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