Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08JAKARTA2341
2008-12-30 07:06:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Jakarta
Cable title:
WEST JAVA -- ISLAMIST GROUP CONVICTED OF TREASON
how-toVZCZCXRO6583 OO RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM DE RUEHJA #2341 3650706 ZNY CCCCC ZZH O 300706Z DEC 08 FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1082 INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS PRIORITY RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 5772 RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 3455 RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 3373 RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 5274 RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 2895 RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 2548 RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 1526 RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO 1539 RUEHPB/AMEMBASSY PORT MORESBY 4144 RUEHBAD/AMCONSUL PERTH 1373 RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 3202 RHHJJPI/USPACOM HONOLULU HI RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L JAKARTA 002341
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, S/CT, DS/IP
NSC FOR E. PHU
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/22/2018
TAGS: PGOV PINS KISL PTER ID
SUBJECT: WEST JAVA -- ISLAMIST GROUP CONVICTED OF TREASON
REF: JAKARTA 979
Classified By: Pol/C Joseph L. Novak, reasons 1.4(b+d)
C O N F I D E N T I A L JAKARTA 002341
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, S/CT, DS/IP
NSC FOR E. PHU
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/22/2018
TAGS: PGOV PINS KISL PTER ID
SUBJECT: WEST JAVA -- ISLAMIST GROUP CONVICTED OF TREASON
REF: JAKARTA 979
Classified By: Pol/C Joseph L. Novak, reasons 1.4(b+d)
1. (C) SUMMARY: A court in West Java--a province adjacent
to Jakarta--has found 17 members of a small extremist group
guilty of treason. Although the group engaged in
anti-government activities, it did not engage in violence or
terrorism. Our contact in the governor's office in West Java
told us that the group was intent on setting up a "state
within a state." Islamists have a long history in the West
Javan region, including a post-independence rebellion that
lasted over a decade. END SUMMARY.
CONVICTIONS IN WEST JAVA
2. (U) A court in Bandung, West Java, convicted members of a
small Islamist group of treason and anti-government
activities on December 19. All told, the court found 17
members of the group guilty of "recruiting new members,
supporting the disintegration of the state, and hostility
towards the government." The group goes by the name
"Indonesian Islamic State" (NII) and those convicted were
sentenced to between two and five years in prison.
3. (U) The group's claims that they represented "true Islam"
were thoroughly rejected by mainstream Muslim groups in
Indonesia. Although the Ministry of Religious Affairs and
the quasi-governmental Indonesian Council of Ulemas (MUI)
ruled the movement as "deviant," the members were not
convicted of blasphemy, however.
SETTING UP "A STATE WITHIN A STATE"
4. (C) During the trial, testimony revealed that NII
actively recruited new members and extorted money to fund
their operations. New members were allegedly obligated to
make large monthly contributions to the group. At the time
of the GOI crackdown on the group earlier this year (see
reftel),police seized the group's "constitution" and
financial records.
5. (C) The size and scope of the group's activities remain
unclear. NII seemed to focus on subversive politics and not
violence--and there is no known link to terrorist activities
or terrorist groups such as Jemmah Islamiyah. Our contact in
the governor's office in West Java told us that the group was
intent on setting up a "state within a state" and had been
working in a number of villages to enlist support among the
populace "to defy the central government."
ISLAMISTS: A LONG HISTORY IN WEST JAVA
6. (C) Islamists have a long history in West Java, including
involvement in the failed Darul Islam rebellion of the
1950's-60's. This seminal rebellion was crucial to a wide
spectrum of Islamic extremists in Indonesia, including to the
founders of Jemmah Islamiyah. It is not clear whether the
NII group has been completely rolled up, but it appears to
have been small and not to have had much popular support.
HUME
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, S/CT, DS/IP
NSC FOR E. PHU
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/22/2018
TAGS: PGOV PINS KISL PTER ID
SUBJECT: WEST JAVA -- ISLAMIST GROUP CONVICTED OF TREASON
REF: JAKARTA 979
Classified By: Pol/C Joseph L. Novak, reasons 1.4(b+d)
1. (C) SUMMARY: A court in West Java--a province adjacent
to Jakarta--has found 17 members of a small extremist group
guilty of treason. Although the group engaged in
anti-government activities, it did not engage in violence or
terrorism. Our contact in the governor's office in West Java
told us that the group was intent on setting up a "state
within a state." Islamists have a long history in the West
Javan region, including a post-independence rebellion that
lasted over a decade. END SUMMARY.
CONVICTIONS IN WEST JAVA
2. (U) A court in Bandung, West Java, convicted members of a
small Islamist group of treason and anti-government
activities on December 19. All told, the court found 17
members of the group guilty of "recruiting new members,
supporting the disintegration of the state, and hostility
towards the government." The group goes by the name
"Indonesian Islamic State" (NII) and those convicted were
sentenced to between two and five years in prison.
3. (U) The group's claims that they represented "true Islam"
were thoroughly rejected by mainstream Muslim groups in
Indonesia. Although the Ministry of Religious Affairs and
the quasi-governmental Indonesian Council of Ulemas (MUI)
ruled the movement as "deviant," the members were not
convicted of blasphemy, however.
SETTING UP "A STATE WITHIN A STATE"
4. (C) During the trial, testimony revealed that NII
actively recruited new members and extorted money to fund
their operations. New members were allegedly obligated to
make large monthly contributions to the group. At the time
of the GOI crackdown on the group earlier this year (see
reftel),police seized the group's "constitution" and
financial records.
5. (C) The size and scope of the group's activities remain
unclear. NII seemed to focus on subversive politics and not
violence--and there is no known link to terrorist activities
or terrorist groups such as Jemmah Islamiyah. Our contact in
the governor's office in West Java told us that the group was
intent on setting up a "state within a state" and had been
working in a number of villages to enlist support among the
populace "to defy the central government."
ISLAMISTS: A LONG HISTORY IN WEST JAVA
6. (C) Islamists have a long history in West Java, including
involvement in the failed Darul Islam rebellion of the
1950's-60's. This seminal rebellion was crucial to a wide
spectrum of Islamic extremists in Indonesia, including to the
founders of Jemmah Islamiyah. It is not clear whether the
NII group has been completely rolled up, but it appears to
have been small and not to have had much popular support.
HUME