VZCZCXRO1218
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #0152/01 0180926
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 180926Z JAN 07
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2904
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 0325
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 1286
RHHMUNA/USCINCPAC HONOLULU HI
ZEN/AMCONSUL SURABAYA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 000152 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FROM AMCONSUL SURABAYA 0005 
 
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 PHUM KJUS KISL CACS ID
SUBJECT: Central Sulawesi: Police, Laskar Mujahiddin Clash After 
Terrorist Raid 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Central Sulawesi police and Detachment 88 raided 
two safe houses in Poso, Central Sulawesi on the morning of January 
11, 2006 killing two and capturing 4 members of Laskar Mujahiddin 
(LM) on their "most wanted" list of 29 terrorists operating in the 
province.  A Poso police officer was beaten to death the same day by 
a mob of mourners as he passed the funeral of one of the dead LM 
members.  LM members and police clashed in a gun battle on January 
15, reportedly resulting in no injuries or arrests.  A police 
spokesman's statement that the police were instructed to "shoot on 
sight" any person on their wanted list that did not immediately 
surrender was later recanted.  Police waited over three months 
before pursuing the terrorist suspects but their tactics in 
searching for the terrorists are reportedly angering the local 
Muslim community and garnering support for the LM fugitives.  No 
Amcits are believed to be visiting or residing in Poso who could be 
affected by the violence.  END SUMMARY 
 
Police Raid Terrorist Safe Houses 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Central Sulawesi police and Detachment 88 raided two Laskar 
Mujahiddin (LM) safe houses in Poso, Central Sulawesi on the morning 
of January 11, 2007.  Police encountered fierce resistance from the 
occupants from small arms fire and thrown improvised explosive 
devices (IEDs), destroying several police vehicles.  Two of the 
occupants were killed, Dedy Parsan and Rian, and one critically 
injured in the raid, while nine were arrested.  Several others 
escaped on foot.  Police confiscated rifles, ammunition, rocket 
propelled grenades and unused IEDs from the house.  Immediately 
following the raid, police conducted a house-to-house search for the 
escapees, bursting into dozens of homes and firing weapons in the 
air to keep residents from moving around the area of the raid. 
Police raided the safehouses in search of Laskar Mujahiddin members 
on a "most wanted" list of 29 terrorism suspects in connection to 
past incidences of sectarian violence in Central Sulawesi.  One of 
the dead victims, Dedy Parsan and all four arrested,  Anang 
Muthalib, Imam a.k.a. Sarjono, Upik a.k.a. Pagar and Abdul Muis were 
allegedly LM members and on the wanted list.  According to Muhammad 
Darlis, a journalist for Tempo, police had been negotiating with LM 
all the way up to a January 10 meeting for all the LM members on the 
list to surrender to police for questioning.  Police finally lost 
patience with LM's lack of cooperation and raided the houses the 
next day. 
 
Police Officer Murdered by Mourners 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) On the afternoon of January 11, a local police officer, 
Sgt. Dedy Hendra, was stopped by hundreds of mourners attending 
Rian's funeral and beaten to death.  According to Sofyan Lembah, 
head of the Central Sulawesi Child Protection Agency and a local 
Muslim leader, Rian was a highly respected local "ustadz" (religious 
teacher) in Poso, and local Muslims were furious that the police had 
killed him along with the terrorists.  Sofyan and other Muslim 
leaders met with the Central Sulawesi Police Chief Badrodin Haiti 
(an ethnic Madurese Muslim) on January 12 to lodge their protest and 
demand and explanation of the police's actions.  Lembah was 
unsatisfied with Haiti's response that police were following 
established laws and procedures.   A police spokesman said  January 
17 that Rian, a.k.a. Santoso and Abdul Hakim, trained in 
Afghanistan.  He went on further to say that Rian was considered to 
be the number two man in "Afghan Jemaah Islamiyah"  (Comment:  We 
cannot confirm either the name attributed to the organization or 
Rian's reported position, but we suspect the spokesman was being 
imprecise.)  Rian reportedly trained in Afghanistan with Mukhlas, 
currently in jail for involvement in the first Bali bombing.  At the 
time we spoke with our Muslim contacts, they were angry a local 
community leader was killed and completely unaware of Rian's 
clandestine involvement with radical Muslim groups or his background 
in Afghanistan. 
 
Police Battle Laskar Mujahiddin 
------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) The violence continued on the night of January 13 when two 
pipe bombs exploded in the Poso Central Market.  There were no 
injuries reported.  On the afternoon of January 15, unidentified men 
attacked police by throwing rocks in Gebang Rejo Subdistrict of Poso 
City.  Police pursued their attackers and a gun battle ensued 
between police and LM members that lasted until the next morning. 
Surprisingly, no one was injured or arrested, but the city stayed 
shut down for most of the day with few people venturing out.  Our 
 
JAKARTA 00000152  002 OF 002 
 
 
contacts described the situation as "tense and scary".  On January 
16, police met with local Muslim leaders and promised not to conduct 
more raids in Gebang Rejo as long as the situation remained safe and 
calm.  We have reports that Poso has reopened, but residents are 
wary of renewed violence. 
 
Police Chief Declares "Shoot On Sight"; Later Recants 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Police Chief Haiti announced January 12 that he had 
instructed all police to "shoot on sight" any member of the 
terrorist list that does not immediately surrender to police.  The 
statement, which is not in conformity with official police policy, 
was later recanted.  Tasrif Siara, an independent journalist, said 
that Poso police are using "repressive" methods to aggressively hunt 
down and capture members of their wanted list, especially in Gebang 
Rejo Village.  Siara added that police are forcing their way into 
Gebang Rejo homes, without cause, in pursuit of their suspects, 
angering local Muslims.  Sofyan added, "The police have thrown away 
all efforts at community policing.  They are entering homes of 
people not involved with violence and firing their weapons, 
terrorizing the whole village."  Local Muslims note the stark 
difference between the ways police are pursuing the 29 Muslim 
terrorists on their list compared to the 16 Christians named by 
Fabianus Tibo as accomplices during his mass murder trial. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Consulate General Surabaya has no record of registered 
Americans in or around Poso and no information that any American 
tourists, students, or businessmen were in the affected area.  The 
Travel Warning released on January 9, 2007, specifically warns 
Americans to avoid Central and South Sulawesi. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) After giving the 29 members of their wanted list over three 
months to turn themselves in, Central Sulawesi police are finally 
taking bold steps to apprehend LM members openly operating in their 
province.  Our Christian contacts quietly support increasing 
pressure on LM as a way to reduce the threat of future violence. 
Our Muslim contacts describe a changing dynamic emerging in Poso as 
the potential reaction to police actions.  Few local Muslims agree 
with LM's philosophy or methods, but some are alleging that the 
police action has been harsh, and are sympathizing with the terror 
suspects.  Our contacts suggest that the police may replace 
Christians as objects for renewed violence in the region based on 
perceived differences in police treatment of Christians and 
Muslims. 
 
PASCOE