJakarta busway and train services are designated as women-only and are policed by security.
New legal moves in the works
To help prosecute sex crimes a new anti-sexual violence bill is currently being drafted by the Indonesian parliament, which will codify offenses from sexual harassment to forced abortion to sexual torture.
The bill will be a positive step, but activists say much more needs to be done to empower women at a grass-roots level.
Olin Monteiro, a feminist film-maker and founder of Women's Coalition Indonesia (KPI), has set up many groups around Indonesia to facilitate training about women's rights.
According to Monteiro, most rural women are not familiar with feminist terminology, but a sense of oppression is shared by many. She has also met survivors of rape with similar stories from across the sprawling archipelago.
"So many adult women are raped [in Indonesia]," she said. "This is what I don't understand with the case with Yuyun. Everyone is so shocked that a child got raped. But I'm like, yeah... this happens to so many women, why are you suddenly so angry now?"


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BENARNEWS- A group of people who were arrested on treason charges ahead of a rally last week against Jakarta's governor had received funds from an unidentified source, Indonesian police said Tuesday.
On Friday authorities arrested 11 people and charged eight of them with treason, hours before 200,000 protestors gathered in the capital to demand that Jakarta Gov. Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama be arrested for alleged blasphemy against Islam.
Those charged with treason include Rachmawati Soekarnoputri, the sister of former President Megawati Soekarnoputri, and two retired army generals, Kivlan Zein and Adityawarman Thaha.
Rachmawati, Kivlan and Adityawarman and five other suspects were later released, but three other suspects remained in custody on Tuesday.
National police spokesman Martinus Sitompul said officers had evidence of money transfers, but he did not elaborate.
"We will track the flow of funds," Martinus told BenarNews.
A spokesman for Rachmawati said she planned to challenge the treason allegation in court as well as lodge a complaint about her arrest with a unit within the national police force that oversees its professionalism.
"In addition to filing a motion for a pretrial hearing, we plan to report it to Propam over her arrest and the investigation process," spokesman Teguh Santosa told BenarNews.
Rachmawati, 66, who suffers from hypertension and uses a wheelchair, was not treated well by the arresting officers, according to Teguh. She was arrested at her home at 5 a.m. on Friday without breakfast, and ate only once until she was freed in the evening, he said.
"Her status is still as a suspect. She is not under detention because police could not find a reason to keep her," Teguh said.
Rachmawati was charged under Indonesia's criminal code with treason and conspiracy to commit treason. If convicted, she could face up to 15 years in prison.
Other suspects who were released within 24 hours included activist Ratna Sarumpaet, politician Eko Suryo Santjojo, labor activist Alvin Indra and rock musician Ahmad Dhani Prasetyo, who was charged for allegedly defaming Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.
The three suspects still in custody are Sri Bintang Pamungkas, a noted former political prisoner who has been charged with  treason along with Rizal Kobar and Jamran.
Police chief discusses investigation
On Monday, national police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian told a committee of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR) that police had received intelligence that groups planned to infiltrate Friday's rally for their own political interests.
Officers discovered a plot to occupy the parliament building to force lawmakers to meet to impeach Jokowi, according to the police chief.
"Occupying the parliament forcibly, for whatever reason, for the police, is unconstitutional," Tito said.
Tito said the suspects were arrested hours before the rally to prevent them from provoking the masses.
In addition, investigators have communicated with the military, police and intelligence detachments regarding the arrests of the retired generals.
In a written statement, military spokesman Maj. Gen.  Wuryanto explained that police followed procedure.
"Prior to the arrest, the police always do coordination and communication and exchange of information with the military. In principle, the military supports what is done by police," he said.
Police were concerned about outbreaks at the rally because a similar protest in November against Ahok started peacefully, but ended in violence. Ahok, who is a Christian and member of Indonesia's ethnic Chinese minority, is running for election in February, but angered Muslims by uttering public comments related to the Quran, for which he has apologized.
President Joko expressed regret about the events of Nov. 4.
"We deplore the events after evening prayers when it was time to disband and rioting broke out. And here we see infiltration by political actors exploiting the situation," he said at the time while not elaborating on who those "actors" might be.
Evidence of treason in doubt
On Tuesday, the director of the Legal Aid Institute Jakarta, Alghiffari Aqsa, questioned police actions in arresting the suspects on treason charges.
"If specified as perpetrators of treason, it means they are very dangerous to the country, so why were they are released?" Alghiffari told BenarNews.
He said the evidence was not strong enough for treason convictions.
"You could say that for treason, is there proof of violence or a plan to do violence. If only in words, it is part of freedom of expression," he said.


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BENARNEWS- Homophobic rhetoric is nothing new in Indonesian politics. In recent months, elected officials have labeled gay Indonesians as morally corrupt, inconsistent with national values, and "worse than nuclear warfare."
But the recent arrest of several gay men at a private party in south Jakarta's Kalibata City was a shock for many, both because the raid was led by the right-wing Islamic Defender's Front (FPI) party and because police actually followed their lead.
FPI has been emboldened in recent months by the success of initiatives including their huge rallies against Jakarta's ethnic Chinese governor, Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama. With little opposition from President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and other mainstream politicians, the group has become brazenly divisive.
Moral decay
"What's happened in 2016 is strange and unprecedented," said Kyle Knight, a Human Rights Watch researcher.
Earlier this year, he said, many prominent officials had a "sort of meltdown" where they goaded each other into making inflammatory statements like that of Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu, who compared homosexuality to nuclear war.
"And what mainstream politicians decided to do was keep quiet, so as not to fan the flames of extremists," Knight said. But silence had the opposite effect, and ultimately let their voices echo unchecked.
The acronym LGBT – lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender – has become so symbolically loaded in Indonesia, Knight said, that politicians use it as shorthand for a whole set of liberal values. "I wouldn't be surprised if some of them didn't even know what it stood for," he said.
The FPI, Knight added, has turned gay rights into a wedge issue to drum up middle-class moral outrage before regional elections in January and February.
"I think the phrase LGBT is a cheap way of appealing to 'moral voters,' and Islamic parties are using this to get votes," said prominent gay rights activist Dede Oetomo.
But this strategy might not have its desired effects. Journalist and Indonesia expert Elizabeth Pisani analyzed hundreds of sharia-inspired bylaws and found that "morality-based" legislation does not translate into popularity with voters.
Although anti-gay and religiously intolerant laws win local politicians the support of hardliners like FPI, she found, the politicians who champion them are less likely to get re-elected than their moderate peers.
The Kalibata City incident
"The fact that FPI could enter private premises is worrying," Oetomo said. "There are now different levels of reality within Indonesia, because the hardliners are so intent on turning their worldview into action."
The FPI has attacked LGBT events since at least 2002, when they disrupted a film festival in Surabaya. But until recently, Oetomo said, their position tended to be perceived as fringe.
In the Kalibata City raid, police confiscated 17 cellphones, two packs of condoms and antiretroviral drugs for HIV/AIDS, according to local newspaper Warta Kota. None of these things, nor the act of homosexual intercourse, are illegal.
"It's this pattern of behavior where the police take militant Islamists' 'tips' seriously, which is not at all surprising," Knight said. "But the chilling effect that the police send even just by showing up ... is that the social sanction comes from on high and gets interpreted as open season on LGBT people." Plus, he said, the immediacy with which FPI could claim credit for the incident on Twitter and disseminate its message to sympathetic citizens is unprecedented.
If FPI retains popular support for its LGBT stance, it may succeed in passing all or part of a proposed ban on homosexuality. In 2014, the Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI), an umbrella Muslim organization that includes FPI, issued a detailed fatwa against LGBT relations. The fatwa's rhetoric has inspired the proposed legislation.
"MUI doesn't have law enforcement capabilities, but we just wanted to remind the government of Indonesia that the LGBT movement endangers Indonesian culture and Indonesia is not the same as Western countries that allow LGBT relations," said Nadjamuddin Ramly, Deputy Secretary-General of MUI.
MUI perceives LGBT visibility as a threat to heterosexual marriage. According to the fatwa, "the institution of marriage is the only legitimate institution in channeling sexual desire and organize the household and the community."
Community watches, waits
"I'm very angry," said Anggun Pradesha, a transwoman activist and filmmaker in Yogyakarta. "FPI's hatred is strange. On the basis of some distaste, they feel so obligated to diminish the rights of other human beings."
Pradesha was rattled by the Kalibata incident. "What those men did was not illegal," she said. "What does that mean for the rest of us?"
She pointed out the slight absurdity of the whole concept of "LGBT" within Indonesia, as it groups together a centuries-old social category of transgender, or third-gender, individuals with homosexuals. But she welcomed the incidental kinship and its strength in numbers: all the better to persevere with.


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BENARNEWS- An exhausted Faisal Marwan limped into the grounds of the Taqarrub Mosque, a crutch under his right shoulder, and took a seat in the front row of chairs set up since early Friday morning.
He glanced at the mosque that had collapsed in a 6.5-magnitude earthquake that rocked western Indonesia's Aceh province two days earlier. Then his eyes rested on hundreds of children, who were singing.
"I jumped from the second floor of the shop house in the Trieng Gadeng Market when the quake hit. I really panicked when I heard the rumble of the shop next door collapsing," Faisal, 37, told BenarNews.
The earthquake, which killed 100 people and injured hundreds more, was so strong that he instantly woke from a deep sleep early Wednesday morning. His wife and three children also woke up.
In his confusion, he forgot where the stairs were. Driven by panic, he simply jumped.
His wife and children were trapped behind a wall of the next building that had collapsed into their space. A whole row of 13 shops had crumbled.
"At that moment, I didn't feel pain. I just got up, and went up to get my wife and children," he said, stroking his bandaged knee.
He had to remove debris to rescue his family, who were trapped between two walls, but not crushed.
"Thank Allah, my wife and three children were not hurt. But my wife is traumatized," he said.
Because of her condition, the family has declined to stay with about 1,000 people in a shelter that has been set up nearby, and instead are staying with relatives.
The chief of Faisal's village sent him to the mosque to be among earthquake survivors meeting President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, who on Friday visited Trieng Gadeng, a sub-district of Pidie Jaya district devastated by the temblor.
"I was treated by the masseur. My leg's not broken but I banged my knee when I jumped," he said,
Faisal said the quake was not the first for him. He and his wife survived a 9.3-magnitude temblor followed by a massive tsunami in December 2004.
"During the tsunami, my wife was heavily pregnant with our first child. I carried her as we ran for high ground. Two weeks later, she gave birth," he said.
His home at the time and hundreds of others in the coastal village of Pante Raja was obliterated by the tsunami. Two of his relatives were among the 170,000 people killed 12 year ago.
Presidential visit
During his visit to Trieng Gadeng, Jokowi promised that his government would rebuild Acehnese communities torn apart by the latest natural disaster.
"I've already decided that the mosque will be rebuilt as soon as possible, but we have to do it together, starting tomorrow," he told the crowd.
The group of children welcomed the president with a song as he arrived at the Taqqarub mosque around 10 a.m. Onlookers gathered around as the president, flanked by his security detail, walked up to the children and shook hands with some of them.
He asked who had memorized the text of Pancasila, the nation's five-pillared founding philosophy. One child came forward and recited its five principles.
"I hope you children keep the spirit of learning. Still keep singing too and always be happy," Jokowi told them.
Survivors
Greeting the crowd, Jokowi handed out payments of 15 million rupiah (U.S. $1,125) to relatives of each victim who was killed in Wednesday's earthquake.
One woman, 35-year-old Rhamawati, who lost her husband and two children in the quake, received 75 million rupiah (U.S. $3,375) in compensation from the president.
"Although I'm still sad for the disaster, I am glad that President Jokowi would come to us who are in mourning," she told BenarNews.
On Thursday, officials lowered the death toll to 100 from 102 after Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency determined that the names of two victims had been recorded twice, according to the Associated Press.
The number of people displaced by the disaster, which damaged 10,534 buildings, surpassed 11,100 on Thursday, according to Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesman for the disaster agency.
Zulkifli, a village secretary in Kuta Pangwa, Trieng Gadeng, said 189 housing units there were damaged, forcing 860 people to sleep in makeshift tents.
"Fifteen people in my village died from the collapsed houses when the earthquake hit," he told BenarNews.
Among those killed was a man named Suharnas, who was to be married on Thursday, and seven members of his family who were staying with him and planned to escort him to his wedding.
Yusra Fitriani, his fiancée, and her family learned that his home had collapsed. Her father rushed to the scene.
Instead of celebrating a wedding, Rajiati comforted her daughter.
"Stay strong my child, this is a test from God," she said, according to Agence France-Presse.


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BENARNEWS- A group of suspects arrested in a foiled bomb plot targeting the Presidential Palace in Jakarta belonged to a terrorist network led by Syria-based Indonesian Islamic State (IS) commander Bahrun Naim, the national police said Monday.
National Police spokesman Inspector Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said the seven suspects taken into custody during weekend raids in West Java and East Java provinces were part of cells believed to be tied to an IS-claimed terrorist attack in Jakarta that killed eight people in January.
They were also linked to a suicide bomb attack outside police headquarters in Surakarta (Solo), Central Java, in July, Indonesian news reports quoted him as saying. Police have accused Bahrun of masterminding the Jan. 14 attack.
The suspects in the latest plot, including an alleged female suicide bomber, planned to target crowds gathered to watch a changing of the guard ceremony outside the Presidential Palace on Sunday, police said.
"[T]hese terror cells had direct contacts with Bahrun. They operated in several cities. They belonged to a terror cell in Surakarta, Central Java. They had planned a terror attack, in which Bekasi [West Java] was just a transit area before they moved to their main target area, Jakarta," Boy told a news conference on Monday, the Jakarta Post reported.
On Saturday police officers from the anti-terror squad Densus 88 arrested four people who allegedly were plotting a suicide attack outside the palace. The next day, authorities arrested three more suspects in different locations in Central Java and East Java, according to another national police spokesman, Senior Commander Awi Setiyono.
Police identified six of the suspects as Kafid Fathoni, Nur Solihin, Agus Supriyadi, Dian Yulia Novi, Sutanto (alias Abu Izzah) and Wawan Prasetyo, according to the Post.
Dian was prepared to serve as "a bride" – a term in terror networks that connotes a suicide bomber, police alleged. During her arrest police seized a high-explosive bomb packed into a pressure cooker in her rented room in a house in Bekasi. The bomb squad later detonated it.
Police also found a letter that Dian allegedly wrote to her parents, claiming she was ready to be a martyr.
A neighbor said one of the suspects, who was identified by the initials A.S., was known as an active preacher at a nearby mosque.

"He is one of those who was taking care of the mosque, but there was never any deviant activity, let alone bomb making," the neighbor told BenarNews.

Debate over leader
Security analysts commented on Bahrun's role in the foiled plot.
Bahrun is an Islamic State leader in Syria who has influence in Indonesia through the formation of small terror cells, said Khairul Fahmi, an analyst with the Institute for Security and Strategic Studies.
As long as Bahrun is around, the potential for terror attacks lingers, said another analyst, Ridlwan Habib of the University of Indonesia.
"I suspect there will be more terrorist acts," he told BenarNews.
Ridlwan suggested that the Indonesian government figure out how to capture Bahrun, even if that meant working with the CIA or Britain's MI6 to catch him.
"If we wait until he dies in the war, it could be very long and very risky to Indonesia," Ridlwan said.
Terrorism analyst Sidney Jones, director of the Jakarta-based Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC), earlier challenged the police's claim that Bahrun Naim was behind the January attack. She said the attack was plotted and executed by a home-based group, whose ideological leader is imprisoned Indonesian Muslim cleric Aman Abdurrahman.
Fight together
Following the arrests, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo urged the Indonesian people to come together to fight terrorism.
"Without the support of the whole society, it would be hard to fight terrorism. There is no room, no matter how small it is, for terrorism in Indonesia," he said.
Responding to a question regarding the plot against the palace, Jokowi said terrorists could strike anywhere.
"Terrorists can target anything, everything (has been targeted), mosques, churches, hotels, embassies, streets. Therefore, the government, people, the police, we have to continue to fight," he said.


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BENARNEWS- Jakarta's governor teared up on the first day of his blasphemy trial as he told the court Tuesday that he did not believe he had uttered offensive words against Islam, Indonesia's main religion.
Gov. Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama testified at the North Jakarta Distict Court that he never intended to offend Muslims during a speech in the Thousand Islands regency near Jakarta on Sept. 27, in which he cited Surah Al-Maida Verse 51 from the Quran.
Some have interpreted the passage as barring Muslims from having non-Muslim leaders. Ahok is running in the February 2017 gubernatorial elections for Indonesia's capital region. While campaigning for the governor's race, he has faced virulent calls from conservative Muslim groups and mass street protests calling for his prosecution over his alleged anti-Islam comments.
A Christian and member of the ethnic Chinese minority, Ahok told the court about how he grew up in a Muslim family.
"The love of my adoptive parents remains strong," Ahok said, tearing up as he read his statement.
"I would be like a person who does not know how to be grateful, if I don't respect the religion and the holy book of my adoptive parents and my adoptive older siblings who are devoted Muslims," he said.
Shortly after Chief Judge Dwiarso Budi Santiarto opened the trial, prosecutor Ali Mukartono read out the charge for violating Indonesia's blasphemy law. If convicted, Ahok could face up to five years in prison.
Ahok, an associate of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and who was his deputy when Jokowi served as Jakarta's governor, does not face a charge under Indonesia's Information and Electronic Transactions law as previously reported.
'Our adopted brother'
As the court session ended around noon, Ahok sat in silence. A woman wearing a hijab, his half-sister Nana Riwayatie, came in and hugged him.
Her late father, Andi Baso Amir, was a friend of Ahok's father and each had promised to be brothers to each other, said Nana's biological brother, Andi Baso Analta Amir.
"So it's yes, Ahok is our adopted brother. That's why we paid for his (postgraduate) school and we take care of him," the television program Liputan 6 quoted Andi Baso Analta Amir as saying on the homepage of a website.
Ahok himself testified about how his adopted family paid for his schooling in Jakarta.
The trial that was live-streamed online drew pro- and anti-Ahok demonstrators.
Anti-Ahok protesters gathered outside the court, carrying banners and posters calling for him to be locked up. They yelled that he be arrested and chanted "Allahu Akbar!"
"He claimed that his mouth never hurt Muslims. That's what Ahok said in tears in the courtroom," said Muhammad Al-Khotot, the secretary of the Islamic Forum, drawing cheers from anti-Ahok protesters.
"In fact, my brothers, I watched a video uploaded by the Jakarta Communications and Information Department where Ahok shows himself as manly, Al-Khotot said, as he mocked Ahok for crying in the courtroom.
Central Jakarta Police spokesman Commissioner Suyanto said the government had deployed about 2,000 personnel to secure the trial, as well as eight police tactical vehicles including four with water cannons. The vehicles were placed between the supporters and protesters.
Previously, tens of thousands had attended protests against Ahok in Jakarta. The most recent protest, on Dec. 2, remained peaceful while a similar one a month earlier turned violent after nightfall.
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Scores of anti-Ahok protestors rally outside the North Jakarta District Courthouse, Dec. 13, 2016. (Arie Firdaus/BenarNews)
'Premature'
After the court adjourned, Ahok left the courthouse and got into a police cruiser without making any comments. The trial is to resume Dec. 20 when prosecutors are to respond to an objection by Ahok's attorney that the indictment against him is not legal.
"He cannot be prosecuted under (the blasphemy law) before he got an admonition," lawyer I. Wayan Sudirta said.
"The rule has not been revoked and therefore it is subject to the legal basis of the case. This trial is premature," he added.
Prosecutor Mukartono told reporters that his team had a different perception of the law.
"We will explain next week," he said.


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BENARNEWS- In unprecedented TV interviews, a man and a woman allegedly on the brink of becoming Indonesia's first female suicide bomber gave a chilling account of their marriage, carried out to facilitate an attack they said was being planned and directed from Syria.
In separate interviews conducted late Tuesday at an unspecified location after their arrest, Dian Yulia Novi and Nur Solihin told private television network TVOne how they had received instructions over Telegram from someone whom they believed was Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian member of the extremist group Islamic State (IS).
The two are among seven suspects arrested over the weekend for a suicide attack planned for Dec. 11 during a changing-of-the-guard outside the presidential palace in Jakarta, according to police.
Nur Solihin said he took the bomb – a rice cooker packed with high-powered explosives – to the rented room where his wife, Dian Yulia Novi, was staying.
"All of it, from the target, the hour, the time, the person who arranged it was Bahrun Naim. I myself didn't know the details at first ... but when the time drew near, he informed me," Nur Solihin said during a 23-minute interview uploaded to YouTube by TVOne.
Police seized the device in Bekasi, a city adjacent to Jakarta, and later detonated it, officials said during a press conference on Monday.
'Someone stood in for me'
Dian, reportedly 27 years old, told an interviewer that she was from Cirebon, West Java, and had worked abroad as a domestic servant in Singapore for a year and a half and in Taiwan for three years.
Clad in a black niqab, she said she was an avid consumer of jihadist articles and podcasts on Facebook.
"On Facebook, for the last year, I opened the status of jihadists who inspired me," she said, speaking without emotion and seldom looking at her interviewer.
In October 2016, she married a man she had been introduced to and conversed with on Telegram that same month. She was aware he was already married and had children. She had never seen him and did not attend the wedding, which was arranged by her soon-to-be husband, she said.
"I don't really know how it was done, everything was handled by [Nur Solihin], and someone stood in for me," she said.
They met after the marriage for the first time, and again in November, when he helped her make an oath to the Islamic State.
She said she had been certain about being a suicide bomber for at least three months, not out of desperation to end her life but "as a way to please God."
She did not know the details of the planned attack, but was eventually informed by Bahrun Naim via Telegram chat that the target would be presidential guards outside the Presidential Palace.
He instructed her to mingle with the spectators who typically gather to watch the changing of the guard, then run toward the guards and detonate herself, she said.
'The bomber should be a woman'
Interviewed separately, Nur Solihin said the motivation for the marriage was to prepare Dian to be a suicide bomber, which had long been her ambition, he claimed.
He said he grew to love his new wife "very much" but was still willing to facilitate her death because it was her goal, he said.
"It was Bahrun Naim who said the bomber should be a woman," he said.
Nur Solihin said he had known about Bahrun Naim "for a long time" and had sent his resume to write for his "media" but did not meet him before he left for Syria.
Since all their communications were over Telegram text, how could he be sure it was Bahrun Naim? An interviewer asked.
"I believe it was Bahrun Naim, but it's not important," he replied.
"[T]hese terror cells had direct contacts with Bahrun. They operated in several cities. They belonged to a terror cell in Surakarta [Solo], Central Java. They had planned a terror attack, in which Bekasi was just a transit area before they moved to their main target area, Jakarta," police spokesman Boy Rafli Amar told a news conference on Monday, the Jakarta Post reported.


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BENARNEWS- A top official of the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) on Friday urged media to avoid providing a platform for violent ideology when broadcasting interviews with terrorism suspects.
The comments followed the arrest of a woman police said was on the brink of becoming Indonesia's first female suicide bomber, and the equally unprecedented broadcast three days later of lengthy interviews with the suspect and her husband.
The two are among nine suspects arrested this week for a suicide attack planned for Dec. 11 outside the presidential palace in Jakarta, according to police.
"You must be careful. Especially when it comes to arguing theology," Sujarwanto Rahmat Arifin, vice chairman of the KPI, told BenarNews.
The woman, Dian Yulia Novi, 27, alluded to a Hadith – one of the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad – and then appeared to engage in a theological debate with her interviewer when asked why she thought suicide bombing was an acceptable form of jihad.
"Arguing about the interpretation of that verse was very risky," Sujarwanto said.
Asludin Hatjani, an attorney representing the two suspects, disagreed that the interviews could spread terrorist ideology.
On the contrary, he said, they could convince people that the arrests were not a ploy to distract attention from the ongoing blasphemy trial of Jakarta Gov. Basuku Tjahaja Purnama, a view that has circulated widely on social media in Indonesia.
Therefore, he did not prevent his clients from giving the interviews, Asludin said.
"They were willing. That's what counts," he said.
TVOne, the network that ran the interviews, declined to comment for this story when contacted by BenarNews.
Marriage for disaster
Religious leaders, meanwhile, repudiated comments by Dian's husband, Nur Solihin, that he had married her to facilitate her goal of becoming a suicide bomber.
Asked if such a marriage was religiously justified, Solihin replied, "God willing, it's justified. The purpose was to seek Allah's pleasure."
"A marriage meant to create disaster for others is outside the definition of marriage stipulated by religion," Anwar Abbas, secretary general of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), told BenarNews on Friday.
Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin said that marriage is a sacred matter between a couple and God.
"If it becomes a vehicle to contradict the teachings of religion, that should not be," he was quoted as saying by the website detik.com.
A surge in female suspects
Female suicide bombers have been seen in Middle Eastern countries but never in Indonesia, noted Ridlwan Habib, a terrorism expert from University of Indonesia.
He called it a new strategy from Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian IS figure in Syria who police allege was behind the plot and, according to Nur Solihin, specifically instructed that the suicide bomber should be female.
"This is a new method, a smart strategy, by Bahrun Naim, who is looking for the weakness of the security forces," he told BenarNews.
Police say that Bahrun Naim also masterminded the first IS-claimed attack in Indonesia, in January 2016. The gun and bomb attack in central Jakarta left eight dead, including four attackers.
People think of suicide bombers as men with backpacks, whereas police are likely to be less suspicious of a woman, Ridlwan said.
To date, Indonesian women have had a behind-the-scenes role in terrorism networks, preparing logistics, taking care of children or supporting their husbands, he said.
"There are some who became geurillas in the forest, taking up arms like the wife of Santoso in Poso, but no one has come out in front like this," he said.
Authorities arrested four female of the Eastern Indonesia Mujahidin (MIT) between July and October, including one who was pregnant. The network has been all but destroyed by security forces, who killed its leader, Santoso, in July.
A total of four women were arrested this week for alleged links to the suicide plot, including Dian, who was taken into custody in Bekasi, West Java on Dec. 10.
On Monday, police arrested Arinda Putri Maharani, 25, the first wife of Nur Solihin, in Solo, Central Java, alleging that she had facilitated financing of the plot and had failed to disclose it to authorities.
Early Thursday, police arrested Tutin, alias Ummu Abza, who allegedly introduced Dian and Nur Solihin. Arrested in Tasikmalaya, West Java, Tutin is thought to have radicalized Dian and encouraged her to become a suicide bomber, the Jakarta Post reported.
Police picked up Ika Puspitasari alias Salsabika Taslimah in Purworejo, Central Java, on Thursday evening but have not yet disclosed her alleged role.


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BENARNEWS- Indonesian police arrested more than 500 people on Sunday and Monday in connection with protests against Papua's incorporation into Indonesia in the 1960s.
The arrests took place in the Papuan towns of Jayapura, Merauke, Nabire, Wamena, Sorong, Manokwari, Timika, Yahukimo, as well as Manado, (North Sulawesi) Ambon (Maluku), Ternate (North Maluku), Bandung (West Java), Yogyakarta (Central Java) and Jakarta, according to Veronica Koman, a lawyer with the Legal Aid Institute in Jakarta.
"A total of 528 people were arrested. Two journalists were preventing by police from reporting, Arnold Belau from suarapapua.com and Zely Ariane from Jubi," she said.
"In Nabire, four people were arrested when they went to the police station to report a peaceful demonstration to be carried out on Monday," she said.
Demonstrators had planned actions to mark the anniversary of Operation Trikora, an ultimately successful effort to absorb what was then known as West Irian into Indonesia launched on Dec. 19, 1961.
Indonesia, under then-president Soekarno, viewed all former Dutch possessions in the region as rightful parts of the young nation, and began a military campaign to "liberate" West Irian, which at the time was undergoing decolonization aimed at independence.
Amid escalating tensions, the Dutch abandoned the region and in May 1963, via the United Nations, West Irian was transferred to Indonesia. Some 1,025 Papuans who participated in a U.N.-mandated "Act of Free Choice" in 1969 chose integration.
The provinces of Papua and West Papua, located at the eastern end of the Indonesian archipelago, make up approximately one-fifth of Indonesia's land mass. Only 5.9 million of Indonesia's 250 million people live there.
Warning shots
Police began arresting people in connection with the planned protests late Sunday including in Wamena, a town in the Papuan highlands.
"Around 10:00 p.m., joint army and police forces arrested 30 members of the West Papua National Committee at the secretariat of the Papua Traditional Council (DAP) in Sinapuk. There were also sweeps on Patimura Street," local leader Dominikus Surabut told BenarNews on Monday.
Contacted by telephone, Jayawijaya Police Chief Yan Piter Reba confirmed the arrests and said they were carried out to prevent unrest.
"We held them because on the demonstration on Dec. 10, when we gave them a permit but ... several public facilities were damaged," he said.
John Jonga, a priest in Jayawijaya, said that police fired weapons at a gathering in Sinakma Field in Wamena late Sunday, and took children into custody.
"Children were also arrested and taken to the police station. A mother with a four-year-old child was taken to the police station, along with six other children about eight or nine years old," he said.
Security forces also fired weapons near a crowd gathering at Kama Field, John said.
"The number of people detained at the police station at the moment is about 155," John said.
Reba confirmed that "warning shots" had been fired.
"My officer fired warning shots in the air because he was kicked. No one was hurt," he said.
He said that people arrested in the night had been freed the following day.
'Illegal items'
In Jayapura, the provincial capital located on the north coast of Papua province, security forces blocked an attempted march and seized several motorcycles from the campus of Cenderawasih University.
A top university official, Vice Rector Fredik Sokoy, said the action was not requested by the university. Agustinus Mosip, the manager of a university dormitory, Asrama Rusunawa, said police had raided the place without a permit.
Seven people were arrested: Gobodus Kogoya, Teren Surabut, Fred Walianggen, Edi Jalak, Elselina Tebai, Elihut Tebai and Opin Yeimo.
Provincial police spokesman Ahmad Mustopa Kamal said officers entered the hostel because demonstrators ran inside, and arrested people after discovering illegal items.
"We found motorcycles with no permits, marijuana, Free Papua paraphernalia, arrows, machetes, three pieces of ammunition and a laptop," Ahmad said.
If no proof is found linking the arrested individuals to the items they will be released, he said.


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BENARNEWS- Testimony from a female would-be suicide bomber helped Indonesian police thwart planned Christmas and New Year's attacks by killing three suspects and capturing four others on Wednesday, officials told reporters.
Members of the anti-terror squad Densus 88, acting on testimony provided by Dian Yulia Novi, arrested a suspect identified as Adam, at 8 a.m. in South Tangerang, Banten, West Java province, about 25 km (15 miles) from Jakarta. Dian, who allegedly planned a suicide bomb attack outside the Presidential Palace during a changing-of-the-guard ceremony, was arrested Dec. 10.
Brig. Gen. Rikwanto, chief of the national police's public information bureau, said Adam had told officers about three friends who lived in a house in the neighborhood of Babakan, South Tangerang.  When Densus 88 raided the house around 9:45 a.m., the three resisted and were shot dead.
"They had been asked to surrender but they fought back, and threw a bomb, but the bomb did not explode. So we had to take firm action to paralyze them," Rikwanto told a press conference at national police headquarters in Jakarta.
The dead suspects were identified as Omen, Erwan, and Helmi. Police found homemade pipe bombs and firearms in the rented house. The bombs were detonated at the scene.
"They wanted to detonate bombs at Christmas and New Year targeting police. (Their plan) was first to stab a police officer to attract crowd, and then detonate the bomb," Jakarta Police Chief Inspector-General Mochamad Iriawan told reporters.
Additional arrests
Elsewhere, police arrested a suspect in Payakumbuh, West Sumatra, identified as Jhon Tanamal, (alias Hamza), and another in Deli Serdang, North Sumatra, identified as Syafii.
National Police Chief Gen. Tito Karnavian said both were associated with the Khatibah Gonggong Rebus (KGR), a group that had planned a rocket attack on Singapore from the nearby Indonesian island of Batam, in August. Police found books and documents on bomb-making and materials, a national police spokesman said.
A suspect arrested Wednesday afternoon in Sagulung sub district in Batam has been identified as Abisya. He is part of KGR and affiliated with Bahrun Naim, according to police.
"Together with the other members of KGR, he helped two ethnic Uyghurs enter Indonesia illegally and hid their presence while in Batam," Police Commander Awi Setiyono said in a statement. In August 2015 in Batam, Abisya and fellow KGR members allegedly pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS).
Where is Bahrun Naim?
According to police, Dian's husband, Muhammad Nur Solihin, who also was arrested on Dec. 10, led a network preparing terror attacks in several areas in Indonesia. Nur, who pledged allegiance to IS, said in a television interview that he had received instructions from Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian who is believed to be in Syria and leading an IS combat unit made up of Southeast Asian fighters.
On Tuesday, the deputy head for law enforcement of the National Counterterrorism Agency said the government was not certain of the current location of Bahrun Naim. Police have said he was behind a terror attack in Jakarta that left eight dead, including the four attackers, on Jan. 14.
Indonesian police have also said that a terrorist cell in Indonesia was working under the direction of Bahrun Naim and other radical figures, including Bahrun Syah and Abu Whalid (alias Syaifuddin).
"The latest information is, they've been given assignments in Southeast Asia, based in the southern Philippines," National Police spokesman Boy Rafli Amar told a news conference on Dec. 16.
Year-end attack doctrine
Al Chaidar, a terrorism analyst from the Malikussaleh University in Lhokseumawe, Aceh, said Wednesday's arrests were connected to a doctrine issued in 2000 by Hambali, a former leader of the Southeast Asian militant group Jemaah Islamiyah. He is now incarcerated at Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba, and had earlier called for attacks to be carried out during the Christmas and New Year holidays.
"The main target is police because they believe police are taghoutso they should be attacked," Chaidar told BenarNews, using a term from Islamic theology that refers to idolatry or to the worship of anything except Allah.
He added that those arrested belonged to a very small cell.
"They do not know each other but are ruled by the same person," he said.
Some of those arrested could be affiliated with Aman Abdurahman and Bahrun Naim, said Abu Harith Ulya, another terrorism expert. Aman is an inmate who was convicted for his role in terrorist training by Jemaah Islamiyah in Aceh, in 2010.
"There is another possibility, they are just IS sympathizers who are not connected with Bahrun Naim, but read Bahrun's guidance that circulated in social media," Harith told BenarNews.
Tia Asmara contributed to this report.


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BENARNEWS- The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), the nation's top Muslim cleric group, issued a fatwa recently prohibiting companies from forcing employees to dress as Santa Claus or wear Christmas-related clothing.
MUI claims that the fatwa respects Indonesia's diversity, while human rights activists challenged the council, stating it failed to anticipate the fatwa's destructive effects.
Meanwhile, Islamic groups last week protested in shopping areas in Surabaya, East Java, and Solo, Central Java, urging Muslims to not deliver Christmas wishes nor wear clothing and accessories tied to Christmas and New Year.
Activists and political analysts said the MUI fatwa was done out of political interest.
Freedom Institute research associate Luthfi Assyaukanie has voiced concerns over MUI fatwas in the past few years.
"Before the reformation era (beginning in 1998), MUI issued few fatwas. The only controversial one regarding pluralism was the ban on Muslims from delivering Christmas wishes to Christians, issued by Buya Hamka in 1981," Luthfi told BenarNews.
Controversy
"Now almost every year, MUI issued controversial fatwas because there is no authority that has the right to control it anymore," he said.
Hendardi, chairman of the human rights organization SETARA Institute, said the fatwas failed to represent Islamic efforts in supporting tolerance.
"MUI is focusing more on strengthening its political influence, including the fatwa which labels some groups as deviant and forces the government to recognize the fatwa," Hendardi said in a statement.
Radical groups represented
Luthfi said MUI was established during Suharto's reign as president from 1967 to 1998 to control Islamic groups potentially opposing the government.
"MUI was practically able to be controlled by the ruling government. But during reformation, the structure of the organization has shifted," Luthfi said, referring to the post-Suharto years.
Previously, MUI leaders were appointed by the government. Now, MUI members must represent every existing Islamic organization in Indonesia.
"Then trouble comes. Since every Islamic group must have representatives on MUI, radical groups can appoint theirs," said an activist for the Liberal Islam Network. "That has changed the face of MUI."
Unauthorized sweeping
At least seven people were detained for allegedly conducting an unauthorized sweep at Social Kitchen, a bar in Solo, Central Java, on Dec. 18. Sweeps refers to Muslim groups acting as moral police by raiding venues that they determine do not meet their standards.
"We have arrested two more suspects last night, so we have a total of seven suspects detained," National Police Chief Tito Karnavian said Thursday during an inauguration ceremony that marked the beginning of Operasi Lilin, an operation to guard against security threats during Christmas and New Year holidays.
Indonesian authorities are deploying 150,000 police and other security personnel as part of this year's operation.
"I command the Central Java Police Chief to continue the investigation, because the report said there were at least 50 people who raided the bar and conducted violence. I want them to be arrested as a deterrent," he said.
MUI denounced the sweeps and in an official statement on Dec. 20, MUI Charman Ma'ruf Amin said the fatwa was misunderstood by some people.
"The fatwa was issued to respect the spirit of pluralism and religious tolerance in Indonesia. "The meaning of pluralism is to raise the awareness toward difference, including in observing one's belief/religion," Ma'ruf said.
Another key point in pluralism, he added, is to respect others.
"Every coercion is against the human rights and the nation's constitution," Ma'ruf said in his statement.
Marsudi Syuhud, secretary general of Nahdlatul Ulama, one of the largest Islamic organizations in Indonesia, said MUI had the right to issue fatwas, but he regreted that groups have used them to conduct unauthorized sweeps.
"Kyai Ma'ruf Amin has urged the people to not conduct such sweeping, because in Islam such coercion is not allowed. I would say no more sweeping," he said.
"Nurturing tolerance must come from both sides. We need to respect each other and fully understand that coercion in the matters of belief is restricted. Any employee who does not wish to wear non-muslim accessories should be respected."


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BENARNEWS- Indonesian police killed two suspected militants in the latest raids aimed at preventing planned attacks during the Christmas and New Year holidays, a police spokesman said.
The suspects, identified as Abu Sofi and Abu Fais, were killed in a shootout with the anti-terror police squad Densus 88 when they raided a floating house at Jatiluhur Lake in the Purwakarta district in West Java on Sunday afternoon, said Brig. Gen. Rikwanto, chief of the national police's public information bureau.
"There were two men there and there was a gunfight and we had to shoot them because they fought back when asked to surrender," Rikwanto told reporters in Jakarta.
Police said they raided the house after receiving information from two suspects identified as Ivan and Rijal, who were arrested by the Densus 88 members at Ubrug village in Purwakarta district around 9 a.m. The village is about one kilometer from The Jatiluhur Lake.
Police said they fired five warning shots to force the suspects to surrender, but Abu Fais came toward officers while brandishing a machete, causing officers to shoot and kill him. Police also shot and killed Abu Sofi after he tried to fight officers using a knife and machete.
Rikwanto said police seized evidence including weapons and a letter indicating they planned to launch an attack during the holidays.
Police said both suspects are linked to the Jamaah Anshar Daulah (JAD) network affiliated with Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian who is believed to be in Syria and leading an Islamic State (IS) combat unit made up of Southeast Asian fighters. Police blame him for being the mastermind behind a terror attack in Jakarta on Jan. 14 that killed eight people, including the four attackers.
National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) Second Deputy Arif Darmawan said there is high potential of threat from a new cell led by Bahrun Naim because members have moved their focus from the Middle East to Southeast Asia.
"So now they tend to execute acts of terror in their respective territories," he said.
'Candle 2016'
BNPT and police have said they prepared for terror threats by adding security personnel in several locations.
"We will do security checking, patrol in several public places including malls, amusement parks and churches," Arif told BenarNews.
On Thursday, Indonesia President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo discussed preparations for securing the nation and called on the army to assist police in maintaining security during the security operation code named "Candle 2016" through Jan. 1.
National police Chief Tito Karnavian said 85,000 of his police, 15,000 military personnel and 50,000 others including as security guards, municipal police, Ministry of Transportation personnel and others will be deployed during the Christmas and New Year holidays.
Meanwhile, police said officers thwarted potential Christmas and New Year's attacks Wednesday when they killed three suspects and captured four others. Police said they relied on testimony from a female would-be suicide bomber who had been captured earlier Dec. 10 before she was able to blow herself up during a changing-of-the-guard ceremony outside the Presidential Palace.
Three extradited from Turkey
The head of foreign ministry's director for the protection of Indonesian nationals and entities abroad, Lalu Muhammad Iqbal, said three Indonesian were extradited from Turkey after allegedly joining Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTF) in Syria.
"They were arrested by the Turkish police on Dec. 22 in Hatay, Turkey, and sent back to Indonesia yesterday. Hatay is a city near Raqqa where a lot of people travel before going to Syria," he said.
The three are identified as Tomi Gunawan, 18, of Pekanbaru, Riau province, Jang Johana, 25, of Bandung, West Java, and Irfan, 21, of Jakarta.
"They arrived yesterday and were handed over to police to be questioned in Mobile Brigade Command Headquarters detention center in Depok, West Java," he said. "Based on their testimonies, they do not know each other," he said.
Since January 2015, 220 Indonesians have been deported by the Turkish government over attempts to travel to Syria to join IS.
Attacks tied to Guantanamo prisoner
Al Chaidar, a terrorism analyst from the Malikussaleh University in Lhokseumawe, Aceh, said Wednesday's raids were connected to a doctrine issued in 2000 by Hambali, a former leader of the Southeast Asian militant group Jemaah Islamiyah. Hambali is incarcerated at Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba, and had earlier called for attacks to be carried out during the Christmas and New Year holidays.
"The main target is police because they believe police are taghoutso they should be attacked," Chaidar told BenarNews, using a term from Islamic theology that refers to idolatry or to the worship of anything except Allah.
Ismira Lutfia Tisnadibrata contributed to this report.


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BENARNEWS- When worshipers poured out of Maranatha Church in Ambon, Indonesia, around 9 p.m. Christmas Eve, dozens of Muslim youth lined up to greet them and shake their hands.
Similar scenes were repeated at other churches in Ambon and in many parts of Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, where Christmas services unfolded without incident despite reported plots to target such gatherings, and a series of arrests of alleged militants in recent days.
"Our hope is that Christmas brings peace for all of us, not only Christian people but all people," said Daim Baco Rahwarin, chairman of the Maluku Region Ansor Youth Movement, one of the Muslim groups that turned out to boost security outside the church.
Muslims and other non-Christians also turned out for Christmas Carols in Ambon, a musical event presented at the church on Dec. 22 and 23 for the last five years. At the close of the performance, Christian singer Sierra Latuperissa and Muslim crooner Nurul Tosiuta sang duets.
Jacky Manuputty, a priest who organized the event, said about 1,000 people participated. He said he hoped the presence of people of multiple faiths would serve as a good example of tolerance and brotherhood.
"We emphasized universal, humanitarian themes. We also prayed for the people of Aleppo, because there are not only Muslims there, but Christians as well," he said.
About 10 percent of Indonesia's 250 million people are Christian.
Some 5,000 people were killed and more than 700,000 displaced by Muslim-Christian violence on Ambon between 1999 and 2002.
'The trauma is still there'
More than 1,000 km (700 miles) west of Ambon, worshippers gathered for Christmas services at Oikumene Church in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, the site of a Molotov cocktail attack on Nov. 13 that killed 2-year-old Intan Olivia Banjarnahor and injured three other children.
Poppi Siregar, 28, and Friadi Samosir, 31, felt uneasy as they hurried into the church with their 8-month-old child, Tiur April Samosir.
"The trauma is still there. Who can forget it?" said Poppi.
Another parishioner, 24-year-old Ririn, said she had braced herself to come to church.
"Of course we're worried. The marks of the Molotov cocktail are still visible in front of the church,"she said.
East Kalimantan police deployed 2,336 personnel to protect Christmas and New Year's celebrations in the province.
"Christians should carry out their worship in tranquility," said East Kalimantan police chief Safaruddin.
Ansor, the youth wing of moderate Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), sent 250 young men to stand guard outside churches in the area, one local leader said.
"Our members are outside every church. Their presence is inconspicuous,"said Herman Hasan, secretary general of the East Kalimantan branch of Ansor.
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A policeman stands outside Oikumene Church in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, Dec. 24, 2016. (Gunawan/BenarNews)
'Pluralism should be maintained'
As many as 1.7 million Ansor members were on standby to help secure Christmas celebrations throughout Indonesia, according to Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, the general secretary of Ansor, based in Jakarta.
"We are ready if security officials or church authorities ask us to help facilitate smooth worship for our Christian brothers," he told BenarNews on Dec. 23.
He said Ansor was prepared to do so as an expression of Islam, which seeks to be a blessing for the whole of society.
"The majority giving comfort to the minority, and at the same time expressing the message that all citizens, whatever their religion, have the right to express and carry out the teachings of their faith calmy and safely," he said.
"The diversity and pluralism of Indonesia should be maintained. That is the commitment of the Ansor Youth Movement," he added.
At least 20 people have been arrested and five killed by police in Java and Sumatra, in the western part of Indonesia, since Dec. 10. Police said they had thwarted planned terrorist attacks.
Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo deployed more than 150,000 security forces from Dec. 23 to Jan. 1 to guard Christmas and New Year's holidays, similar to the number in recent years.
"What is different this year is the fact that IS is being pushed back in the Middle East and there have been strong exhortations on a repeated basis coming out of IS media that if you can't do something in Syria, if you can't join us in Syria or Iraq, then wage war at home," Jakarta-based security expert Sidney Jones told Voice of America (VOA), a sister entity of BenarNews.
Ismira Lutfia Tisnadibrata in Jakarta contributed to this report.


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BENARNEWS- An Indonesian court Tuesday rejected a motion filed by lawyers for Jakarta Gov. Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama and ordered that his blasphemy trial over alleged anti-Islam comments go on.
The motion was the last legal opportunity to stop the trial of the governor, a member of Indonesia's Christian and ethnic Chinese minorities who is running for election in February.
The allegations against Ahok have grabbed national headlines before and since his trial opened on Dec. 13. They have led to mass street protests by Muslim groups that have called for his prosecution, including one on Nov. 4 that ended in rioting and looting in central Jakarta.
"The objection of the defendant Basuki Tjahaja Purnama and his lawyers cannot be accepted," presiding Judge Dwiarso Budi Santiarso said Tuesday in the courtroom of the North Jakarta District Court.
The judge also agreed with the prosecutor and rejected a claim by Ahok's lawyers that pressure from the Muslim community was responsible for bringing the case to trial.
Ahok, when asked if would accept or appeal the ruling, consulted with his lawyer and said, "We will take it into consideration."
Ahok's lawyer, Sirra Prayuna, said the court's rejection was normal in such a case.
"We have set up five to seven fact and expert witnesses who will testify during the trial, he said.
When the trial opened two weeks ago, Ahok testified that he never intended to offend Muslims during a speech in the Thousand Islands regency near Jakarta on Sept. 27, when he cited Surah Al-Maida Verse 51 from the Quran. Some have interpreted the passage as barring Muslims from having non-Muslim leaders.
The next court hearing is scheduled for Jan. 3. For security reasons, it will be moved to an auditorium in the Ministry of Agriculture, a larger room that can accommodate more than 80 people.
Catholic complaint
Meanwhile, the Jakarta Police Department has received a report of alleged blasphemy by Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) leader Muhammad Rizieq Shihab, whose group has been among the most vocal calling for Ahok's prosecution.
The Catholic Students Association of the Republic of Indonesia (PMKRI) reported the hardline cleric to the police on Monday for a sermon he gave at a mosque in Pondok Kelapa, East Jakarta, on Christmas Day.
"We feel humiliated, feel offended by the speech of hate delivered by Habib Rizieq Shihab," association leader Angelius Wake Kako told reporters.
In his talk, the FPI chief allegedly questioned Christian beliefs that Jesus Christ was the Son of God.
"He said 'if God could give birth, who was the midwife.' And we learned many of the congregation were laughing at what Rizieq said," Angelius said.
A spokesman for Jakarta police, Raden Prabowo Argo Yuwono, confirmed that officers were investigating the complaint against Rizieq.
Argo told BenarNews that police needed time to study the report, and would contact Rizieq if there was sufficient evidence against him.


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BENARNEWS- A sharp increase in terrorism arrests in Indonesia in 2016 point to an ongoing threat in the coming year, amid evidence that Islamic State figures abroad are actively directing militants at home.
Terrorism attacks and arrests more than doubled to 170 this year, from 82 in 2015, National Police Chief Tito Karnavian told a press conference in Jakarta on Dec. 28.
"There are still terrorism suspects on the wanted list," he said.
Morevoer, the loss of territory held by the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Syria has led its leaders to call for acts of terror in other locations, including Indonesia, he said.
Earlier this month, police disrupted a planned attack outside the presidential palace in Jakarta that would have been the first by a female suicide bomber in Indonesia.
In chilling television interviews after their arrest, the woman and her husband said they were following orders given via Telegram text messages by Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian IS figure who went to Syria in 2014 but may have since moved to the southern Philippines, according to police.
Santoso slain
Police say that Bahrun Naim also masterminded an attack outside a department store in central Jakarta on Jan. 14 that left eight dead, including four attackers. That incident was the first Islamic State-claimed attack in Southeast Asia.
At least five people have been convicted and sent to jail for support roles in that attack.
"Most of these cases we prevented. But for those that turned into attacks, we want to successfully solve them," Tito said.
The 2016 figure of 170 attacks or arrests includes 33 suspected terrorists killed by security forces, a sharp increase from seven in 2015.
Among those killed in 2016 was Santoso, Indonesia's most wanted militant since 2012, who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in 2014.
Indonesia security forces also succeeded in 2016 in reducing his group, the Eastern Indonesia Mujahideen (MIT), to some nine fugitives, thanks to a series of joint police-military operations in Central Sulawesi launched in January 2015.
The MIT, which carried out a series of attacks on police in 2012, was seen as the remnants of the Jemaah Islamiyah network responsible for the 2002 and 2005 Bali bombings. At the start of this year, MIT numbered around 30 people, including six ethnic Uyghurs from China and three women.
Excessive force
Indonesia's counterterrorism force, Densus 88, has foiled dozens of planned terrorist attacks over the years – at least 54 since 2010, according to an analysis by Reuters.
"Densus 88 has become better than pretty well any other counter-terrorism group in the world," Greg Barton, a terrorism export at Alfred Deakin Institute in Melbourne, told the British news agency.
But the unit is deeply unpopular in many parts of Indonesia, accused of secrecy and killing too many alleged terrorism suspects.
In March, there were calls for reform and oversight of the unit after a suspect died three days after being taken into custody by Densus 88 in Klanten, Central Java.
The following month, at a press conference in Jakarta, a national police spokesman claimed that Siyono, 34, was the leader of a new offshoot of Jemaah Islamiyah.
Also in April, at the request of his wife, Siyono's corpse was disinterred for an autopsy, which found that he had suffered six broken ribs, a fractured sternum and blunt trauma to the chest cavity that affected heart tissue and caused his death.
In May, a police commission on ethics and professionalism ordered that two Densus 88 members receive a no-confidence demotion, effectively terminating their work with the force.
Haris Azhar, coordinator of the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS), expressed appreciation for the work of the counter terror force combating what he called a real terrorism threat in Indonesia.
"But there are still many accountability matters over the least ten years that have not been addressed. There needs to be accountabilility for every bomb found and every person killed, and clear accusations," he told BenarNews.
Hafid Abbas, who sits on the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM), urged Densus 88 to adhere to human rights principles in carrying out its work.
"There must be accountability and auditing institutions, so that it [Densus 88] is not the only source of truth," he said.
'Many victims would have fallen'
In an interview with BenarNews on Friday, Saud Usman Nasution, the former head of Densus 88, said the force follows clear procedure and shoots only at suspects who resist arrest or brandish weapons or explosives.
"If my men didn't succeed in the field, many attacks would have taken place and many victims would have fallen," he said.
Terrorism will remain a problem as long as militants groups aspire to establish a state based on Sharia law and a radical understanding of religious ideology, said Saud, who is also the former director of the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT).
"The ideology alone is not so (dangerous) but it can become dangerous when there is poverty, social inequality ... and a will to force their goals," he said.


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BENARNEWS- Indonesian police barred journalists from the courtroom on the fourth day of Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama's blasphemy trial on Tuesday.
Police ordered all journalists out after some broadcast journalists pushed into the auditorium, despite warnings from the judge against airing witness testimony live, according to BeritaSatu.
"The hearing of witnesses testimonies cannot be aired to prevent them from listening to each other's information. Therefore, they will only convey what they know before the judges, not opinion," The Jakarta Post quoted North Jakarta District Court spokesman Didik Wuryanto as saying.
Tuesday's session took place in an auditorium of the Agriculture Ministry in South Jakarta, where it had been moved for "security reasons."
Some 2,500 security personnel kept watch outside the building over protests and speeches by detractors and supporters of the governor who is running for re-election in February.
The marathon session – starting at 9 a.m. and ending well after dark – featured testimony from five prosecution witnesses in support of allegations that Ahok insulted Islam by citing a verse from the Quran during campaigning. Ahok is an ethnic Chinese Christian.
"In front of the judges I delivered data that Ahok has attacked Islam. In fact, Ahok has quoted Surah Al-Maidah repeatedly, not just once," Novel Chaidir Hasan Bamukmin, a top official of the Islamic Defenders' Front (FPI), told reporters outside the courthouse.
Ahok has said he never intended to offend Muslims during a speech in the Thousand Islands regency near Jakarta on Sept. 27 in which he cited the Surah Al-Maida Verse 51 from the Quran.
Some interpret the passage as barring Muslims from having non-Muslim leaders.
A press statement released by Ahok's lawyers claimed that Novel had expressed personal dislike of Ahok prior to the Sept. 27 speech. They cited his speech at a Sept. 2 event, "Jakarta Without Ahok," in which he called the governor "dirty" and "haram."
During a break in the hearing, Sirra Prayuna, one of Ahok's lawyers, said the legal team had been probing the political affiliations of the witnesses and whether they had heard the allegedly blasphemy firsthand.
"The affiliations of the witnesses, and what they know, or experienced, or heard for themselves – this is the focus of our questions in court," he said.
Novel said he had no political affiliation but another witness, Gus Joy Setiawan, acknowledged that he is a supporter of one of Ahok's rivals in the Feb. 15 vote.
Police also limited the number of spectators at the hearing to 100, and provided special passes to those permitted to enter.
According to Agence France-Presse, which evidently had a reporter in the room, Ahok shouted at one of the witnesses, FPI Imam Habib Muchsin, when he said he had reported the Jakarta leader to the police for insulting the Quran.
"Who has given FPI the authority to speak on behalf of all Muslims?...  Many Muslims don't like FPI," Ahok reportedly said in a burst of anger.
The trial, which began Dec. 13, is set to last several more weeks.


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BENARNEWS- Indonesia has suspended military cooperation with the Australian Defense Force (ADF) over training materials at a special forces base in Australia deemed offensive to Indonesians, authorities in Jakarta said Wednesday.
Officials with the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) did not go into detail about the offensive material that allegedly insulted Pancasila, Indonesia's five founding principles.
According to news reports, a member of the Indonesian Special Forces Command serving as an instructor at an Australian army base in Perth, Western Australia, discovered the problematic training material and reported it to his superiors.
"One of the reasons is because of that (the training material)," Maj. Gen. Wuryanto, the chief spokesman for TNI, told BenarNews, when asked about the suspension.
"I cannot explain in more detail. It's essentially a technical issue," Wuryanto said. "Bilateral cooperation should be mutually beneficial and mutually respectful."
The indefinite suspension in military cooperation covers education, exchange programs, joint exercises and reciprocal visits by military officials, he added.
The neighboring countries are partners in countering terrorism and have engaged for years in programs of bilateral military cooperation, but sometimes they have been embroiled in disagreements such as over Indonesia's policy of executing convicted drug offenders.
When questioned about the suspension, Indonesian Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu said he would meet with his Australian counterpart in late January in Bogor, West Java, to discuss the issue.
According to Ryamizard, the ADF has disciplined an Australian lieutenant who served as an instructor at the army base and who gave lectures allegedly containing the offensive material.
"(He has) been reprimanded, punished," Ryamizard said, as quoted by Kompas.com.
His Australian counterpart, Marise Payne, issued a statement saying that Australia was working to iron out the issue and mend defense relations with Indonesia.
"The Australian military sees this as a serious problem," Defense Minister Payne said.
Not the first time
On Dec. 29, TNI chief Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo sent a telegram to Air Chief Marshal Mark Donald Binskin, the head of the ADF, notifying him about the decision to suspend military ties.
This is not the first time that Indonesia has taken such action against Australia.
In 2013, Jakarta suspended bilateral military ties after it was revealed that the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) had tapped the phones of then-Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. The spying was uncovered from one of thousands of documents leaked by Edward Snowden, a former contractor for the U.S. National Security Agency.
The rift was eased after the Indonesian and Australian foreign ministers signed a code of conduct on espionage in Bali in 2014.
'Firm decision'
An Indonesian lawmaker who oversees defense and foreign affairs, Abdul Kharis, said the House of Representatives would question Gatot about the matter on Jan. 10.
"I appreciate the firm decision of the Indonesian military," he told BenarNews. "Do not let this disturb bilateral relations."
Meanwhile, the spokesman for President Joko Widodo said the decision was a unilateral one taken by the Indonesian military.
"This was not the decision of the president," spokesman Johan Budi told BenarNews.
Wuryanto declined to comment on the response from the presidential spokesman.
Observers commented on the issue.
TNI did the right thing because Indonesia should not depend militarily on its southern neighbor, according to Muradi, an Indonesian academic and expert on military affairs.
"So, the government's decision is correct. It is the right step to maintain the dignity of the nation. Otherwise, they can do more than this."
Al Araf, a security analyst from Impartial, a Jakarta-based NGO, suggested that Indonesia had taken the decision in a hurry.
In his view, the government must investigate the matter in order to prove that things deemed as insults to Indonesians were said.
"Let's not make a mistake that causes an excessive reaction," Al Araf told BenarNews.


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BENARNEWS- Indonesian officials insisted Thursday that relations with neighboring Australia were in good shape and a suspension of military cooperation would be limited to language training only.
Addressing the issue for the first time, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo stressed that Indonesia's relations with Australia – a strategic partner and ally in counter-terrorism efforts – were fine despite the spat between their militaries.
"I think our relationship with Australia is still in a good condition. Only maybe at the operational level there are things that needed to be sorted out to avoid further tensions," Jokowi told journalists in Jakarta.
The president spoke a day after officials with the Indonesian armed forces (TNI) announced that Indonesia had suspended military ties with Australia because of training material found at an Australian army base that was deemed offensive to Pancasila, Indonesia's founding philosophy.
"The problem needs to be solved first, because even though it is at the operational level, it is a matter of principle," Jokowi said.
The two countries have agreed to respect each other and to not interfere in domestic affairs, he added.
Jokowi said he had ordered Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu and TNI chief Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo to deal with the issue so that it does not damage relations between the two countries.
Indonesia's honor
On Thursday, Indonesian officials appeared to scale back earlier comments about the extent of the suspension.
The country's coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs, Wiranto, said the suspension was limited only to "the cooperation program of language training for Australia special forces because of a case that offended the honor of Indonesia in November 2016."
TNI officials had said Wednesday that the Indonesian military would suspend all forms of cooperation with its Australian counterpart, including education, exchange programs, joint exercises and reciprocal visits by military officials.
A member of the Indonesian Special Forces Command serving as an instructor at an army base in Perth, Western Australia, had complained about training materials deemed as insulting the Pancasila.
"The Armed Forces chief took temporary steps to suspend the language training, not suspending the whole defense cooperation," Wiranto told a news conference.
He said cooperation would resume after Australia took the necessary steps to solve the problem.
"[An] Investigation has been taken and the commander of the language-training [program] has been suspended," Wiranto said.
On Thursday, TNI chief Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo shed more light on what had caused the rift.
The insults included a document referring to Pancasila ("the five founding principles") as "Pancagila" ("the five crazies") and it also touched on two issues that are highly sensitive to the Indonesian people.
The offensive document contained offensive comments about Indonesia's past military role in East Timor and suggested that the eastern region of "Papua has to be independent," Gatot told reporters.
In 1975, Indonesia invaded East Timor, a former Portuguese colony that eventually won its freedom from Indonesia in a 1999 U.N.-monitored referendum on independence. It is now the nation of Timor-Leste.
Papua, a former Dutch colony, officially became part of Indonesia in 1969 after a U.N.-mandated "Act of Free Choice," but locals have since agitated from independence from Jakarta.
Gatot said objections were raised with Australian regarding such sensitive topics.
"I am good friends with the Australian Defense Force Chief Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin, and he has sent a letter of apology," Gatot said.
Right decision
Indonesian analysts applauded the military's action.
"The suspension of the cooperation is a right decision for the ADF commander promised to do an investigation on this issue," Hikmahanto Juwana, an international law analyst from the University of Indonesia, told BenarNews.
International relations analyst Melda Kamil Ariadno agreed that bilateral relations need to be based on respect and trust.
"If it is true there is an insult to the symbol of the country, I think the move (taken by Indonesia) was appropriate," she told BenarNews.
"It is the time for Indonesia to uphold its national dignity in front of any country."
In 2013, Jakarta suspended military ties after discovering that the Australian Security Intelligence Organization had tapped the phones of then-Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. The rift was eased after the Indonesian and Australian foreign ministers signed a code of conduct on espionage in Bali in 2014.


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BENARNEWS- The killing of a militant leader in the Philippines has dealt Islamic State (IS) a significant blow by taking out the influential head of one of the group's affiliates in Southeast Asia, terrorism experts said.
Mohammad Jaafar Maguid, who was known as Tokboy and was the founder and leader of Ansarul Khilafa Philippines (AKP), was tracked down and shot at a beach resort on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao by security forces on Thursday, police said. Three other suspected members of AKP, which has pledged allegiance to Islamic State, were arrested.
"The death of Tokboy is a big loss for IS groups in Southeast Asia. At the moment, IS's options are greatest in the Philippines because separatists there can still move freely," Nasir Abbas, an analyst with the Consultant Center for Police and Terrorism Research in Jakarta, told BenarNews.
"The loss is because Tokboy was influential among rebel groups in the Philippines, such as AKP or Abu Sayyaf. There's a high probability of retaliation in the Philippines," he added.
Rohan Gunaratna, director of the International Center for Political Violence and Terrorism Research at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said the AKP headed by Tokboy is one of three militant groups that make up the official branch of Islamic State in the Philippines.
IS Philippines consists of AKP, al Harakat ul Islamiyah Basilan, led by Isnilon Hapilon, and Jund ul Tawhid, led by Amin Baco. The three groups have pledged allegiance to IS, which is based in Raqqa, Syria, and have been officially accepted by it, according to Gunaratna, a BenarNews contributor.
"Until the death of its leader, Tokboy was the most significant IS-centric threat group in the Philippines. Although its membership was largely Moro, AKP maintained extensive links with foreign terrorist groups. This included operational links with MIT, JI and several other threat groups in Southeast Asia, including provision of weapons from AKP to MIT," Gunaratna told BenarNews on Friday.
He was referring to the militant groups Jemaah Islamiyah and the Eastern Indonesia Mujahideen (MIT).
"Tokboy worked with a range of threat groups in the Philippines, especially with Islamic State Philippines, led by Isnilon Hapilon, to promote the IS agenda in Southeast Asia," he added.
Philippines: a new base for IS?
Meanwhile, IS in Southeast Asia is assessing its resources because the group's strength is diminishing in Iraq and Syria amid government offensives against it, said Pol. Gen. Hamidin, the director of prevention at Indonesia's National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT), citing reports from various sources.
IS is no longer able to pay salaries and its ability to fund fighter operations is limited, he said. IS leader Abu Bakar al-Baghdadi is believed to be hiding at the IS headquarters in Rakka.
"IS at the moment is planning to move its army headquarters to northern Afghanistan, and the Philippines is being presented as a second alternative," Hamidin told BenarNews.
Tokboy's death creates an opportunity for the network to consider Indonesia, given its history of terrorist networks, according to him.
"The potential for revenge acts of terrorism is very high because the IS command is always the same: for those who want to fight, it's not necessary to go to Iraq or Syria, instead you can carry out amaliyah (acts of terror) in your respective areas," he said.
"What's more, a characteristic of IS is that if they are attacked and defeated in one location, they order outside networks to move on their own," he said.
The BNPT and other institutions have taken preventative measures against potential militant attacks such as tightening border security.
"Indonesian authorities have already reinforced security and mapped out terror groups quite well, so they are not able to move freely here. And we are doing massive undercover surveillance, including in cyberspace, so that we know what strategic steps must be taken next," Hamidin said.
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Philippine National Police released this undated photo of Mohammad Jaafar Maguid, also known as Tokboy. [AFP/Philippine National Police]
Malaysia: minimal effect
In Malaysia, the chief of the national police's counter-terror special branch said he did not expect much to change in his country as a result of Tokboy's death.
"The impact on ASEAN [the Association of Southeast Asian Nations] and Malaysia is minimal because whenever a leader dies there will always be someone to replace him," Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay told BenarNews.
He pointed out that the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), which also aligns itself with IS, is the strongest militant group in the Philippines.
"Malaysian police acknowledge the group Tokboy is attached to, but doubt it has any effect on Malaysia. The group is just one of the four. There are three others that are still active," Ayob said.
He named Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and the Maute group (IS in Lanao) as the other militant groups in southern Philippines.
Tokboy's past
Tokboy is not particularly well known in Indonesia or important to militant groups there, according to Abbas, who at one time was a high-ranking member of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI).
He denied that Tokboy was linked to JI, the al-Qaeda-affiliated network that carried out the Bali bombings in 2002, or to the MIT group based in Sulawesi, which has been reduced to nine members following a two-year security operation in that region.
"Indonesian police have already proved that IS groups want to carry out acts of terror in Indonesia," he said.
In November 2015, Tokboy managed to escape when Philippine Marines raided an AKP camp in Barangay Butril, Palimbang. Eight AKP members were killed during a four-hour firefight, the Jakarta-based Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) said in a report published in October 2016.
The Tokboy-led AKP was responsible for an August 2008 attack in Mindanao that left two civilians dead and a series of robberies and other crimes, IPCA reported. Tokboy was arrested in July 2008, but escaped from jail in March 2010 and had been on the loose since then.


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BENARNEWS- Hoaxes flooding the internet, particularly on social media sites, have driven concerned activists to establish a group calling itself the Indonesian Community of Anti-Slander Research.
The government is getting involved in a similar effort. President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo recently announced plans to set up a National Cyber Agency (BCN).
Presidential spokesman Johan Budi said the agency would do much more than just help tackle hoaxes or other cases of so-called "fake news."
"The agency is aimed at securing the government's internet system from potential hacking. It is set up to create a secure system, to protect from cyber crime," Johan told BenarNews.
"f there are efforts initiated by communities to combat hoaxes, the government will weigh in on them. So people will learn not to use social media to conduct slander," he said, adding, "In the end, we hope people can recognize fake news and know how to fight against it."
Meanwhile, Wiranto, who is Indonesia's coordinating minister for politics, law and security affairs, said the government would enforce laws against those involved in distributing fake news.
"We have instructed the police to be firm. No compromise," Wiranto told CNN Indonesia. "Social media should not be used for negative purposes such as attacking individuals, groups and even the government's policies."
Regarding the government's plan to set up the BCN, Wiranto said officials hope it would aid in ridding the internet of hoaxes and in providing information that people need to identify fake news.
The Antihoax Research Committee
Septiaji Eko Nugroho, of Wonosobo, Central Java, helped set up another group, the Antihoax Research Community. Activists in several cities including Surabaya, Yogyakarta, Solo, Semarang and Jakarta are working to remove negative web content and distribute more positive social media.
"We held a number of discussions on hoaxes distributed on social media. A friend has even dedicated time to create an application to identify hoaxes," Septiaji told BenarNews.
"It becomes a problem when the public starts to leave the mainstream media and visit unreliable websites. It's like escaping one problem and starting a new one. It's not getting better. It's even worse by consuming fake news," said Septiaji, who runs a business in information technology.
Differences in political and religious point of views, he added, have divided the public.
"These differences were not visible until now. Social media facilitates those who take advantages from the growing issue, while some others lack of knowledge to understand," he said.
'Better late than never'
The government has been slow to respond, Septiaji added.
"But it's better late than never. We have to fix it together," he said.
The first thing to do, Septiaji said, is enforce the law because, in his opinion, those responsible for distributing fake news should be charged.
"We hope there will be no violation in the implementation. Those who violate the laws must be punished. Don't let them go free. It would not solve the problem just by blocking those malicious websites," he said.
Human Rights Watch activist Andreas Harsono welcomes these public initiatives.
"They are responsible for keeping the core values of journalism alive. I think what they do is incredible," the former journalist told BenarNews.
Andreas pointed out that professionalism could be questioned as the number of journalists has skyrocketed since the fall of the Suharto government in 1998.
"There were only 6,000 journalists before reformation era. But in the past 10 years, the number has grown to 75,000. I can say most of them have less skills," he said.
"But I believe that democracy is born along with journalism. They will also die together. That's why it is important for us to develop healthy journalism and protect the society from fake news and hoaxes."
The Ministry of Communication and Information appreciates public initiatives to eradicate hoaxes.
"It is something positive and the government is ready to cooperate," spokesman Noor Iza told BenarNews.
'Fingers are your tiger'
Meanwhile, Nahdlatul Ulama secretary Marsudi Syuhud told BenarNews that the traditionalist Muslim organization he is leading is one step ahead of the government by introducing "cyber warriors."
The team's original goal was to eradicate radicalism and extremism online.
"It's so sad to see our society taking part in spreading false news which can lead to unwanted slander. It is sinful to do that," Syuhud said.
"Indonesians used to have a proverb saying, 'Your Mouth is Your Tiger,' it is now 'Your Fingers are Your Tiger.'"


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BENARNEWS- Indonesia faces a substantial risk from extremists using popular online payment systems such as PayPal and Bitcoin to fund their activities, the government's Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) said Monday.
Bahrun Naim, whom police have labeled a mastermind of terrorism in the country, has used these online services to send payments to Indonesia,  PPATK chairman Kiagus Ahmad Badaruddin told a news conference in Jakarta.
Kiagus did not say how much money had been sent from Bahrun, an Indonesian who allegedly fights for Islamic State (IS) in Syria, to IS-affiliated cells in Indonesia.
The PayPal system supports online money transfers, while Bitcoin is a digital currency transferred directly from person to person using the internet. Bitcoin was created and distributed online without any specific authority governing it.
In collaboration with the National Agency for Counter Terrorism (BNPT) and relevant ministries, the center has established specific divisions including fiscal, narcotics, terrorism, financial technology and cybercrime, to trace the flow of funds or digital-based monetary transactions, Kiagus said.
When the agency conducted a national risk assessment in 2013-15, investigators determined that militants were using technology to finance terrorism, Ivan Yustiavandana, the PPATK's director of examination and research, told reporters.
The assessment revealed a grey area of financial technology which is used for terror financing. Monitoring requires multiple layers of checks because simple transactions done through services like PayPal and Bitcoin are at the lowest level of the financial transaction system, Ivan said.
"They chose this to avoid being detected like if they used conventional means," he said. "The anomaly is when our monitoring is more sophisticated, they will innovate by using another system that has not been monitored."
Online transactions
Bahrun, identified by Indonesian police as the mastermind of an IS-claimed terrorist attack that killed eight people including its four militants in Jakarta last January, has a history of using technology to finance his networks in Indonesia, according to Ridlwan Habib, a terrorism analyst at the University of Indonesia.
Ridlwan said the technology was widely used by IS to send money to cell members in their respective countries. He described Bahrun as one of the most tech-savvy militants from Indonesia who often used the method.
"Bahrun Naim and his groups have used this since he has been in Syria," Ridlwan told BenarNews.
He said Bahrun had sent money through PayPal and Bitcoin to the wife of Arif Hidayatullah, a militant who was arrested by Indonesian counter-terrorism police unit Densus 88 in Bekasi, West Java, in December 2015. In October, Arif was sentenced to six years in prison on the charge of conspiring and helping terrorism.
Suspicious transactions more than doubled in '16: PPATK
Online financial transactions have replaced hawala, a traditional system of remittances without any transfer of money, which allows transfers domestically and internationally without using formal financial institutions.
Ridlwan said Bahrun had used hawala to transfer money to Arif through an Indonesian female worker in Malaysia.
"The Hawala system has been abandoned by IS because international [terrorist detection] focused on this system, so they switched to financial technology," Ridlwan said.
PPATK submitted 105 analyses of financial transactions allegedly related to terrorism from January 2013 through November 2016 after receiving 267 suspicious transaction reports from financial service providers.
Twenty-five suspicious transactions were detected in 2016, which was an increase from 12 cases in 2015. In 2014, PPATK detected 26 suspicious transactions, while in 2013 and 2012, the agency found 13 and 33 suspicious transactions respectively.
Kiagus said his agency formed a special team to interact daily with Densus 88.
"The police conduct analysis together with other countries. We also do the same with financial intelligence units in other countries and we do this in parallel," Kiagus said.


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BENARNEWS- Indonesia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) are investigating the discovery of Indonesian passports at a house raided by Turkish police in connection with a terror attack at a nightclub in Istanbul on New Year's Day.
Thirty-nine people were killed by a lone gunman at the Reina nightclub in the early hours of Jan. 1, in an attack claimed by the extremist group Islamic State (IS). Turkey has been a gateway for Southeast Asians heading to Syria or Iraq to join IS, according to Indonesian and Malaysian authorities.
The new investigation in Indonesia unfolded as the U.S. government this week designated an Indonesian militant outfit as a "specially designated global terrorist" and announced financial sanctions on it and two Indonesian nationals.
"Of the various passports found, right now, [they] are being checked by the Turkish security authorities to determine if they are fake or genuine," Foreign Ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir said in Jakarta on Tuesday night.
He said 40 people were arrested following a raid by Turkish authorities last week at a house in Izmir that was believed to be linked to the attack. Police seized scores of travel documents including some Indonesian passports, according to news reports.
"No fixed data regarding the found Indonesian passports. The data we received, there are about three or four, but I don't have the exact number yet," Arrmanatha told reporters. No Indonesians were arrested following the raid.
BNPT deputy head Arif Darmawan said his organization and the Indonesian embassy in Ankara were investigating the passports.
"Are they real or fake? Again, there has been no confirmation from Turkey and other countries," Arif told BenarNews.
Specially Designated
On Tuesday, the U.S. State Department announced it was adding IS-linked Indonesian militant group Jemaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD) to its list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists, which bars Americans from engaging with them and freezes property in the U.S. associated with these terrorists.
Indonesian police blame JAD for an attack in Jakarta on Jan. 14, 2016, that left eight people dead, including four alleged assailants, in the first terrorist act in Indonesia claimed by Islamic State.
In addition, the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control on Tuesday designated two Indonesians linked to IS as Specially Designated Global Terrorists.
Treasury officials said in a statement they were taking this action against the men, whom they identified as Bachrumsyah Mennor Usman (who is better known Bahrumsyah among other aliases) and Oman Rochman (who is also known as Aman Abdurahman, among other aliases) as part of the department's efforts to disrupt IS's "global fundraising and support network."
Two Australians linked with IS, Neil Christopher Prakash and Khaled Sharrouf, were also added to the list.
According to information from Treasury officials, Bahrumsyah commands an IS combat unit comprised of Southeast Asians. He also facilitates funding for IS operations, including terrorist plots back home in Indonesia, recruits for IS, and coordinates travel logistics and communications among IS members, officials said.
Last March, Bahrumsyah sent U.S. $105,000 to the leader of a cluster of terrorists known as the "Bekasi cell," who was allegedly "contemplating attacks in Bali, as well as at an international school and at an airport in Jakarta," the statement from the Treasury Department said.
Bahrumsyah studied under Aman Abdurahman, who has been incarcerated in Indonesia since December 2010 and was considered the "de facto leader" of all Indonesian IS supporters as of late 2015, officials said.
"As of February 2016, Rochman [Abdurahman], while incarcerated, recruited prospective militants to join ISIL and was likely communicating with ISIL leaders in Syria," Treasury officials said, using a different acronym for IS.
"Rochman authorized terrorist attacks on January 14, 2016 in Jakarta, Indonesia and issued a fatwa (decree) from prison in January 2016 encouraging Indonesian militants to join ISIL."


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BENARNEWS-The firebrand leader of a conservative Indonesian Muslim group, the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), faces criminal complaints that he and his organization committed several cases of alleged hate speech.
Preacher Muhammad Rizieq Shihab and his FPI have been linked as the leading group organizing recent rallies drawing huge crowds of Muslim protestors in street demonstrations against Jakarta Gov. Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, an ethnic Chinese Christian who has been accused of blasphemy for citing a verse in the Quran.
"It is good if Rizieq becomes a suspect, because during this time, he feels he is untouchable," Zuhairi Misrawi, a political analyst with a moderate Muslim forum, the Liberal Islam Network (JIL), told BenarNews.
Ahok is running for election next month to retain his seat as governor of Indonesia's capital. Riziek is expected to testify as a religious expert for the prosecution at an upcoming hearing in Ahok's trial, which has gripped the nation, the Jakarta Post reported.
Decade of hate speech
FPI is responsible for a series of hateful speech cases dating to 2006, Zuhairi said.
In October 2016, Sukmawati Sukarno Putri, the daughter of Indonesia's first president Sukarno, alleged that Rizieq insulted Indonesia's state ideology – known as Pancasila –and the memory of her father.
After questioning Rizieq last week, police said they had moved from a preliminary to a full investigation of the allegations, according to The Jakarta Post.
More recently, the Catholic Students Association reported him last month for allegedly defaming Christianity.
Additionally, Bank Indonesia, the country's central bank, and non-governmental organizations complained that the preacher had said in a sermon that the hammer-and-sickle symbol of Indonesia's liquidated Communist Party appeared on new Indonesian bank notes. Police said they are involved in a full investigation into this report as well.
"We already increased the stage of investigation," Jakarta Police spokesman Raden Prabowo Argo Yuwono told BenarNews on Thursday, adding that officers would pursue other cases against Rizieq.
The cleric's most recent brush with the law stems from a comment about Jakarta's police chief.
Rizieq allegedly slandered Jakarta Inspector General of Police Mochamad Iriawan as "having the rank of general, but the brain of hansip (a low-level security guard)."
"So far, we already investigated the report's witnesses. We have had interaction with some experts including experts in information technology, linguistics and criminal law," Argo said.
'Defender of the people'
Novel Chaidir Hasan Bamukmin, the general secretary of FPI's Jakarta chapter, said the allegations against Rizieq were part of a global conspiracy to criminalize clerics.
"They deliberately try to find fault," he said.
"We hope police can be wise, [and] view this in a fair and proportionate way because Rizieq is the defender of the people and Muslims," he said.
Rizieq and some FPI members appeared before parliament this week to voice concern over the allegations against him.
Nasir Djamil, a legislative member who met with the group, said law enforcers needed to be respected.
"Law enforcement is for justice, not for revenge as revenge would destroy the people who do it," Nasir said.
Nasir and Zuhairi, the political analyst with JIL, said all parties should respect the process, including the FPI.
"The legal process is ongoing, this what Rizieq should go through. It is time for police to take strict measures to prove that FPI is not above the law," Zuhairi said.


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BENARNEWS- Indonesian police were questioning 17 citizens who were detained at Jakarta's international airport after being deported from Turkey over potential ties to Islamic State (IS), officials said Monday.
The group of Indonesians included eight women and six children, the Indonesian police's counter-terror wing Directorate General of Immigration spokesman Agung Sampurno told BenarNews. The 17 were detained following their arrival aboard a Turkish Airlines flight on Saturday night.
"The Immigration Office has handed them over to investigators of Densus 88. As of last night, they were still being interrogated. They are allegedly involved with the Islamic State international terror group," national police chief spokesman Inspector Gen. Boy Rafli Amar told reporters on Monday without being more specific, according to the Jakarta Globe.
Boy said his office was investigating possible links with several groups involved in conflicts in Syria, and was being aided by the Turkish government.
"This is based on a report by the Turkish authorities," he told reporters, adding that in the next day or two, investigators should know if there is a link to IS.
The National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) said 237 adults and 46 children from Indonesia were in Syria, while 283 others were deported from several countries including Turkey as of August 2016.
Analysts debate possible links
Harits Abu Ulya, a terrorism analyst with the Community of Ideological Islamic Analysts (CIIA), said the 17 could have planned to go to Syria to join IS.
"Faith encourages them to make a choice to migrate. Besides, that is the consequence of the faith, to move there," Harits told BenarNews. "Some of them who are qualified would join the fight, too."
Ridlwan Habib, a terrorism analyst at the University of Indonesia, disagreed. He said Indonesians going to Syria would join groups opposed to President Bashar Al Assad.
"They feel Aleppo is oppressed, so they go there," he said, adding such acts are not associated with terrorism.
"They are anti-IS. These people want to fight in Syria, for what they consider a land at war, and not in Indonesia. It is very different from IS, which considers all governments in the world as its enemy," he said.
He said the Indonesian government should form a clearing house at airports to evaluate if someone is linked to IS or other terror groups. This could be staffed by representatives from the Immigration Office, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, BNPT, and experts who understand the situation in Middle East, especially Syria, he said.
"The weakness is with the government. No one element or agency is authorized to handle people like these," Ridlwan said. "So people who return from Syria wouldn't directly have a bad label by society because they may not necessarily be terrorists."
Rupiah connection
Meanwhile, Indonesian authorities are trying to determine how Indonesian bank notes were discovered at an apartment raided by Turkish police in connection with a terror attack at an Istanbul nightclub on New Year's Day, according to a BNPT official. Thirty-nine people were killed during the Islamic State-claimed shooting at the Reina nightclub on Jan. 1.
"It is not yet clear and we are in coordination (with other investigators)," BNPT Second Deputy Inspector General of Police Arif Darmawan told BenarNews in a text message.
Malaysian ringgit and Indonesian rupiah banknotes were found in an apartment where police arrested Abdulkadir Masharipov and four other men, according to Malaysian news reports that cited photographs published in an article published by Britain's Daily Mail newspaper on Jan. 19. Turkish security forces identified Masharipov, the suspected gunman who carried out the attack, as being from Uzbekistan and trained by IS in Afghanistan.
The discovery of the rupiah notes does not mean that Masharipov had been to Indonesia, Ridlwan said.
"I think they interact with Indonesian combatants in Syria and they exchanged money. It is common among the combatants to do that as a sign of friendship," he said.


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BENARNEWS- Indonesian police Tuesday released 17 citizens who were deported from Turkey over suspected links to Islamic State, but said they would undergo "guidance training" because they were lured abroad by an IS recruiter in Syria.
The 17 were detained and placed into the custody of counter-terrorist police squad Densus 88, after their arrival in Jakarta aboard a Turkish Airlines flight over the weekend. The members of the group were "victims" of an IS recruiter of Indonesian origin whose initials are A.M, National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Rikwanto told journalists in Jakarta.
The suspected recruiter who lives in Syria contacted these people by telephone and through social media, Rikwanto said.
"Now they have been freed and will be sent to a Social Service in Pondok Bambu to receive guidance training," Rikwanto said, referring to a government center in Jakarta. He did not elaborate on the training.
"They were victims who had been lured by parties related to IS. They were told that they could live based on Islamic laws," Rikwanto said. "They said they did not know there was a war there. In Turkey, they would be accommodated in a hidden apartment to later be smuggled to Syria."
Rikwanto said the recruiter received money from IS leaders to enlist Indonesians willing to "jihad."
"The donors are IS, through certain people including Indonesians. They then recruit Indonesians to be brought there," he said.
The five men and five women believed to be spouses, along with three toddler girls and four boys were arrested by Indonesian immigration officers on Saturday shortly after arriving from Turkey at Sukarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta. The immigration officers transferred the group to Densus 88 custody.
The 17 are from a wide range of Indonesian provinces including West Sumatra, South Sulawesi, East Java, Central Java, Banten and Jakarta, officials said.
Officials in Indonesia have long warned of a threat of IS recruiting its citizens for its cause in Syria and Iraq, and of the group influencing Indonesian supporters to plot terrorist attacks on home soil. In January 2016, IS claimed its first attack in Indonesia, a suicide mission carried out by four men in central Jakarta that left eight people, including all of the attackers, dead.
As of August 2016, the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) reported that 237 adults and 46 children from Indonesia were in Syria, while 283 others were deported from several countries including Turkey.
Saudi-Indonesian cooperation
In other news related to terrorism, Saudi and Indonesian officials met in Saudi Arabia last week to discuss programs to de-radicalize and rehabilitate ex-terrorists, a spokesman for Indonesia's foreign ministry confirmed to BenarNews.
"There is a commitment to improve cooperation, including efforts to suppress extremist and radical ideology," spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir said on Tuesday.
The two countries have cooperated in the past on counter-terrorism efforts, but the most recent meeting focused on improving bilateral cooperation involving de-radicalization programs, he said.
BNPT chief commander Gen. Suhardi Alius and other high-ranking BNPT officials visited Saudi Arabia from Jan. 11 to 16.
Costly?
Taufik Andrie, a terrorism analyst with the Jakarta-based Prasasti Perdamaian Foundation, said it would be difficult for Indonesia to implement Saudi Arabia's de-radicalization techniques because of its high-cost approach.
"Over there, the infrastructure is already prepared. It is very developed because Saudi is a rich country. Incentives are given to the families of terrorists, school [for them] is guaranteed. In Indonesia, we still have limited funds," he told BenarNews.
Taufik welcomed the Saudi invitation of Saudi Arabia.
"They understand well on the ideology of Salafi and Wahhabism. Our hope is to be able to apply it in Indonesia," he added.


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BENARNEWS- Indonesian authorities said Thursday they had detained a family of five deported from Turkey over suspected links to Islamic State – the second batch of Indonesians expelled from that country within a week for allegedly planning to join IS in Syria.
The five – a man, woman, a teenage girl and two boys under age 10 – were arrested in Denpasar, Bali, by immigration officers and police when they arrived on a flight from Istanbul on Wednesday morning. The man, a former Ministry of Finance official, had been educated in top schools in Indonesia, according to a report.
"They have admitted they wanted to join IS in Syria during an interrogation by Turkish security officers," National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Rikwanto told BenarNews in Jakarta.
On Saturday, 17 Indonesians were sent home from Turkey over similar allegations.
The family of five, who originated from North Jakarta, were arrested in Turkey on Jan. 16 and taken to a hospital for medical checkups, then held in a Turkish jail before being sent back to Indonesia, officials said.
"Today (Thursday) counter-terrorist police squad Densus 88 and Bali police sent the family to Jakarta for further investigation," Bali police spokesman Hengky Widjaja told BenarNews.
An educated man
Police identified the adult family members by their initials: a man TUAB, 40; and a woman, NK, 55. The others were identified as a 14-year-old girl, and two boys ages 8 and 4.
"The man had a good position at the finance ministry. He was educated in some of Indonesia's top schools and earned a master's in public policy from Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia," an Indonesian security official told Channel NewsAsia.
Rikwanto said the family paid for their trip. "The money they used to go there was from selling their house. When they were deported they also used their own money," he said.
The family departed from Jakarta in August 2016, flying to Istanbul via Bangkok. They moved several times while in Istanbul before meeting with a militant known as Aji (alias Abu Jihad), who brought them to a shelter where they met some other Indonesians, according to Rikwanto.
17 freed
Last week, 17 people including seven children were detained as they arrived at Jakarta's International Airport aboard a flight from Istanbul.
All were freed on Tuesday after police concluded that they were victims of an IS recruiter.
Immigration authorities have a tough time identifying potential radicals suspected of traveling to Syria, despite having ample data, a top official with the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) told Benar News.
"Lots of data can be manipulated by some parties so they can pass the security checks," said Arif Darmawan, the second deputy at BNPT.
Besides, he said, Indonesia cannot prohibit people from traveling if they meet the requirements for a passport.
Many Indonesians want to go to Syria because they believe in the concept of hijrah or jihad by emigration.
"They do not know the situation there. Even if they know, they believe in hijrah so such that the circumstances will not matter," he said.
"Many of them do not join the war, they just want to live there," he explained.
Thailand is a favorite transit point for IS supporters heading to Syria because they can obtain fake visas and passports, he added.
BNPT is improving its border security by adding forces and increasing cooperation with other nations.
"Coordination with Thailand has been more intensive," he said.
Since 2015, 283 citizens were deported by Turkish government for trying to travel to Syria, according to Indonesian Foreign Ministry's director of Indonesian Citizens Protection, Lalu Muhammad Iqbal. Meanwhile, as of August 2016, as many as 237 adults and 46 children from Indonesia were in Syria, according to BNPT.


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BENARNEWS- An Australian-educated former economist with Indonesia's finance ministry and his family were released from police custody on Friday after being deported from Turkey for allegedly trying to join Islamic State (IS) in Syria, an official said Friday.
The man, identified as Triyono Utomo, was arrested Wednesday morning at a Bali airport with his wife, daughter and two sons. They were sent to Jakarta on Thursday as part of an investigation, but were eventually released due to a lack of evidence needed to press terrorism-related charges against them, National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Rikwanto told BenarNews.
"They finally were freed and sent to a social center of Bambu Apus to receive guidance training from the social ministry," Rikwanto said, referring to a government center in Jakarta. "There they are to be trained in Pancasila, Indonesia's ideology based on five principles, and how to live in society."
Earlier this week, police released 17 Indonesians who were arrested Saturday after being deported from Turkey over similar allegations. The 17 are attending the same training.
Quit to start school for orphans
On Friday, the Ministry of Finance confirmed that Utomo had been employed there. He had earned a master's degree from Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia, and was a candidate to head a unit in the ministry's Fiscal Policy Office.
"In February 2016, he resigned as a public servant from the finance ministry, saying he wanted to manage a boarding school for orphans in Bogor," ministry spokesman Nufransa Wira Sakti said in a press release Friday. "After that he could no longer be contacted."
The city of Bogor is just south of Jakarta.
Rikwanto said the family was freed because there was not enough evidence against them even though, he acknowledged, there was evidence that IS recruiters had persuaded them to go to Syria.
"We have no choice because they have not done anything related with the terrorism law," Rikwanto said.
Police, according Rikwanto, cannot charge IS supporters unless criminal laws are broken. He gave examples such as passport forgery and falsification of documents.
Under Indonesia's counterterrorism laws, it is not an offense for nationals to travel to Syria. But, according to the Associated Press, local authorities have resorted to arresting suspected radicals under the country's electronic communications laws, if they can prove that they were trying to recruit militants over the internet.
"Now (the law) is under revision. Who knows in the future, if we can have additional clauses to investigate or to charge an IS supporter?" Rikwanto said, referring to the terrorism law.
Investigators determined that the family of five wanted to go to Syria because members were lured by IS recruiters who promised them life under Islamic Caliphate.
"They believe in hijrah, jihad by emigrating, and living under the Islamic law. They want to live in an Islamic community blessed by God. When they are dead, they will go to heaven. That's what they believe," Rikwanto said.
Village watchmen
During the past four years, police have teamed up with the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) and local governments to monitor citizens who suddenly move and disappear.
"We told the leaders of neighborhood and villages to monitor suspicious activities of their people so we can follow it up," Rikwanto said.
Some special regions of concern are hotbeds of IS supporters, including Tasikmalaya in West Java, Makassar in South Sulawesi and Padang in West Sumatra.
Since 2015, as many as 283 Indonesians have been deported from Turkey for allegedly intending to go to Syria, according to figures from the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As of August 2016, according to BNPT, 237 adults and 46 children from Indonesia were in Syria.


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BENARNEWS- An Indonesian leader of the Islamic State (IS) sought to recruit women as suicide bombers, according to a new report by the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC), a Jakarta think-tank.
The report focuses on efforts by two Indonesian women to blow themselves up in December 2016, and details efforts by Bahrun Naim – alleged to be a leading Indonesian IS recruiter and propagandist based in Syria – to recruit a woman named Dian Yulia Novi to fulfill his new strategy of using females suicide bombers.
The report includes a blog response from Bahrun when asked if it was permissible for women to be involved in operations by Islamic militants.
"In the Islamic State, there are still many men to fight. It becomes an obligation for women when men no longer want to fight, as in Indonesia," Bahrun wrote, according to the 27-page report, "Mothers to Bombers: The Evolution of Indonesian Women Extremists," which IPAC published on Tuesday.
According IPAC analyst Nava Nuraniyah, a combination of IS and communications technology has "dramatically changed how women extremists see themselves."
"ISIS has given them a more universal mission, while various forms of social media have enabled them to share information and reinforce their own aspirations," Nava said in a statement accompanying the report's release, referring to IS by another acronym.
"While leaders of most violent jihadi organizations continue to see the ideal role of women as 'lionesses' staying home and producing 'cubs'," Nava added, "it is clear that some Indonesian women are eager to emulate the lethal practices of their sisters in other parts of the world."
Arif Darmawan, senior official at the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT), said that it was unusual for Indonesian women to be recruited for suicide missions.
"Radical groups using women occur a lot in India, Pakistan and other countries, but in Indonesia there has never been a terror act using a woman. It has always been prevented," Arif told BenarNews.
Recruitment
Bahrun Naim and other IS leaders in Syria have turned to recruiting women because "they are less likely to attract suspicion," the report suggested.
It delved into how Bahrun ordered Indonesian citizen Nur Solihin to find a female-bomber candidate.
After his first choice joined a different cell, Nur Solihin took on Dian as his second wife because a fatwa issued by IS required women to have permission of their fathers or husbands "to carry out any activities outside their home – even for worshipping, including by becoming a martyr," the report said.
One of Dian's motives was to save her father, who was seriously ill and had sought help from a witch doctor.
"She thought that the only way to save him from divine punishment was to sacrifice herself as a martyr, because she had read that a martyr could save herself and her extended family from the wrath of God," the report said.
Dian had planned to detonate a rice cooker packed with explosives during a changing-of-the-guard ceremony outside the presidential palace on Dec. 11, police said. The couple was arrested when their plot failed and both gave TV interviews discussing their marriage and efforts to carry out the attack.
The couple's testimony led to the arrests of other terror suspects, including "a woman named Ika Puspitasari, alias Tasnima Salsabila, who was allegedly preparing to carry out a separate operation in Bali," IPAC said.
Ika, who had been working as a maid in Hong Kong before returning to Indonesia in November 2016, contributed 8 million rupiah (U.S. $596) to fund a planned attack, IPAC reported.
Nusron Wahid, who heads the National Agency for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Workers, said his agency communicates with BNPT and others to counteract the recruitment of female migrants by radical groups, through disseminating information in destination countries.
"It is a priority and our concern to protect migrant workers, as well as to prevent them to be recruited by IS," he told BenarNews.


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BENARNEWS- Indonesian police on Wednesday questioned Rizieq Shihab, leader of the hardline Islamic Defenders' Front (FPI), in connection with an alleged plot to occupy parliament and oust the president during a rally he organized.
Rachmawati Soekarnoputri, the sister of a former president, and two retired generals were among eight people arrested on suspicion of treason hours before a Dec. 12 rally when about 200,000 people gathered in the capital to demand the arrest of Jakarta's governor for alleged blasphemy against Islam.
Rizieq was a leader of that rally as well as a march the month before against Jakarta Gov. Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama that ended in a riot outside the presidential palace.
"In regard to meetings, it is true that Mrs. Rachmawati paid a visit to my house. I paid a visit to hers, as well," Rizieq told reporters at police headquarters on Wednesday.
"Mrs. Rachmawati also attended the Nov. 4 rally and we met in a number of Islamic and nationalist mass organizations' events," he said.
"But there were no talks about treason during all those meetings, nor were we plotting treason and any other unlawful actions. Those meetings were mainly related to the Nov. 4 and Dec. 12 rallies."
Police also questioned former FPI spokesman Munarman and Bachtiar Nasir – the head of another group that helped organize the rallies, the National Movement to Protect the MUI Fatwa (GNPF MUI). The questioning lasted about seven hours.
Legal troubles
Rizieq Shihab is facing legal problems after months at the forefront of a mass Muslim movement demanding the Jakarta governor be prosecuted for blasphemy. Ahok, an ethnic Chinese Christian, is up for election on Feb. 15.
The former deputy governor of Jakarta ascended to the top spot when then-Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo was elected president of Indonesia in 2014.
On Monday, West Java police declared Rizieq a suspect for insulting the state ideology Pancasila by asserting that founding president Soekarno had placed belief in God at the bottom of the list of five core national principles. If guilty, he faces up to four years in prison.
At least eight police reports such as inciting hatred against a certain group and insulting the Jakarta Police Chief M. Iriawan for being "a general with the brain of a neighborhood watchman" have been filed against Rizieq since October.
He was also questioned by police last week over allegations he triggered public unrest by claiming the new rupiah banknotes featured a hammer and sickle, a logo of the defunct Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) that is banned in Indonesia.
Wiretapping?
Ahok, whose blasphemy trial began in December, has repeatedly said he never intended to offend Muslims during a speech in the Thousand Islands regency near Jakarta on Sept. 27, when he cited Surah Al-Maida Verse 51 from the Quran. Some have interpreted the passage as barring Muslims from having non-Muslim leaders.
Former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, whose son is a candidate for Jakarta governor, responded angrily Wednesday to an assertion by one of Ahok's lawyers that he had asked the head of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) in a telephone call to issue a fatwa condemning Ahok's comment.
"If it's true my conversation with Ma'ruf or anyone else was tapped without legal authorization, that's illegal," Yudhoyono, president from 2004 to 2014, said in a press statement Wednesday, referring to MUI leader Ma'ruf Amin.
In his own statement, Ahok denied the electronic eavesdropping and said the information came from a news article on Oct. 7.
Past convictions
If any of the current allegations against him lead to a conviction, it would not be the first prison sentence for Rizieq.
In July 2003, the firebrand cleric was sentenced to seven months in prison for insulting police during a television talk show. In October 2008, the Central Jakarta court convicted him of inciting violence during a peaceful interfaith rally at the National Monument and sentenced him to 18 months.
Rights watchdog group Setara Institute Deputy Chairman Bonar Tigor Naipospos said FPI's activities and intolerance dwindled following Rizieq's previous convictions.
"It showed that there is a correlation. If the state is willing to enforce the law, it would reduce the number of intolerance acts, because the main actors are from that group," Bonar told BenarNews recently.
Bandung's Universitas Padjajaran political analyst Idil Akbar said prosecuting Rizieq would not suppress the group's activities.
"I predict that the potential is still there," he said, adding that it could escalate because Rizieq's followers might think the cleric is being persecuted.


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BENARNEWS- Indonesia and Australia pledged to cut off sources of funding for terror groups, a top Indonesian official said Thursday after meeting with his Australian counterpart in Jakarta.
The two sides discussed how Indonesian and Australia would work to curb the flow of money used to finance terrorism, Wiranto, Indonesia's coordinating minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, told journalists after meeting with the delegation from Canberra, which was headed by Australian Attorney General George Brandis.
Wiranto said terrorism and a regional threat posed by Islamic State (IS) sympathizers and supporters exist because of the availability of funding from many sources.
"I don't make any accusations, [but] I think in the current development, terrorism funding may flow from anywhere. With the existing technology, both countries have taken many steps to cut funding," he said.
In August 2016, Indonesia and Australia co-hosted a meeting of 26 nations in Bali, at which delegations pledged to cooperate in strengthening intelligence efforts in cutting off funding sources, even as terrorists change their methods of delivering cash.
Cooperation is important in curbing the flow of terrorism funding, Brandis said.
"We know that one of the most effective ways to combat the surge of terrorism is to attack the funding and the movement of money," Brandis said.
Meetings that began in December 2015 have significantly strengthened bilateral relations in law and security, he added.
Meanwhile, Indonesia's Center for Financial Transaction Reporting and Analysis (PPATK) has revealed that funding from some sources in Australia assists radical networks in Indonesia. Funds have been sent to Indonesia 97 times through individuals and groups, according to PPATK.
About 88.5 billion rupiah (U.S. $6.6 million) has come from groups and individuals in Australia to terror group networks in Indonesia, the center also reported. Other countries linked to terror funding are Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand.
Special team
Suhardi Alius, who heads Indonesia's National Counter Terrorism Agency (BNPT), said his agency was part of a special team formed by PPATK to stem the flow of international terrorism funding.
"When a report comes, it would be verified first if it is from an individual, a group, or a foundation," he said.
From January 2013 to November 2016, PPATK submitted 105 financial transactions allegedly linked to terrorism.
During the same period, the agency also received 267 suspicious transaction reported by financial service providers.
Last year, 25 suspicious transactions were detected – an increase of 12 cases from 2015, PPATK reported.
In 2014, the agency reported 26 suspicious transactions, while in 2013 there were 13 reported suspicious transactions and in 33 cases in 2012.
South China Sea
In addition to terrorism funding, both countries discussed their concerns about the South China Sea.
"We exchanged our views on the dynamics of security in the area and the importance of maintaining stability. We support all countries around the South China Sea to respect the international maritime law," Wiranto said.
He emphasized that Indonesia is not a claimant state in territorial disputes over the sea has no overlapping border with other countries.
"We agree that whatever happens, as countries in the region, we should together maintain the regional stability," Wiranto said. "Don't let the South China Sea issue grow into [a] conflict between countries as it would disrupt the regional economy."


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BENARNEWS- Turkey is holding about 100 Indonesian nationals suspected of planning to enter Syria to join the Islamic State (IS), including some highly educated individuals, Indonesian police said.
The number is in addition to 22 people deported from Turkey in mid-January who were arrested upon arrival in Indonesia but subsequently released on condition they attend government training on Indonesian national ideology and society.
"Based on information from Turkish authorities, they are regular people, but there are also some intellectuals and academicians," National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Rikwanto said in Jakarta on Wednesday, referring to the Indonesians in Turkey.
"IS has penetrated campus mosques at home and abroad to spread their ideology. So, academics with their extensive knowledge of the material world are not necessarily safe from IS recruitment," he said. He did not specifying which campuses.
One of the Indonesians deported from Turkey last month was an Australia-educated economist at Indonesia's Finance Ministry who resigned in Feb. 2016, then disappeared.
In 2014, three civil servants from the Finance Ministry left for Syria. One succeeded in entering the war-torn country and two others were stopped at the border.
The IS declared a "caliphate" in June 2014 in territory it controlled at the time in Syria and neighboring Iraq.
'Romantic images'
Some middle class people fall prey to IS recruiters because they are unaware that the group espouses killing non-believers and turning female captives into sex slaves.
"They see IS as an Islamic caliphate. Many don't know that IS is cruel and a terrorist group," he said.
"Recruiters persuade and seduce them with romantic images of an Islamic caliphate. Some of them just want to go there to live, not necessarily to join IS fighters," he added.
The 100-some Indonesians are being held in Turkey for investigation by Turkish security authorities and will be sent home in groups, he added.
Contacted by BenarNews, Turkish Ambassador to Indonesia Mehmet Kadri Sander Gurbuz declined to comment.
Seventeen Indonesians were deported from Turkey on Jan. 21, and three days later, the former Finance Ministry economist and his wife and three children arrived in Bali after being deported from Turkey.
At the time Rikwanto said the family was freed because there was not enough evidence against them even though, he acknowledged, there was evidence IS recruiters had persuaded them to go to Syria.
From 2015 through January 2017, 305 Indonesians were deported from Turkey on suspicion they wanted to enter Syria, according to Foreign Ministry Data.
The National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) said 237 adults and 46 children from Indonesia were believed to be in Syria as of August 2016.
Eighty Indonesians have been killed in Syria and an equal number have returned home, it said.
Looking for a guru
Arif Darmawan, a BNPT senior official, said the phenomenon of IS recruiting intellectuals is not new.
"IS has always targeted not only intellectuals, but as many recruits as possible, regardless of their background," Arif said.
The government monitors the performance, attitude and behavior of civil servants, police and soldiers while they are at work, but religious belief is largely formed outside of work hours, he noted.
"It's difficult to monitor because of privacy rights," he said.
Terrorism expert Noor Huda Ismail said radical ideology can spread to members of the middle class who have their material needs met yet experience spiritual emptiness.
"Many of them feel unsatisfied, then meet a group that teaches and gives answers to their questions," he told BenarNews.
Taufik Andri, executive director of the Institute for International Peace Building in Jakarta, agreed.
"They're looking for a spiritual guru, a mentor, and they join study groups on the Internet, without being aware that they have gotten involved with an IS group and that it's difficult to get out of it," he said.
For IS, successful recruitment of intellectuals or members of the middle class is a boon. Among other things, they can pay their own way to Syria.
"Academics and intellectuals are not seen as suspicious when they go through customs. They avoid immigration problems because it's already normal for them to go abroad. Lower class people tend to get nervous," Taufik said.
He said he hoped that Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah – two mass Muslim organizations in Indonesia – would be more active in carrying out a strategy to counter radicalization, through sermons in mosques and madrassas, for example.
Muhammadiyah has performed that role, and promoted Islam as a solution for social problems,since its founding, according to General Chairman of Muhammadiyah Youth Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak.
"Our approach counteracts IS recruitment efforts by educating people about the true teachings of Islam for peace and solving problems in life," he said.


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BENARNEWS- The American move to block citizens of seven Muslim countries from entering the United States over security concerns could harm counter-terrorism efforts, Indonesia's foreign ministry said this week, while Malaysia sought clarification about how the policy would affect Malaysians.
But both Southeast Asian countries are not among those affected by the ban.
An executive order signed by U.S. President Donald Trump last week imposed a 90-day ban on citizens of seven countries – Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen – from entering the U.S. It also froze for at least 120 days the admission of all refugees from anywhere in the world, and it barred Syrian refugees from arriving on American soil indefinitely.
"Even though this is the sovereign right of the United States, Indonesia deeply regrets the issuing of this policy, because it is likely to have a negative impact on global efforts to fight terrorism and the handling of refugee issues," Arrmanatha Nasir, spokesman for the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told BenarNews in a text message.
"It is wrong to associate radicalism and terrorism with a particular religion," he added.
President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said Indonesians need not be concerned about the ban.
"We are not affected by the policy, why worry?" he said in a statement.
Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), a group of 57 Muslim countries, including Indonesia and Malaysia, and the United Nations voiced alarm over the move widely seen as discriminating against Muslims.
Malaysia not affected: Embassy
In Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur, around 100 protesters demonstrated Friday against the ban outside the U.S. embassy. They delivered a letter for the American ambassador in which they described the ban as divisive and smearing Islam.
"This executive order would create further division among people of the world of different religions and origins. It also will strengthen the mistaken perception of Islam, and damage the reputation of the citizens of those seven countries; further victimizing the religion in the already war-torn nations," said the letter signed by parties in an opposition coalition.
The Malaysian foreign ministry had sought clarification from the embassy after a Malaysian newspaper reported that at least one Malaysian was among 71 foreign travelers held by immigration authorities at New York's JFK Airport, because of the new policy.
"The Ministry has clarified with the Embassy of the United States of America in Kuala Lumpur that the travel ban does not include Malaysia and her citizens. Malaysians who have valid travel documents and necessary visas are allowed to enter the United States," officials said in a statement.
The embassy in Kuala Lumpur said Malaysians could travel to the United States with a valid visa, pointing out that Malaysia was "not affected" by the executive order.
'Selective and discriminatory' 
The OIC called on the Trump administration to reconsider the "blanket order" and said this would "further complicate the already grave challenges facing refugees."
"Such selective and discriminatory acts will only serve to embolden the radical narratives of extremists and will provide further fuel to the advocates of violence and terrorism at a critical time when the OIC has been engaged with all partners, including the U.S., to combat extremism and terrorism in all their forms and manifestations," the world Muslim body said Tuesday in a statement.
Antonio Guterres, the new secretary general of the United Nations, echoed that sentiment in calling for the U.S. to lift the ban.
"Those measures indeed violate our basic principles and I think that they are not effective if the objective is to, really, avoid terrorists to enter the United States," he told reporters on Wednesday, according to Agence France-Presse.
Going after extremists
The Trump administration has defended its move, saying it does not target people who practice Islam and that it aims to stop foreign terrorists or criminals from infiltrating the U.S.
In a statement late Friday, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security listed several types of travelers from the seven countries for whom the 90-day ban on entry to the United States does not apply, including dual passport holders and diplomats.
"Importantly, these seven countries are the only countries to which the pause on entry applies. No other countries face such treatment. Nor have any other countries been identified as warranting future inclusion at this time, contrary to false reports," the statement said.
It also said that in the future the U.S. government could be alerting some foreign governments that they need to provide more information on their nationals who are seeking admission to the United States.
"The goal is to ensure that those admitted to this country do not bear hostile attitudes toward the United States and its founding principles," it said.
"The consequence [of] extreme vetting [by the U.S.] will increase radicalism inside America itself," warned Rakyan Adibrata, a Jakarta-based security expert.
Such a unilateral move by the new American government, Rakyan told BenarNews, could "become a justification for countries that already hate America to hate [it] even more."


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BENARNEWS- The wife of Indonesian Islamic State (IS) leader Bahrumsyah is among 75 people housed in a government shelter in East Jakarta, where they are to be rehabilitated after being deported from Turkey over attempts to join the militant group, a police official said Tuesday.
Bahrumsyah (alias Bachrumsyah Mennor Usman) is an Indonesian citizen based in Syria who is believed to be one of the founders of Katibah Nusantara, a combat unit of IS made up of fighters from Southeast Asia. The United States recently classified Bahrumsyah as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.
Bahrumsyah's wife, identified as NK, was detained with 16 Indonesians on Jan. 21 at Jakarta's international airport upon their return from Turkey, National Police Spokesman Brig. Gen. Rikwanto said.
"She departed [to Turkey] by herself, not accompanied by her child, to join her husband, Bahrumsyah in Syria," Rikwanto told BenarNews in Jakarta.
Three days later, police arrested a former Indonesia Finance Ministry staffer, his wife and three children when they landed at Bali airport after being expelled from Turkey.
The 17 deportees and the family of five were released after investigations by the national counter terror police squad Densus 88 over a lack of evidence needed to press terrorism-related charges.
Instead, they were sent to the Bambu Apus social center in East Jakarta to receive guidance from the social ministry. Police said they are being educated on the country's ideology of Pancasila and how to live in a community.
The center also is housing another 53 Indonesians who were deported from Turkey, but police did not elaborate on the details surrounding their deportations.
The 75 were identified as 17 men, 24 women and 34 children.
Bahrumsyah's third wife
NK, who is from the city of Ujung Pandang in South Sulawesi province, left for Turkey in November 2016, according to Rikwanto. The widow of a militant, she married Bahrumsyah as his third wife and had been hiding in a safe house on the Turkish side of the border, waiting to cross into Syria.
"The modus is they were located in a hidden place in a rented apartment in a remote area, when at that time they were arrested by Turkish police during a raid," Rikwanto said.
"NK was released because she has not done any terror acts. She went there only because of the instruction to join her husband."
Social minister's support
After visiting the center on Monday, Social Affairs Minister Khofifah Indar Parawansa said she hoped the deportees could return to society and lead normal lives.
"They should be embraced and given an understanding on the danger of radicalism and terrorism," she said in a news release.
Exclusion by society, Khofifah said, would hinder the social integration process of those who want to distance themselves from the IS.
"And it is not impossible that they will return to ... radical groups if society does not treat them well," Kofifah said.
The majority of deportees come from East Java province and many are well educated, she said. Some of them are relatives of IS members while others were invited by friends to join the group.
She said the children are in good condition.
"Some of them said they want to be a pilot, soldier, teacher or boxer. Some want to be a doctor, including a veterinarian. These precious dreams need to be kept alive by their parents," Khofifah said.


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BENARNEWS- Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo on Thursday called on Indonesian mainstream media and other outlets to help filter out fake news reports or hoaxes that can spread fear and create social divisions when disseminated through social media.
While speaking to journalists who gathered for a National Press Day event in Ambon, Maluku province, the president urged Indonesians to be wise in reading the news and discerning fake content from factual reporting – particularly content published on Facebook and other social media platforms.
"I have faith that this will actually make us more mature and stronger. So we do not need to complain a lot when we hear things on social media, as this is a phenomenon of all countries," he told the crowd in Ambon, a multi-ethnic region that, in the past, saw inter-religious violence between the province's Muslim and Christian communities.
Jokowi himself was the target of fake news reports while he was campaigning for the presidency in 2014. Fake reports then suggested that he was of Chinese descent – a veiled reference to Indonesia's ethnic Chinese minority  – and they even linked him to the now-defunct Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).
"Fake news that is propagated through social media becomes a heavy burden for government. Social media also gives governments headaches. This is what I heard from prime ministers and presidents I met," he said.
"There is news that brings commotion," Jokowi added. "It divides society and even threatens the unity of the nation."
Jokowi first declared war on fake news and hoaxes last year.
"Slander, hatred and rude words on social media are increasingly troubling people," Jokowi tweeted in December. "We need determined and tough law enforcement."
Jokowi then announced plans to set up a National Cyber Agency that would combat fake news while securing the internet from potential hacking.
This move came after the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in November blocked 11 websites in Indonesia over concerns that they contained hate speech, radical content or provoked sectarian sentiments.
Last month, a group calling itself the Indonesian Community of Anti-Slander Research was established to challenge hoaxes disseminated over the internet.
Press Council
Fake news threatens mainstream media because it spreads hatred, Yosep "Stanley" Adi Prasetyo, the head of Indonesia's Press Council, an independent body established to protect press freedom, told BenarNews.
"People have a hard time distinguishing which is real news and which is a hoax because lots of news is produced by sites claiming to be professional news websites," Stanley said.
"The values of the noble profession of journalists must be returned to the journalists who have the competence and have committed themselves to the code of ethics of the profession," he added.
Anticipating the rise of fake news, the council plans to join with other journalism organizations to form an anti-hoax institution.
In addition, the council continues to certify the credentials of news organizations, having issued a barcode to 77 organizations that meet the ethics code.
"This is just the kick off. The press council will continue the verification process in the next two year," he explained.
The Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) noted that many organizations have not passed the verification process but meet ethical standards.
"In our opinion, [the certification program] received mixed reactions, mostly negative. This is because of the lack of socialization in the press community," AJI chairman Suwarjono said in a statement.
Ahok targeted
Among those who have allegedly been targeted by fake content is Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, the governor for Jakarta who is running for election on Feb. 15 but who is on trial over a blasphemy charge for a speech he made on the campaign trail in September.
In the speech, he quoted a verse from the Quran that was seen as insulting Islam. A video clip of the speech that was disseminated online went viral on social media and angered Muslims, but, in his testimony, Ahok claimed that the clip was edited in a way that distorted his words.
Ahok has said he never intended to offend Muslims when he cited the Surah Al-Maida Verse 51 from the Quran. Some interpret the passage as barring Muslims from having non-Muslim leaders.
Since the story broke, conservative Muslims held three massive demonstrations demanding Ahok be jailed for allegedly demeaning the Quran.
Stories also targeted Ahok's ethnicity as a member of Indonesia's Chinese minority. Reports included rumors that 10 million Chinese workers are coming to Indonesia or that a military leader has said communist China has started to meddle in Indonesia, a comment the general denies making.


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BENARNEWS- Millions of people are expected to vote for the governor of Jakarta next week in a race seen as a springboard for the presidency of Muslim-majority Indonesia but that has been overshadowed by blasphemy charges against the ethnic Chinese-Christian incumbent.
As many as 7.1 million residents are eligible to vote in Wednesday's Jakarta gubernatorial polls, which will take place alongside 100 other elections for governors, mayors and regents across the sprawling Southeast Asian nation.
The contest for governor of Indonesia's capital has grabbed national headlines and is being closely watched by some as a test of the country's long-standing philosophy of tolerance and religious diversity. The Feb. 15 election pits two candidates who are vying to push Gov. Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama out of office after more than two years on the job.
He and Deputy Jakarta Gov. Djarot Saiful Hidayat are going up against Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono – the son of former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono – and running mate Sylviana Murni, the former mayor of Central Jakarta and first woman to run for deputy governor of the city.
They are also running against gubernatorial hopeful Anies Rasyid Baswedan, a former minister of education, and running mate Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno.
The winner of Wednesday's polls must receive more than 50 percent of ballots cast to clinch the election outright. If not, a run-off election will be held next month between the top two finishers.
The polls will determine who will be chief administrator of Indonesia's capital region for the next five years and offer a window into the 2019 presidential elections, observers said.
"Whoever wins the election will manage a 70 trillion rupiah [U.S. $5.2 billion] regional budget annually and administer a city where 70 percent to 80 percent of all money in Indonesia circulates in. Any political party would want to gain control of Jakarta," Emrus Sihombing, a political analyst at Pelita Harapan University in Jakarta, told BenarNews.
Emrus said the governor's post could be a stepping-stone to the next presidential election. Parties are vying to control the capital by winning the gubernatorial election because it could provide them with a better chance to rule the country, he said.
Tensions around Ahok
If Ahok wins by the ballot box, voters would place him a step closer to the presidency. A member of the small ethnic Chinese minority has never been elected president in Indonesia.
Ahok became governor in 2014, when he succeeded Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, the former governor who was elected president that year.
Ahok, of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), is running for election although he is standing trial for a blasphemy case stemming from allegedly anti-Islam comments made in September. He has proclaimed his innocence but also apologized to Muslims, saying he did not intend to offend them by quoting a passage from the Quran in a way that was interpreted as blasphemous.
Muslim groups, led by the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), have staged three rallies in Jakarta in recent months, in which they have called for Ahok to be prosecuted over the allegations that he insulted their religion. One of the rallies ended in violence on Nov. 4, when riots broke out.
Official campaigning among the candidates is to end Saturday, but the same anti-Ahok groups plan to hold a mass prayer service that day at the Istiqlal Mosque, the city's largest mosque.
About 28,000 police officers and military personnel will be deployed to keep the peace in Central Jakarta on Saturday, according to Jakarta Police Chief M. Iriawan.
The FPI and other groups had planned to march in downtown Jakarta. But after meeting with Security Minister Wiranto on Thursday, the FPI and its firebrand cleric, Rizieq Shihab, said the groups had changed their plans.
"The clerics and religious figures who planned to participate in the Feb. 11 rally have wisely pondered to change the location from the Hotel Indonesia Roundabout to the Istiqlal Mosque, and have a mass prayer there," Rizieq told a press conference after the meeting with Wiranto.
The minister said the government would not ban any mass rallies, despite security concerns.
"From my part as a chief security minister, they can go ahead with their activities, as long as they don't do anything that breaks the law," Wiranto said.
What the polls say
Agus, the ex-president's son and a candidate from the Democratic Party, was leading in polls taken earlier in the campaign season, but the former army major has slipped into third place going into the final days of campaigning.
According to the latest survey by pollster Indikator that came out Friday, 39 percent of voters surveyed said they would pick the Ahok-Djarot ticket, compared with 35 percent who would elect Anies-Sandiaga, and 19 percent who would go for Agus-Sylviana.
However, Jakartans were skeptical about the accuracy of surveys by pollsters, according to Emrus.
"Assuming that all pollsters are good and credible, the public still has to know who financed the poll and look at whether the methodology is accountable academically," Emrus said.
Voters' opinions
Dyah Adiwangsa, a supporter of Agus, said she didn't believe in pre-election surveys.
"They can't be used as reference – many of them are not fair," she told BenarNews at Bidakara Hall, where the candidates were taking the stage on Friday night for their third and final official debate.
She said she would vote for Agus because he is young and has the potential to be a leader with a clean track record, and his running mate is a woman.
"Sylvi represents our gender and we should be proud of her," Dyah said.
Gayatri, a resident of Pela Mampang, South Jakarta, told BenarNews she would vote for Anies, a candidate from the Gerindra party, because he and his former businessman running mate were offering a program to empower small-medium enterprises.
Jou Hasyim, a resident of Pondok Kopi, East Jakarta, said he would vote for Ahok because of his reputation for cleaning up seedier parts of town.
"He was able to evict [the people in] Kalijodo and cleared the area, turning it into a public park," Jou told Benar, referring to an area in North Jakarta that used to be the city's biggest red-light district.
Arie Firdhaus in Jakarta contributed to this report.


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