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Islamic
extremism gains a foothold in Christian Papua
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South
China Morning Post
February
19, 2003
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Islamic extremism gains a
foothold in Christian Papua
INDONESIA
Indonesia's armed forces are accused of guarding Laskar Jihad
training camps
operating near the PNG border
JOHN MARTINKUS in Jakarta
On December 28 last year a car carrying the wife and daughter of a
prominent
Papuan human rights activist was ambushed by unidentified gunmen
between the
border posts of Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.
More than 40 bullets were fired at the vehicle and the wife and
daughter of
Johannes Bonay, head of ELSHAM - a group that monitors human
rights abuses
in Papua - were among the three seriously injured in the attack.
When an Indonesian police investigation team visited the scene on
January 1
they too were shot at and forced to flee. The list of suspects in
the attack
is a long one. The mainly Christian Papua province-PNG border area
has
become home to Islamic fighters of Muslim extremist group Laskar
Jihad,
Papuan militia groups trained by Indonesia's Kopassus special
forces, and
Free Papuan Movement (OPM) guerillas.
Mr Bonay cannot carry out the investigation into who shot his wife
and
daughter, although such incidents are usually the domain of his
organisation. "When we go there we are going into a very dark
cloud. There
are armed men and you don't know whether they are militia,
[Indonesian
military], OPM or Laskar Jihad," he said.
A police investigation into the shooting said Indonesian had been
seen in
the area at the time of the ambush, but inquiries are continuing.
What has
emerged is that the northern area of the Papua-PNG border is now a
training
area for Islamic militants backed by the Indonesian military.
"Laskar Jihad is now in several forms," says Thom Beanal,
head of the
pro-Independence Papuan Presidium Council. "They can be
militia or a kind of
military supporting group, with some local Papuans recruited by
the
military," he said. "Laskar Jihad is consolidating
itself here. When they
said they disbanded in the Malukus after the Bali bombing, it does
not mean
that they have stopped their activities here."
The Islamic militants of Laskar Jihad have been arriving in Papua
from the
conflict in Ambon for the past two years. The setting up of an
office in the
town of Sorong last year was a front for their activities in that
area which
locals say included the establishment of 12 training camps that
were in
remote areas and guarded by members of Kopassus. According to
presidium
member Willy Mandowen, the office in Sorong was visited by members
of Jemaah
Islamiah before the bombing in Bali last October.
Now they are operating in the border area with Papua New Guinea.
"They have
weapons from the Indonesian military. They are trained in these
camps by
Kopassus," says Lawrence Mehui, who has carried out an
investigation of
these groups for the presidium.
In the transmigrant settlements near the town of Arso, close to
the border,
the Javanese members of Laskar Jihad have been recruiting and
training
transmigrants and local Papuans in conjunction with members of
Kopassus. "We
have information from when Kopassus had a meeting with the local
people in
Arso in November. The local people come and tell us that there is
a direct
connection with the Kopassus members and the Islamic groups,"
says Lawrence
Muhui.
ELSHAM says the groups of Laskar Jihad and locally recruited
militia on the
border are being formed into operational support groups for
military
operations trained by Kopassus. "If we analyse the reports
made by the
people and the investigations made by the police we can ascertain
that
Kopassus is behind this," Mr Mehui said. "The rhetoric
of the Laskar Jihad
groups fits comfortably with the aims of the Indonesian military
in Papua.
One of their objectives is to protect the unity of Indonesia in
Papua. They
are using Islam to claim they are fighting against the Kaffir here
in
Papua," says Mr Bonay.
ELSHAM says the border activity has been accompanied by 20 recent
unsolved
murders.
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