Indonesian Police Capture Key Militants

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 000312 SIPDIS FROM AMCONSUL SURABAYA 0010 DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, DRL DEPT FOR DS/T/ATA, DS/IP/ITA, DS/DO/ICI, DS/IP/EAP SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958 TAGS: PTER PINS PGOV PNAT KJUS KISL ASEC ID SUBJECT: Indonesian Police Capture Key Militants Ref A: Jakarta 152, Ref B: Jakarta 194, Ref C: Jakarta 229 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Indonesian National Police (INP) units in Poso, Central Sulawesi nabbed three key militants on February 1 in on-going operations there. Shortly afterward, two other militants sought by the INP surrendered to authorities. The lead suspect, Basri, one of the most violent figures in the Central Sulawesi mujahiddin, is implicated in much of Poso's recent sectarian violence including the 2004 murder of Rev. Susianti Tinulele, the 2004 Anugerah Church attack in Palu and the October 2005 beheadings of three Christian girls. Our contacts report that there has been no local response by religious leaders to the arrests and Poso is running normally and hope Basri's arrest will encourage other members of the wanted list to surrender to police without further bloodshed. Police continue pressuring militants in the Poso area, and found a cache of over 39 homemade explosives and various weapons in an Islamic school in Poso's Tanah Runtuh area. END SUMMARY Five Wanted List Suspects in Police Custody -------------- ¶2. (SBU) In the latest results of INP efforts to round up the most wanted suspects behind the violence that has plagued Central Sulawesi over the past several years (Ref A),police units in the Poso area on February 1 captured top suspected militants Basri, Ardin (a.k.a. Rojak) and Hariyanto. These arrests were followed by the surrender of two other key suspects, Yudi Parsan and Amril Ngiode (aka Aat). Basri had been wounded in a January 22 INP raid (Ref B),and he and Hariyanto did not resist arrest. Ardin, however, was wounded in a shoot out with police prior to his capture. ¶3. (SBU) The five suspects are tied to a rogues gallery of Central Sulawesi Muslim extremists behind much of the area's violence since 2001, and associated with the local Jemaah Islamiyah (JI)-linked Anak Tanah Runtuh (ATR) group and the local Kompak-linked Kayamanya group. Basri, the lead figure among the five suspects, was wanted by police as one of the most violent leaders of mujahiddin in Poso, and is tied to ATR leader Adnan Arsal, and Adnan's son-in-law Hasanudin, who is currently standing trial as the former head of JI in Poso. In his thirties, Basri is a graduate of JI combat training and a member of an elite paramilitary group of Poso area mujahidin since at least 2000, according to a recent International Crisis Group report by JI expert Sidney Jones, and is known as an expert marksman and sniper. Among other crimes, Basri is implicated in the 2004 murder of Rev. Susianti Tinulele, the 2004 Anugerah Church attack in Palu, the 2004 beheading of the Pinedapa village chief, and the October 2005 beheadings of three Christian girls. ¶4. (SBU) The INP offered a $11,100 (Rp. 100 million) reward for Basri's capture, and reported publicly that a tip sent via text message (SMS) led to Basri's arrest. According our contacts, the reward likely provided a strong incentive for local residents to report Basri's location. He was notorious as a local thug prior to joining the Central Sulawesi conflict and is not respected as an Islamic scholar. The local opinion seems to be that he used radical Islamic teachings merely as a pretext to continue his anti-social behavior. The leader of a human rights NGO in Poso told us that Wiwin Kalahe, one of the wanted list members previously arrested, admitted to police that he participated in the beheading of the three Christian girls under threat to him and his family by Basri, if he did not carry out the attack. ¶5. (SBU) Amril Ngiode (aka Aat),who surrendered to authorities on February 2, is another graduate of JI training and a member of the same elite group of mujahidin as Basri. INP documents indicate that Amril, in his late twenties, is suspected of participating in the May 2005 Tentena market bombing (23 killed, est. 100 injured) with Irwan Irano (arrested 2005 and currently on trial) and Ardin. Amril is also suspected in the 2004 Susianti murder, and in the 2004 bombing of the Immanual Church with Lilik Purwanto (aka Haris) (arrested in 2005 and currently on trial). ¶6. (SBU) Ardin (a.k.a. Rojak),who is still recovering from injuries he sustained after a shoot-out with police, is in his mid-thirties and linked to the Kayamanya group, according the recent ICG report. The INP suspects Ardin in the 2005 Tentena bombing, the 2004 Susianti murder, and the 2004 Anugerah Church attack. ¶7. (SBU) Yudi Parsan, whose brother Dede was killed in the January 11 Gebang Rejo raid, is suspected in the October 2006 assassination JAKARTA 00000312 002 OF 002 of Rev. Kongkoli in Palu, the January 2006 Maesa Pork Market bombing, and the 2004 Susianti murder. More than a dozen of his relatives were killed by Christians during an attack in 2000, according to the ICG report. Poso Unfazed By Arrests -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Our contacts report that there has been no local response by religious leaders to the arrests and Poso is running normally. Several of our NGO contacts in Poso added that the Central Sualwesi police, and specifically the police chief Badrodin Haiti, have recently increased their outreach programs in Poso. They say the added public outreach has calmed local residents and assured them that police intentions are to decrease social tensions by arresting the perpetrators of recent violent attacks in the Poso area. Our contacts are hopeful that the capture of Basri will provide security that family members will not be attacked in revenge, allowing the remaining wanted list members to surrender to police. Police Keep Pressure on Area Militants -------------- ¶9. (SBU) The INP continues to conduct cordon and search operations through suspected militant strongholds throughout the Poso area. Press reports on February 6 indicated that INP units found 39 explosives hidden in the roof of the Ibtidayah Madrasah in Poso's Tanah Runtuh area. Police also found six long-barrelled firearms, four magazines for SS-1 and M-16 rifles, three cylinders of teargas, 572 rounds of ammunition and seven catapults. The INP explosive ordinance disposal team reported that the homemade explosives consisted of black powder packed with nails and pieces of sharp metal into plastic pipes, and wrapped with yellow tape. PASCOE