CENTRAL JAVA -- GOI PRESSES ANTI-TERROR EFFORT IN

S E C R E T JAKARTA 002058 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP, S/CT, DS/IP/EAP, DS/TIA/ITA NSC FOR D.WALTON E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/17/2019 TAGS: PGOV PTER ASEC ID SUBJECT: CENTRAL JAVA -- GOI PRESSES ANTI-TERROR EFFORT IN AFTERMATH OF NOORDIN TOP'S DEATH REF: A. JAKARTA 2051 ¶B. JAKARTA 1572 Classified By: Pol/C Joseph L. Novak, reasons 1.4(b+d). ¶1. (S) SUMMARY: Mission team visited Solo, Central Java, December 14-15. Authorities underscored that the GOI is keeping up the pressure on extremists. This follows the police shoot-out in the Solo region on September 17 which resulted in the killing of Noordin M. Top. Top was the leader of a splinter group of Jemmah Islamiyah (JI) and was implicated in the July 17 bombings in Jakarta. In addition to the law enforcement efforts, Solo Mayor Jokowi continues to work to deradicalize militants and other fringe elements, and bring them back into general society. END SUMMARY. KEEPING UP THE PRESSURE ¶2. (S) Central Java authorities continue to press the anti-terror effort. During a December 14-15 visit to the city of Solo, Pol/C met with police and civilian authorities. Solo region Deputy Chief of Police A. Mahendra, Police Chief of Intelligence Jaka Wibawa and Police Intelligence Expert Muchtar (one name only) told Pol/C that they continued to actively investigate all reports of terrorist cells operating in the region. They believed that extremists tied to JI were trying to regroup after several police raids resulted in killed and captured key terrorists in the aftermath of the July 17 bombings in Jakarta. These raids culminated in the September 17 police action in Solo city which resulted in the death of Noordin M. Top, the head of a JI splinter group (see ref b). (Note: Nine people, including the two suicide bombers, died in the attacks, which injured dozens at the J.W. Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels located in central Jakarta.) POLICE FACE CHALLENGES ¶3. (S) The police officials said they were actively monitoring the situation day-by-day. Efforts by extremists to regroup were severely hampered by a lack of leadership and organization--they had been "hard hit by the killing of Top," Intelligence Chief Muchtar said. Deputy Chief of Police Mahendra remarked that "there still was some sort of terror network in existence and it had links to elements in Solo." The police were fully committed to trying to identify and isolate those elements, but the terrorists moved from region to region and mixed up their use of communications. Moreover, Central Java had over 35 million residents and Solo 570,000, which made detection efforts by the police complex and wide-ranging. CIVILIAN AUTHORITIES WORK ON DERADICALIZATION ¶4. (S) Mayor Joko Widodo told us that he continues to work on efforts to deradicalize militants and others in Solo. Widodo said he holds constant meetings with the Solo public to educate them on the threat posed by terrorists and extremists. (Note: Per reftels, Mayor Widodo has had great success in returning law and order to Solo. Just several years ago, violent Islamic extremists patrolled the streets, meting out beatings and threats. Working with the police and placing a focus on economic opportunities, Widodo was able to stop the violence and dramatically improve day-to-day life in the city.) ¶5. (S) Mission Emergency Action Committee's latest assessment of the overall situation is contained in ref a. Septel will review Special Representative for Muslim Communities Farah Pandith's recent visit to Solo. HUME