One Subur Sugiarto, usually called Abu Mujahid, a member of the unusually active Semarang, northern central Java wing of the Jemaah Islamiyah in Indonesia, was arrested yesterday while traveling on a bus in the town of Boyolali in central Java. He admitted to the police that his main function was in the recruitment area.
When he was arrested he was carrying a bag containing books, a sharp weapon, VCDs and a tape recorder. Mujahid is believed to be an associate of the Malaysian national Noordin M. Top. His arrest brings the total number of terrorist captures this week to five, all of them in the towns and villages of central Java.
Why there is so much activity in the city of Semarang, and central Java generally, is a question of some interest considering that, in comparison, western Java is a far more Islamically oriented area and it might be expected that much of the terrorist network would revolve around people there instead. Perhaps it is that the authorities just have a better handle on terrorist operations in central Java, have penetrated the network better. One arrest leads to confessions and information gained, more arrests follow.
Update
The man, Subur Sugiarto, is a teacher of Islam and is believed to have acted as a mentor to the three men who committed the suicide bombings in Bali, October 2005. It appears that his home in Kendal, near Semarang, had been raided by police last November and there was found 40 M-16 bullets, 40 pistol bullets, books on Islam, VCD recordings, bomb-making manuals.
Update
The arrest of Subur Sugiarto has led to two further arrests, of Joko Wibowo, 25, with the jihadist alias of “Abu Sayaf”, in the central Javanese town of Karanganyar, and Ibnu Pramono, 30, in Semarang. Both men were captured by the specialist police anti-terror unit Detachment 88. Small amounts of ammunition and a few weapons were siezed.
Wibowo is thought to be a friend of Malaysian terrorist Noordin M. Top while Pramono is said to have frequently lent his motorcycle to certain under-suspicion Muslim clerics. Both men are friends of Subur Sugiarto.
This brings the total number of arrests this week in central Java to eight.
Update
Joko Wibowo alias Abu Sayyaf, or Sayaf, a member of the Solo, official name Surakarta, branch of the Majelis Mujahidin Indonesia (MMI), the Mujahidin Council of Indonesia, arrested in connection with the second Bali bomb attacks of October 2005 claims he has been tortured by the police. Today the Mujahidin Council delivered a protest to General Sutanto of the national police claiming that Sayaf has been tortured while in custody.
We are delivering this protest to General Sutanto because he is the highest police official in the country.
said MMI chairman Fauzan Al Anshori.
We know that Abu Sayyaf was tortured after the MMI saw him at the central Java police headquarters on 3 February 2006 after he had been captured in Karanganyar, 19 January 2006.
Fauzan went on to say that the man in question had a number of visible scars and marks on his body including cigarette burns, cuts and marks from electric shocks, and his fingers and toes were black and blue.
Abu Sayyaf has experienced inhuman torture at the hands of police interrogators.
Because of the violation of his human rights we demand that Joko Wibowo alias Abu Sayyaf be freed and measures be taken against those responible for his mistreatment.
He further said that if the demands of the MMI were not acknowledged by the police it would be proof that the Indonesian security forces were in league with the United States in its war against the Muslim world.
General Sutanto’s response is not known but a general of the central Java police, Dody Sumantyawan, dismissed the claims.
It’s not true that there has been physical abuse. And the media does not need to exaggerate. He’s not being abused. He’s fine.
Patung,
…but it would be a fairly ignorant one as I can’t say with any certainty.
Certainly, I do understand. I don’t expect you to have source knowledge on every aspect of life in Indonesia.
Your gut feelings, and also your thoughts on all the Indonesian issues are still far more what I can gather from the newspapers.
ALso you are honest in presenting your opinions.
One more question: What are the real numbers of Christians in Indonesia?
From what you have said they are either disproportionally well represented in the administration, army etc or the official numbers we get from the Indonesian government agencies aren’t true.
The main stream media also tend to ignore the fact that there are still people in various parts of Indonesia, who are …well.. say animistic in their religious beliefs.
How big this group in your opinion might be?
Patung,
I’d be wary of making too much of religious differences among people here.
Twenty years ago I am sure there wouldn’t be much of a difference between various religious groups at all and the pride in the “new” nationhood was definetely a very strong unifying factor. I knew about twent diffrent individuals from Indonesia living here in Australia and religious zeal was as far removed from them as it is in Japan these days.
Don’t you think it has changed since then?
I mean with all the money the Arbab Islamists were pouring into Indenesia?
I havent’s heard much at all about young girls having their heads chopped off for being Christian or about exploding butcher shops twenty years ago.
Mind you I simply haven’t heard about it but of course it could’ve happened as well.
I was just researching information for Semarang and I stumbled upon this website. I read what you all had to say and have a question. I am going on a mission trip to Semarang and want to have a good idea regarding safety for Christians in the area. Is the area fairly safe or is safety something I should be concerned about? I would just like to have a good idea of the kind of area I am heading into. Thanks for your help.
Copyright Indonesia Matters 2006-2025
Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Contact
Perhaps it is that the authorities just have a better handle on terrorist operations in central Java, have penetrated the network better.
I think this is the case.
Still, good work.
I really would like to know how sympathetic to the Islamic causes the security forces are.
Culd you comment on that?