Readwrotes Blog

Rizal Sukma , Jakarta | Tue, 08/11/2009 12:33 PM | Headlines The Temanggung saga, which ended with the death of a terrorist suspect believed to be Noordin M. Top, has shown once again the increasing ability of Indonesia's police force to combat terrorism. Combined with the shooting and capture of several other terrorist suspects in Jati Asih, Bekasi, it is clear the Indonesian police, especially the counterterror unit Detachment 88 (D88), deserve two thumbs up for its effort to eradicate threats. The police should not be deterred by pessimistic or cynical views in some circles among the elite and wider society. Since the Bali bombing in October 2002, the Indonesian Police have come a long way and today D88 is one of the most capable counterterrorism units in the world. Much has been achieved in the last seven years. Hundreds of suspected and convicted terrorists have been arrested and jailed in that period. We should not forget that one of the ...

Dicky Christanto , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Fri, 08/14/2009 11:06 PM | National Police have released Mohzahri from detention after failing to prove that he is involved in terrorist activities. Mohzahri is the owner of the house raided by the police counterterror squad in Temanggung, Central Java, last Friday and Saturday. “From our questioning we found that Mohzahri did not know the true identity of the person brought to his house by his nephews, Aris and Hendra,” National Police deputy chief spokesman Brig. Gen. Sulistyo Ishak told journalists Friday. “Thus we no longer have reason to detain him.” When asked whether the police would repair the damage they had caused to Mohzahri’s house during the raid, Sulistyo said they would consider it. Mohzahri’s isolated house in Beji village, Temanggung, is marked by bullet holes from the 17-hour siege.

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sun, 08/09/2009 9:16 PM | National The police must have a filtering system for information that can be released to the public before blaming the media for its failure to capture suspected terrorists, experts say. The coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), Usman Hamid, told The Jakarta Post on Sunday the police had got it wrong when they had blamed the press for failing to capture the targets in what was supposed to be a part of a string of raids. “The police must be careful in managing information.” Usman added the public needed to know what the police were doing and what they had accomplished. “[The police] have to provide that information. Now they have to think which information can be disclosed and which can’t.” National Police chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri had previously said that a raid in Surakarta, Central Java, on August 8, had been a flop due to “aggressi...

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sun, 08/09/2009 6:33 PM | National An intelligent observer Dinno Cressbon said Sunday most wanted terror suspect Noordin M. Top would have been unlikely to choose Beji hamlet, Temanggung, Central Java as a hideout. "Beji is different. It is surrounded by hills where he could not escape, while his previous nine hideouts usually got an easy access to the road and the sea. "That's why I doubt the dead terror suspect is Noordin M. Top." He said police could not conclude the remains were Noordin just because the dead man once admitted he was Noordin before police killed him, kompas.com reported "It's not enough," he added. Police believed they had killed Noordin in a raid in Temanggung from Friday to Saturday.

The Jakarta Post | Sun, 08/09/2009 4:08 PM | National The South Sulawesi Police Chief Brig. Gen. Suparni Parto has urged six people allegedly involved in a series of 2005 Poso terror attacks to surrender. The suspects who are still at large are Taufik Bulaga alias Upik Lawanga, Iin aka Brur, Nanto aka Bojel, Iwan Asapa aka Ale, Enal aka Tao and Hamdara aka Papa Yus. The police have suspected they took part in the attack at Tentena market that claimed 22 lives in May 2005. “We promise we will protect them without neglecting legal processes,” Suparni said as quoted by Antara state news agency Sunday. He added he was suspected all suspects hadfled outside Central Sulawesi. “We have coordinated with related offices to hunt for their whereabouts,” he said, adding the police had yet to know the link between the suspects with those who bombed JW Marriot and Ritz Charlton Hotels in Kuningan, South Jakarta on July 17. (ewd)

Suherdjoko/Slamet Susanto/Tarko Sudiarno , The Jakarta Post , Temanggung, Central Java | Sun, 08/09/2009 2:01 PM | National Mohzahri, the owner of a house in Beji hamlet, Temanggung, Central Java used as the hideout of a dead terror suspect believed to be Noordin M. Top, has been known as a good villager, neighbors say. He teaches religion at the Junior High School SMP Muhammdiyah, Kedu, and also often leads Friday's mass prayer at the village mosque. "His speech has never taught radicalism," Kedu village head Purnomo Hadi said Saturday. Mohzahri, lives with his wife, Endang, has a son and a daughter. His son, Tatang, and his nephew, Aries, however, were reportedly arrested by police anti-terror unit, Mono, a neighbor, said. His daughter married to a man from a neighboring village. Mono still could not believe that Mohzahri rent his house to terror suspect Noordin M. Top and police raided the house from Friday to Saturday. Marimah...

The Jakarta Post | Sun, 08/09/2009 1:28 PM | Jakarta Police have yet to ask Arina Rahmah, believed to be the wife of the dead terror suspect Noordin M. Top, to identify whether or not the dead man was her husband. "There is no communication between us and the police yet," Asludin Hatjani, one of Arina's lawyers, said as quoted by Kompas. He, however, was worried that his client would not be able to identify the remains of the man, whose face was reportedly destroyed due to a blast in a raid in Temanggung, Central Java from Friday to Saturday. Arina married to someone resembled to Noordin. His husband escaped a police raid by last month in Cilacap. "Let's just wait for the result from the police work," Asludin said

The Associated Press , Jakarta | Sun, 08/09/2009 1:08 PM | National Police scrambled Sunday to identify the body of a suspected terrorist killed in a farmhouse gunbattle after discovering a plot to kill Indonesia's president in a suicide car bombing. Forensics teams planned to collect DNA samples from family members of regional terror mastermind Noordin Muhammad Top, who was reportedly killed during a 16-hour firefight with officers in central Java on Saturday, said Dynno Chressbon, a government anti-terrorism adviser. One of Noordin's wives and children were traveling to the capital Jakarta to provide samples, Chressbon said. Malaysian authorities were also coming to Indonesia to assist in the identification, he said. Noordin is a Malaysian citizen, blamed for some of the deadliest terrorist attacks in Southeast Asian in recent years, and a self-proclaimed al-Qaida commander. Serious doubts were raised Sunday that a massive ma...

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sun, 08/09/2009 12:21 PM | National Parents of terror suspects Air Setiawan aka Aries and Eko Jono Sarjono visited the National Police headquarters on Sunday to bring home the bodies of their sons who were shot dead by the police in a shoot-out in Bekasi, West Java on Saturday. "We want the police to allow us to bring the bodies of Ari and Eko back home tonight," Endro Sudarsono, lawyer of Air and Eko families, said. "We show the police their birth and other certificates." From the National Police headquarters, the families of Air and Eko will go the National Police Hospital at 2.00 p.m. to identify the remains of Air and Eko, Kompas.com reported. The families said they would bury Air and Eko in their hometown Surakarta, Central Java.

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sun, 08/09/2009 11:49 AM | National The Indonesian Military (TNI) said Sunday it had added more personnel to protect President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono after police killed terror suspects believed to have a plan to commit a suicide bombing at the private residence of the president. TNI Chief Gen. Djoko Santoso said TNI would tighten security to Yudhoyono and his family. "We take this measure automatically. We will adjust our protection to the president with necessary actions...," he said as quoted by Kompas.com He admitted there were more TNI officers to guard the president, but he refused to mention any number. Police killed two terror suspects in Bekasi, where they were prepared a plot to kill Yudhoyono on Aug. 17.

Dicky Christanto , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sat, 08/08/2009 9:37 PM | National National Police chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri has called on the public to keep an eye on former terrorists as they may seek another chance to launch attacks. Bambang said the public played a pivotal role in reintegrating the former terrorists into the society. “We hope the public to monitor the former terrorists after they serve their jail sentence and accept them so as to prevent them from rejoining the terror group,” Bambang told a press conference on Saturday. Bambang made the statement after the police identified a terror suspect shot dead in a raid on a house in Jatiasih in the West Java town of Bekasi earlier on Saturday as Air Setiawan, who had been released from prison after serving a five-year jail term for his role in the bomb attack on the Australian Embassy in Jakarta in 2004. The police confiscated from the house around 500 kilograms of explosiv...

Dicky Christanto , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sat, 08/08/2009 8:55 PM | National Most wanted terror suspect Noordin M. Top stayed in a house rented by his accomplice in Jatiasih in the West Java town of Bekasi after suicide bomb attacks on two South Jakarta hotels last month, police say. “We found that Noordin stayed at the safe house in Jatiasih after the July 17 bombings,” National Police chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri told a press conference on Saturday. He said a terror suspect who was arrested on Aug. 5 in North Jakarta, Amir Abdillah, told the police investigators during a questioning that Noordin was in Jatiasih to lead a plan to launch fresh attacks in Jakarta. The police’s counterterror squad raided the house early Saturday, killing two terror suspects following an exchange of fire. Noordin is believed to have been shot dead in another raid on a house in the Central Java town of Temanggung on Saturday.

Dicky Christanto , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sat, 08/08/2009 8:20 PM | National President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is among the targets of a series of new attacks to be perpetrated by the terror network under Noordin M. Top after Aug. 17, police say. National Police chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri said the terror group intentionally rented a house in Jatiasih in the West Java town of Bekasi, which is located 12 minutes drive from the president’s private residence in Cikeas in the West Java town of Bogor. “Why Jatiasih? Because it is situated just about 12 minutes drive from the president’s [private] residence. It’s a legal fact that the target is the president’s house,” Bambang told a media conference on Saturday. Bambang said a terror suspect who had arrested before a raid on the house in Jatiasih, Amir Abdillah, told police investigators during a questioning that the terror group set their sight on the presidential palace and his privat...

Dicky Christanto , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sat, 08/08/2009 7:45 PM | National The terror group under Noordin M. Top had planned to launch a series of bomb attacks in Jakarta after the anniversary of Indonesia independence on Aug. 17, police say. National Police chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri told a media conference two terror suspects who were shot dead in a raid on a house in Puri Nusa Phala housing complex in Jatiasih in the West Java town of Bekasi had prepared a car bomb for the fresh attack. Bambang said an interrogation of an arrested terror suspect, Amir Abdillah, the planned attack was discussed at the house, which was rented by Ahmad Fery. “Already prepared were a car for the suicide bomb attack and its driver. The man recruited for the attack that would be perpetrated after August 17 was IB alias Boim,” Bambang said. Bambang said Amir had reserved a room at JW Marriott Hotel for Dani Dwi Permana and Nana Ikhwan Maulana who bl...

Dicky Christanto , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sat, 08/08/2009 7:19 PM | National After weeks of investigation, police revealed on Saturday the identity of the suicide bombers of two hotels in South Jakarta. National Police chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri said the suicide bomber of JW Marriott Hotel was identified as Dani Dwi Permana, a 18-year-old senior high school graduate of a private senior high school in Bogor, West Java. Bambang said the police confirmed the suicide comber’s identity on Aug. 3 after DNA tests on his family. “The perpetrator was recruited in Bogor,” Bambang said. The suicide bomber of Ritz-Carlton Hotel was identified as Nana Ikhwan Maulana, a youth from Pandeglang in Banten. Bambang did not unveil Nana’s age. Bambang said the two suicide bombers were recruited by a man identified only as SJ alias AT, who is still at large. The bomb attacks on the two hotels on July 17 killed nine people, including six foreigners.

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sat, 08/08/2009 7:13 PM | National The National Police chief said Saturday they could not confirm Noordin M Top was killed during a police shootout in Temanggung, Central Java, despite media speculations that Noordin was killed. National Police chief Bambang Hendarso Danuri told a press conference that the police could not yet confirm whether the man killed during the shootout was Noordin because the police had not yet conducted a DNA test. "We could not yet disclose the identity of the killed man," Bambang Hendarso said during the press conference. "After the DNA test, we will announce it, based on facts, not based on speculations." Bambang Hendarso said the police would seek from the family of Noordin M Top a DNA sample to confirm his death. The remains of a man believed to be Noordin had been transported from Temanggung in Central Java to Jakarta. The remains are currently kept at a polic...

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sat, 08/08/2009 5:35 PM | National President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono congratulated the National Police on Saturday for its crackdown on the terrorists’ network in the country, which led to the death of most wanted suspect Noordin M. Top. The president called the police raids on terror suspects in two houses in the West Java town of Bekasi and the Central Java town of Temanggung as “a successful operation” to enforce the law. “On behalf of the state, the government and people of Indonesia, I thank the police for their successful operation,” Yudhoyono told a media conference after a meeting with National Police chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri at the presidential office. Yudhoyono said the operation was “important” in the country’s fight against terrorists and to protect the people. The raids in the last two days capped a concerted law enforcement operation in Jakarta, West Java and Central Java, the president sai...

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sat, 08/08/2009 4:59 PM | National President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono received National Police Chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri at the presidential office on Saturday afternoon, hours after the police’s counterterror squad raided terror suspects in two houses in the West Java town of Bekasi and the Central Java town of Temanggung. The president was accompanied by Cabinet Secretary Sudi Silalahi, State Secretary Hatta Radjasa and presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng. The president is expected to hold a media conference afterward. Reports said most wanted terror suspect Noordin M. Top was killed in the raid in Temanggung.

Slamet Susanto , The Jakarta Post , Yogyakarta | Sat, 08/08/2009 4:46 PM | National A Trans Wisata Fokker-100 plane left Adi Sucipto airport in Yogyakarta for Jakarta on Saturday, carrying the remains of a man believed to be most wanted terror suspect Noordin M. Top. An ambulance belonging to the Central Java police transported the body from Temanggung. There was only one coffin inside the ambulance, which bears vehicle registration number 1313-9. The police have not confirmed if Noordin was killed in the raid on a house in Beji village in Temanggung earlier in the day. National Police chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri refused to comment upon arrival at the Adi Sucipto airport. The body will be brought to the police hospital in Kramat Jati, East Jakarta for identification.

Irwan Firdaus , The Associated Press , Beji, Temanggung, Central Java | Sat, 08/08/2009 4:29 PM | National Death penalty: Policemen take the coffin of killed terrorist Noordin M. Top into an ambulance in Temanggung, Central Java, on Saturday. Noordin was reportedly killed during a 16-hour siege on a suspected militant hide-out that ended Saturday when police stormed the house. Antara/R. Rekotomo Southeast Asia's most wanted terror suspect was reportedly killed during a 16-hour siege on a suspected militant hide-out that ended Saturday when police stormed the house. Local TV stations reported militant chief Noordin Mohammad Top, who is blamed for last month's attacks on two American hotels in the capital, Jakarta, was killed in the bathroom of the house in a rice-growing village in central Java province following a lengthy bomb and gun battle. Those reports were not confirmed by police. DNA tests will likely have to be performed to ensure the identification. The ...