A former chief of Indonesia's
intelligence agency has dismissed US allegations of Islamic
terrorist bases in Indonesia and said it was unsupported by
evidence.
Retired general Maulani said US analysts concluded the Al Qaeda
network must exist in Indonesia because it was composed of many
islands, had a population of 220 million and there were some
extreme Muslims in the community.
He said the US was trying to create the image there was an al-Qaeda
network in Indonesia, with the aim of forcing the Indonesian
government to act more firmly in the fight against terrorism.
The US State Department, in its annual "Patterns of Global
Terrorism" report said Washington was concerned that
terrorists related to al-Qaeda were operating in Indonesia.
26/05/2002
18:20:38 | ABC Radio Australia News
|
