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Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Indonesian 'terrorist' nabbed in Mindanao
MANILA -- An alleged Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terror operative linked to simultaneous bombings last month that killed eight people in Manila and two other cities has been arrested in Mindanao, the military said Tuesday.
Rohmat, an Indonesian using the aliases Zaki, Hamdan and Akil, was arrested last Wednesday at a military checkpoint in Datu Saudi Ampatuan town in Maguindanao province in Mindanao where he allegedly trained Abu Sayyaf militants in bomb making, Armed Forces Deputy Chief Edilberto Adan said Tuesday.
Rohmat was found carrying a .45-caliber pistol, said military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Buenaventura Pascual.
The Indonesian terror suspect was presented to the media Tuesday. He was not allowed to speak with reporters.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's administration welcomed the arrest and allayed fears of Muslim discrimination in the ongoing crackdown against terrorists.
Adan, during a press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City during Rohmat's presentation, said the Indonesian was arrested with a Filipino companion identified as Mahkmud Maido of Maguindanao province.
Military spokesman Pascual said Rohmat told interrogators he was present when Abu Sayyaf leaders Abu Solaiman and Khadaffy Janjalani gave instructions for the February 14 bombings that also wounded more than 100 others.
The Abu Sayyaf said the bombings were retaliation for a military offensive against militants in a Mindanao province.
According to a military statement, Rohmat was close to Solaiman and Janjalani and acted as a liaison for Jemaah Islamiyah in the Philippines.
Rohmat underwent questioning for a week while his companion was released by the military pending the determination of applicable charges against him.
What the military learned provided further insight into a close working relationship between two of Southeast Asia's most dangerous terrorist organizations.
A military statement said Rohmat arrived in the country in January 2000 and was sent for training at a Jemaah Islamiyah camp in the Mindanao region together with 20 other militants.
He was a student of Indonesian Taufiq Rifki, arrested two years ago in the Philippines on charges of handling finances for Jemaah Islamiyah operations here, and he topped his batch which finished its training in Camp Jabal Quba in Bulig, Lanao del Sur in October 2002.
The statement said Rohmat became an instructor in Philippine camps, and in 2003, he was sent by Zulkifli, a top regional terror suspect arrested in Malaysia two years ago, to Jolo island to train the Abu Sayyaf for three months.
Following the training, he acted as Zulkifli's liaison, staying with Janjalani "wherever the group went until his capture," it said.
Intelligence officials said Rohmat trained the Abu Sayyaf in bomb making, particularly the use of mobile phones to trigger homemade explosives.
Rohmat spoke fluent Tagalog and Arabic, aside from his native Bahasa, and understands the Tausug dialect. He had a warrant of arrest for his involvement in the February 14 bombings and he would also be charged for violating immigration laws.
Prior to Rohmat's arrest, the military said it received a report saying four suspicious-looking men on board two motorcycles without license plates were traveling the Marcos highway in Ampatuan.
When accosted at a checkpoint, the four men fled in different directions. Military operatives were able to take hold of two of them and they were later identified as Rohmat and Maido.
Arroyo's government said the arrest showed the country's commitment to fight terrorism.
In a statement, Arroyo commended the military and the Bureau of Immigration and Deportation (BID) for the arrest.
At the same time, government assured the Muslim community they are not being singled out in government's campaign against terrorism.
Arroyo's spokesman Ignacio Bunye pointed out that "religious faith is never an issue in our campaign against terrorism."
"This is a matter of enforcing the rule of law amongst all, regardless of creed, ethnic origin, or social station," he added.
Bunye also said terrorism knows no religion, race or gender as it is "evil and the enemy of all."
He assured Muslims that Arroyo shares the vision of both Christian and Muslim leaders for peaceful coexistence and shared ideals.
"But, we have to deal with the bad eggs hiding under the cloak of religion to foment terrorist goals," he said.
Senator Rodolfo Biazon earlier cautioned authorities against routinely tagging Muslim communities especially in Metro Manila as havens of suspected terrorists for it may result in a "religious war."
The police said Monday that three JI operatives were suspected of plotting with the Abu Sayyaf to launch bomb attacks during the Holy Week observance.
Soldiers and police have boosted patrols of shopping malls, churches and other crowded places to thwart reported bombing plots threatened by the Abu Sayyaf as revenge for the deaths of 23 inmates killed by police in a botched jailbreak last week. Among them were three prominent guerrilla commanders.
A recent intelligence report said Jemaah Islamiyah gave Abu Sayyaf militants at least US$18,500 last year for explosives training.
Jemaah Islamiyah has been blamed for the August 2003 bombing of the J.W. Marriott hotel in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, which killed 12 people, and the October 2002 bombings on Bali island that killed 202, mostly foreign tourists. (JFF/With AP, RB)
(March 23, 2005 issue)
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