PALEMBANG ARRESTS SHOW GOI RESOLVE ON TERRORISM

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 001335 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, S/CT, DS/ICI/RFJ, DS/IP/EAP CA/OCS, DS/DSS/ITA, DS/CC, DS/IP/SC, DOJ FOR CTS THORNTON, AAG SWARTZ DOJ/OPDAT FOR LEHMANNALEXANDRE, BERMAN DOJ/CTS FOR MULANEY, ST.HILLARE FBI FOR ITOSI, SSA SOLOMAN NSC FOR E.PHU E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/11/2018 TAGS: PGOV PINS PTER PREL ID SUBJECT: PALEMBANG ARRESTS SHOW GOI RESOLVE ON TERRORISM REF: JAKARTA 1298 Classified By: Dep/Pol/C Stanley Harsha, reasons 1.4 (b+d). ¶1. (U) This is a message cleared by the country team. ¶2. (C) SUMMARY: The arrest of suspected Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terrorists in Palembang, South Sumatra on July 2 shows that terrorism remains a threat in Indonesia but that the Indonesian National Police (INP) are effectively disrupting terrorist operations in the country. The arrests, netting ten suspected terrorists, came after months of careful INP surveillance and analysis. At an FBI-sponsored conference in Bali, Ambassador Hume said the breakup of the alleged JI militant cell validated the Department's decision to lift the Travel Warning for Indonesia. END SUMMARY. ¶3. (C) TEN ARRESTS: The INP's arrest of a suspected Singaporean JI member and a follow-on raid at a JI safehouse in Palembang, South Sumatra, has so far netted ten terrorist suspects and approximately 22 Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). INP spokesman Abu Bakar Nataprawiri told local media that the Singaporean national, identified as "Hasan", was a bomb maker associated with Singaporean JI leader Mas Selamat Kastari, who had escaped from prison in Singapore on February ¶27. Both Kastari and JI leader Nordin Mohammad Top--the INP's most wanted fugitive for his participation in the October 2002 Bali bombings--are thought by some INP officials to be hiding in South Sumatra. The ten arrestees were transported from Sumatra to Jakarta on July 3 and are being questioned by the INP. According to INP contacts surveillance continues in Sumatra and in Central Java, where major raids and arrests occurred in 2007. ¶4. (C) CAREFUL SURVEILLANCE: Brigadier General Bekto Suprapto, former commander of the INP's counterterrorism unit, Special Detachment 88, said the INP had been actively surveilling the Palembang cell and the house for over a year. The INP had known the cell was gathering the components to make IEDs but had delayed raiding the house until they were confident there was sufficient evidence to secure convictions. The arrest of Hasan on June 29 had forced the police to raid the safehouse before suspected terrorists, bombs and evidence disappeared. ¶5. (U) INTENDED TARGETS: Press reports quoted the INP as saying the IED's may have been intended for areas in Sumatra frequented by western tourists, such as Lake Toba in North Sumatra. (NOTE: There are 30 U.S. citizens registered as being in Lake Toba.) Mission is seeking further information on the intended targets. ¶6. (C) RE TRAVEL WARNING: The arrests of suspected JI members and the discovery of IEDs--a combination of 22 Tupperware and pipe bombs--are stark reminders to the Indonesian public that the fight against terrorism is not over. At the same time, the arrests demonstrate the effectiveness of GOI counterterrorism efforts. At a FBI conference in Bali on July 9, Ambassador Hume commended the INP for the arrests and said the arrests validated the Department's recent decision to lift the Travel Warning for Indonesia. Mission's assessment is that, while security threats remain, the INP continues to make progress in combating terrorism. Mission will continue to monitor the on-going investigation and will reassess the security situation as appropriate. JAKARTA 00001335 002 OF 002 HUME