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U.S. Officials Concerned About Terrorist Activity in Indonesia

Aired January 27, 2002 - 17:43   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: As the war on terrorism continues, U.S. officials are increasingly concerned Indonesia could become a weak link. Its numerous local ethnic and religious conflicts have produced widespread instability and armed Islamic militias, offering a relatively hospitable environment for al Qaeda fighters fleeing Afghanistan. CNN senior Asia correspondent Mike Chinoy reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE CHINOY, CNN SENIOR ASIA CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a region where Islam has long been gentle and tolerant, the drum beat of jihad is alarming governments and turning Southeast Asia into a new front line in the war on terrorism.

NOORDIN SOPIEE, INST. STRATEGIC STUDIES: It's a tremendous threat and a tremendous danger. We have links in many countries. I think we know they are also a small group of people. You know, they're a drop in the bucket. But, you know, this, in this war, small drops in buckets can poison the whole well.

CHINOY: In Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines, investigators have made dozens of arrests in recent weeks, uncovering a web of connections between Southeast Asian militant groups and operatives from al Qaeda.

The authorities in Singapore say 13 men, arrested for plotting to blow up the U.S. embassy and other Western targets, were members of an al Qaeda-linked group called Jemmah Islamiyah, with ties across the region.

TAN BOON HUAT, SING. HOME AFFAIRS MINISTER: The members of the group have indicated that there are links with Malaysian terrorist groups and links with Indonesia as well.

CHINOY: Singapore and Malaysian officials believe the mastermind of the group is Abu Bakar Baasyir, a hard-line Indonesian Islamic cleric who lived in Malaysia for many years and is wanted by police there. Still at large here in Indonesia, he has repeatedly praised Osama bin Laden, but denied any role in terrorism.

Below him, according to an organization chart released by Singapore's Home Affairs Ministry, is a Malaysia-based regional shurah, or council, with cells operating in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and apparently the Philippines, where police in mid-January arrested an Indonesian man named Fatur Rahman Alogoas (ph). He's suspected of being the key bomb maker for the Singapore plot. It turns out he studied for four years at an Indonesian religious school run by suspected terrorist leader Abu Bakar Baasyir.

From links uncovered so far, the Malaysian connection also appears critical. A Malaysian cell reportedly arranged military training in Afghanistan for Singapore militants, and helped them acquire explosives.

BARRY DESKER, INST. DEF. & STRATEGIC STUDIES: You had at least four tons of ammonium nitrate, which was obtained and stored in Malaysia. You had connections between radicals in Malaysia and in Singapore, because they went up to Malaysia before going to Afghanistan.

CHINOY: It's also known that in 2000, two of the terrorists who hijacked the jet which hit the Pentagon, Khalid Almihdar and Nawaf Alhazmi, along with Zacarias Moussaoui, now on trial in the U.S. on September 11-related charges, also visited Malaysia.

There are also persistent reports of al Qaeda seeking to exploit the continuing violence and instability in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim nation, to forge new alliances, and perhaps set up bases for fighters fleeing Afghanistan.

(on camera): There are still many questions. Investigations continue across the region, but with each new revelation it's becoming increasingly clear that while the world's attention has been focused on Afghanistan, a well-organized terror network has been operating here in Southeast Asia.

Mike Chinoy, CNN, Jakarta.

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