http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20041092-31477,00.htm\ l <http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20041092-31477,00.ht\ ml>
Indonesian jihadis set deadline Stephen Fitzpatrick, Jakarta correspondent August 07, 2006 INDONESIAN protests against the Israeli offensive in Lebanon grew at the weekend, with one of the main organisers, Muslim political agitator Suaib Didu, declaring a deadline of Tuesday for hostilities to cease "or I will no longer bear responsibilities for the jihad activities that follow". Mr Didu travelled to the northern city of Pontianak at the weekend to witness a passing-out parade for about 200 young men who say they are prepared to travel to Lebanon to fight against Israeli aggression. The 40-year-old author of provocative books including one titled Radical Islam: Between Jihad and Terrorism, is a player in the Bulan Bintang (Moon and Star) political party, which is positioning itself to challenge President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in national elections in 2009. The agenda of the party -- along with a clutch of other political groups of fundamentalist Muslim leanings -- is for a more stridently Islamic-leaning state than the secular administration that Mr Yudhoyono has been at pains to maintain since he won office in 2004. Mr Didu has previously claimed 217 jihad bombers had left Indonesia to travel to countries that support Israel -- including possibly Australia -- where they would attack Israeli infrastructure. He repeated that claim after Saturday's ceremony, adding that if John Howard did not quickly condemn Israel's military actions against Hezbollah, "we have operatives in place who can assassinate him". However, Mr Didu offered no convincing evidence his boast was any more than bravado designed to play to an increasingly restive domestic audience. He insisted his followers "have no quarrel with Australia" and claimed unspecified third parties "just want to make us enemies". He says the jihad bombers who have already been dispatched came to him seeking advice several weeks ago "and I told them not to launch attacks in Indonesia, because it has already suffered enough". But he admitted he had urged the young men to choose foreign Israeli-aligned targets to bomb "because although there are many ways to practise jihad, including prayer, just praying is no longer enough". He said several of the group had previous experience fighting in Afghanistan alongside the Taliban in 2001. The numbers involved in that expedition, organised by the Muslim Youth Organisation of which Mr Didu was a leader at the time, remain unclear. However, it was unlikely to have been more than a few dozen, and the group has never claimed any significant military achievement. Mr Didu admitted that some of the men on jihad might have had contacts with members of the Jemaah Islamiah terrorist network who fought in the Middle East in the late 1990s, but insisted his movement "does not practise terrorism". Mr Didu's local deputy in Pontianak, one of Indonesia's northernmost major cities on the island of Borneo, said he had gathered the black-clad jihad fighters together on Saturday "because they are just angry kids, and my job is to channel that anger". Tens of thousands of Indonesians have gathered in central Jakarta and other Indonesian cities in recent days to declare their opposition to what they see as US support for Israel's military action in Lebanon and Gaza. They gathered again yesterday in their largest show of strength to date, demanding an end to the Israeli offensive and threatening widespread boycotts of US products. Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda has admitted the Jakarta Government is "unable to stop people from going to Lebanon" to join the war, and there is a rising chorus of Indonesian Muslim groups signing up local volunteers for the struggle. However, Vice-President Jusuf Kalla says most of the activity is "just talk -- and how can the Government stop people from talking?" [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 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