“It is clear religion had no connection at all with the acts of the bombers,” Megawati

By Kazi Mahmood, IOL Southeast Asia Correspondent

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 1 (IslamOnline.net) – Indonesia’s President Megawati Sukarnoputri condemned "terrorists" for abusing Islamic teachings to justify their acts of violence, adding that she believed Islam had no links to terrorism, according to news reports Saturday, August 2.

In a speech delivered before Parliament (MPR) Friday, August 1, the Indonesian President made it clear that according to her understanding, Islam had nothing to do with terrorism, reported the Antara News agency.

Megawati vowed to fight terror in an all out war in her own country and to assist other nations in their bid to eliminate terrorism, in a speech that indicates a probable resurgence in crack downs against “Islamic elements” in Indonesia, experts analyzing her comments told IslamOnline.net.

Megawati made the point to demark herself and the Muslims in Indonesia away from the assertions by arrested “Islamic” leaders and other terror suspects that Islam allowed such terror acts to be taken against non-Muslims.

The lady President who is often associated with non-Muslims and whose party has more non-Muslim members of Parliament and of the legislative assembly lambasted the Bali bombers who defended their activities in the name of Islam.

She altogether derided their blind fanaticism toward an extreme religious teaching which ignored human lives and did not spare civilians.

“It is clear that religion and its followers had no connection at all with the acts of the bombers,” said Megawati, who added that “their ignoring human lives and property and setting indiscriminate targets, and their ability to use explosive materials... all have made the domestic branch of international terrorism a terrifying threat."

She told the MPR Annual Session, which was holding its meeting while a few hundred students were demonstrating against the Megawati regime and the U.S. at the gate of the Parliament, that the discovery of an international terrorist network in Indonesia was detrimental to the country.

The Indonesian President further claimed that the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) "terrorist network" was active in the country, turning Indonesia into a target of international terrorism.

She also said she believed the JI meant that Indonesia was the hotbed for "terror planners, perpetrators and supporters of terrorism".

Mujahideen sources in Indonesia informed IOL last month that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was working closely with the local intelligentsia in listing down the “who is who” of Indonesia’s own religious establishments.

The U.S. apparently believes Muslims involved in local madrassah’s or pesantren’s as they are called in Indonesia are supporters of “Islamic terrorism” or are simply against the U.S. in its "anti-terror" practices.

While Megawati said in order to safeguard the public from the clear and present danger, the government had to act to unravel the terrorist network, Muslim’s are increasingly turning their backs against her government, a member of the Indonesian Mujahideen Council (MMI) said to IOL Saturday.

The President's statement came amid fears of intensifying terror attacks in the predominantly Muslim Indonesia, a country where Islamic fundamentalism is constantly at odds with a secular system of governance.

A series of bomb blasts over the past few years in Jakarta and several other provinces in the archipelago has undermined the country’s image on the international scene, forcing the government to act strongly against "terror suspects".

However, many of those behind bars have either claimed their innocence or are under arrest for simply taking a strong position against the United States, added the MMI.

The latest attack took place on July 14 inside the MPR compound in Senayan, Central Jakarta, just two weeks before the start of the Annual Session. Although it did not claim any lives, the blast provided proof that even such a vital and secure venue was prone to terrorist attacks, reported the Jakarta Post Saturday.

The nation is still licking its wounds from the worst act of terror that rocked the resort island of Bali on October 2002, killing 202 people, mostly foreign holidaymakers, the Post added.

The National Police said regional terror network JI was behind the Bali bombings and alleged that JI had links to al-Qaeda, the international terrorist network blamed for the attacks on the United States on 9/11/2001.

Police have arrested more than 30 people allegedly involved in the Bali blasts.