Violent Indonesian Islamic Group 'Disbands'
Patrick Goodenough
Pacific Rim Bureau Chief
Pacific Rim Bureau (CNSNews.com) - In a move largely overshadowed by the deadly weekend bombing in Bali, Indonesia's most notorious militant Islamic group appears to be shutting down.
Laskar Jihad, a group linked to thousands of deaths in Muslim-Christian violence in the Maluku islands and central Sulawesi, has started pulling its fighters out of Maluku, according to eyewitness accounts from the capital, Ambon.
A chartered boat reportedly was taking more than 1,100 fighters from Maluku back to the country's key island, Java, where Laskar Jihad is based.
The group's Internet website has also been shut down, and the state news agency, Antara, said Tuesday all activity had ceased at its Java headquarters.
A man who answered the phone there Wednesday said: "Laskar Jihad finished. Nothing. Good morning." He did not give his name.
No official reason has been given, although a lawyer for the group told reporters its existence was no longer needed.
One Indonesian television station said the decision was based on a fatwa (Islamic legal ruling) issued by a senior cleric in Saudi Arabia.
Several reports have suggested the group's disbanding may be the first sign that Jakarta is taking Western pressure seriously in the aftermath of the bombing at a Bali tourist resort Saturday, which killed nearly 200 people.
But according to close observers, the process was already underway before the bombing.
Dr. Greg Fealy, an Indonesia specialist at the Australian National University in Canberra, said Wednesday he had heard rumors about the shut-down a full week ago.
Fealy said one possible theory was that the Laskar Jihad leader, Jafar Umar Thalib, made a deal with the authorities to shut down his organization in return for having criminal charges against him dropped.
Jafar is currently on trial for inciting violence against Christians in Maluku, and faces up to seven years in jail if convicted.
A deal could let Jafar off the hook, while also save President Megawati Sukarnoputri's government from the risk of angering Muslims by sending a senior religious leader to prison for the first time.
And the shut-down of Laskar Jihad could also give Jakarta something to point to when criticized for not clamping down on militancy, Fealy suggested.
"It may be the Indonesian government thinks it's a good time to score some points on this, and if they've got Jafar over a barrel they can do a deal with him."
On the other hand, he added, "his organization has sent so many dozens of people to their deaths on the battlefield - if he abandons the glorious struggle just to avoid a jail term for itself, it wouldn't look very good among his rank and file. It would really harm his credibility."
Fealy said it remained to be seen whether Laskar Jihad fighters would obey the instruction to return home to Java.
They were present not just in Maluku and Sulawesi but also in other violence-prone parts of the archipelago, including Aceh and Papua.
The departure of fighters from Maluku would obviously be a positive sign for the local community -- both Christians and Muslims who didn't necessarily hold the outsiders in high regard, he said.
But whether the group's demobilization would make Indonesia a safer place was doubtful.
A lot depended on what the ex-fighters chose to do next. Laskar Jihad could also reconstitute itself in some form.
"If they've got the fire in their belly they may well form a new organization. Jafar, having enjoyed all this celebrity, may try to form a new vehicle for his struggle."
Al Qaeda links denied
Laskar Jihad is not suspected to have had a hand in the Bali bombing.
Western government officials and experts suggest that attack was likely the work of another Indonesian group, Jemaah Islamiah (JI), which is allegedly affiliated with al Qaeda.
Fealy said Laskar Jihad has been seen as a local paramilitary outfit rather than a terrorist group with al Qaeda links.
As a result, "most Western governments don't regard Laskar Jihad as a major threat."
Jafar confirms having met Osama bin Laden when both were fighting against Soviet forces in Afghanistan in the 1980s. But earlier this year, he said he disagrees with the al Qaeda leader, both strategically and theologically.
Some Laskar Jihad fighters have, however, displayed posters extolling bin Laden as "our leader," according to eyewitness accounts.
Since a local dispute erupted in early 1999 and quickly spread, the number of dead in Muslim-Christian fighting in Maluku has been put as high as 10,000.
Human rights campaigners and Christian charities say the arrival of thousands of armed Laskar Jihad fighters, ostensibly to defend local Muslims, contributed dramatically to the violence.
The conflict also spread to Central Sulawesi, another province with a sizeable Christian population, and Christians and Muslims alike accused soldiers of siding with the other side in their battles.
Indonesian Christians, and human rights groups in the West, have accused the militants of forcing hundreds of Christians in Maluku to convert to Islam. There have also been reports of forced circumcision taking place.
With government support, peace deals were eventually struck in Central Sulawesi late last year, and in Maluku in February 2002.
The truces have been broken on several occasions, however.
Jafar's criminal charges relate to comments he made at a public rally in Maluku in May, when he allegedly urged Muslims to ignore the three-month-old peace agreement and attack Christians.
Less than two days later, masked attackers raided a Christian village several miles away, murdering 13 villagers. Jafar was arrested a week later.
Some analysts believe elements in the Indonesian military, loyal to former dictator Gen. Suharto, were instrumental in setting up the militia.
Laskar Jihad has not been designated a "foreign terrorist organization" by the State Department, although its 2001 annual report on global terrorism called it "Indonesia's largest radical group" and said it "remained a concern at year's end as a continuing source of domestic instability."
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