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Indonesian Group Confirms Members Arrested In Malaysia
By IOL
correspondent Kazi Mahmood
JAKARTA,
Jan. 6 (IslamOnline) - The Indonesian Mujahidin Council (MMI) confirmed
Saturday that three Indonesians arrested by Malaysian police were members of
their group.
They were charged with trying to
create an Islamic government, as well as having possible ties to a suspect in
the investigation of the September 11 hijackings, according to Malaysian
investigators.
Malaysian police identified the
three Indonesians, arrested under the draconian Internal Security Act (ISA) as
Abu Bakar Bashir, Hambali and Mohamad Iqbal.
A Mujahidin official said he
knew of the arrest from news reports, but has not yet received formal notice
from Malaysian authorities.
The three Indonesians, along
with 10 others, may be linked to Zacarias Moussaoui, a French national on trial
for participating in the September terrorist attacks in the U.S., Malaysian
investigators claimed.
Hamidan
added that Abu Bakar Bashir is Mujahidin’s council chief while Hambali and
Mohamad Iqbal are just members. Hambali and Iqbal, he noted, have been living in
Malaysia for several years.
Asked
why his group has been aiding movements to establish Islamic states in Malaysia,
Indonesia and the Philippines, Hamidan replied that this is the very nature of
politics. "The socialist party wants to establish socialist government, and
the communist group tries to set up communist-oriented government," he
said. "That is normal."
Hamidan
was quick to stress that these ends must be achieved peacefully.
"We
will be glad if our idea gets immediate support, but if people reject that idea,
we will keep on struggling," said Hamidan, who is also coordinator of the
Islamic Sermon College (PTDI) in North Jakarta.
The
Mujahidin council was established in August 2000 in Yogyakarta. One of the
founders was Abu Bakar Bashir, chief of the Ngruki Islamic boarding school in
Surakarta.
In
Malaysia members of an opposition party and a human rights group challenged the
government on Saturday to prove in court its charges against the 13 men
arrested.
Human
rights group, Aliran, urged the government to present evidence in open court to
support its allegations to gain public confidence.
"Without
an independent trial in court, these allegations will only raise alarm and
fear," the group said in a statement. "They may even scare away
much-needed investors and tourists."
Lim Kit Siang, chairman of the opposition Democratic
Action Party, said charging the group in a courtroom was the best way to
convince Malaysians of the credibility of the case.
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