DTN News: Indonesia TODAY March 8, 2010 ~ Indonesia Says Raids Will Not Affect Obama Visit

DTN News: Indonesia TODAY March 8, 2010 ~ Indonesia Says Raids Will Not Affect Obama Visit Source: DTN News / AFP (NSI News Source Info) JAKARTA, Indonesia - March 8, 2010: Indonesia said Monday that raids against militants in Aceh province would not affect US President Barack Obama's planned visit to the country this month as police rounded up more terror suspects. "The operations have been managed well, the suspects were arrested and the weapons seized, so Obama's visit won't be affected," security ministry anti-terror chief Ansyaad Mbai told AFP. Indonesia says raids will not affect Obama visit In an update to reporters, police said 16 suspects had been charged under anti-terrorism laws since a major raid late February on an extremist training facility in a remote region of Aceh province in the north of the island of Sumatra. "Sixteen (suspects) were arrested and three died," national police chief Bambang Hendarso Danuri said. Two of them were suspected of supplying firearms and were arrested in West Java and the capital Jakarta. "What's clear is that this has nothing to do with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM). This is purely a group that is preparing something," Danuri said, referring to the former Aceh separatist group which rules the restive province under a 2005 peace-for-autonomy deal. The hunt for other suspected militants was ongoing, Danuri added. Police have said three policemen were killed after an intense exchange of gunfire on Thursday. In the February 22 raid, police found rifles, Malaysian military uniforms and propaganda material including videos of the 2002 bombings on the Indonesian resort island of Bali which killed more than 200 people. Police have said previously those arrested were "strongly suspected" of being part of regional terror group Jemaah Islamiyah, which has been blamed for multiple attacks across Indonesia.

DTN News: Philippines TODAY January 22, 2010 ~ Top Filipino Terrorist Killed In US Drone Attack In Pakistan

DTN News: Philippines TODAY January 22, 2010 ~ Top Filipino Terrorist Killed In US Drone Attack In Pakistan *Source: Mindanao Examiner / January 21, 2010 (NSI News Source Info) COTABATO CITY, Philippines - January 22, 2010: A senior commander of the Philippines’ largest Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, who is wanted both by Manila and Washington for terrorism, was believed killed in a US drone strike in Pakistan, reports said on Thursday. Reports said Abdul Basit Usman, who had links with the al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya, was allegedly killed last week close to the Afghan border. There was no immediate confirmation from Filipino authorities on the reports of Usman's death. The MILF, which is fighting for an independent Islamic state in Mindanao, repeatedly denied that Usman is a member of the rebel group and even ordered guerilla forces to hunt down the terrorist and bring him to justice. "We have no reports at this point that Abdul Basit Usman is killed in Pakistan. We are trying to verify that reports, but if it is true, then we are happy about it because this cleared all suspicions by the Philippine military that Abdul Basit Usman is an MILF commander." "As far as we know, Usman had links with the Jemaah Islamiya and the Al-Qaeda and could be fighting alongside with the Taliban which has links with Al-Qaeda. It is not impossible for Usman to fight alongside with the Taliban because of his extensive links with the Al-Qaeda," Eid Kabalu, a senior MILF leader, told the independent regional newspaper, the Mindanao Examiner.Just last year, the US Department of State offered up to $1 million for information leading to the location, arrest or conviction of Usman, a known bomb expert tagged by Filipino authorities as behind the spate of deadly attacks in Mindanao region, south of the Philippines. The Philippine military also linked Usman to the Abu Sayyaf group in Mindanao and had been captured in 2002 in Sultan Kudarat province, but he escaped from jail. Usman was tagged as behind deadly in the Mindanao cities of General Santos, Kidapawan and Cotabato that killed and wounded dozens of innocent civilians. Western Mindanao military chief Lieutenant General Benjamin Dolorfino said they have to verify the reports to confirm whether Usman was killed in the US attack along with 11 other militants. "If the reports are true then it is good news for us because the killing of (Abdul) Basit Usman means one less terrorist on the street. We still have to verify the reports. Usman was involved in many deadly bombings in Mindanao - in General Santos City, in Kidapawan City, in Koronadal in South Cotabato and parts of Mindanao," Dolorfino said in a separate interview. (Mindanao Examiner)

DTN News: Sudan Is Going Back In Chaos As North And South Are Arming For Eventual Conflict

DTN News: Sudan Is Going Back In Chaos As North And South Are Arming For Eventual Conflict *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) CAIRO, Egypt - December 26, 2009: North and South Sudan are sliding back towards war, a think-tank warned as a separate report said both sides were caught up in an "arms race" in defiance of global embargoes.Fighters of the Sudanese Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) driving their armoured battle wagon at an unknown location on the Sudan-Chad border in northwest Darfur.

The oil-producing nation's north and south fought each other for more than two decades until a 2005 peace deal that promised national elections, due in April, and a referendum on southern independence in January 2011.

The International Crisis Group (ICG) said relations between the two sides had since broken down and Sudan needed more time to prepare for a widely expected 'yes' vote for southern independence if it wanted to avoid a violent break-up.

Armies from both sides, and array of rebel groups and militias, are also stocking on weapons ahead of any conflict, despite arms embargoes imposed by the European Union and the United Nations said a report by the Small Arms Survey.

"Sudan is sliding towards violent breakup," said ICG Sudan adviser Fouad Hikmat in a statement.

"Unless the international community cooperate to support both CPA (the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement) implementation and vital additional negotiations, return to north-south war and escalation of conflict in Darfur are likely," the report from the Brussels-based group said.

Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) soldiers arming with new light and heavy weapons

The ICG publication, titled 'Preventing Implosion', said northern and southern leaders needed to negotiate a new agreement setting out how any transition to an independent south would be managed.

It also called on Sudan to delay its national elections to November 2010 to give it more time to pass a raft of democratic reforms and get a ceasefire in the separate Darfur conflict, to give that region's citizens a chance to vote.

The ICG urged the United Nations, the African Union and other blocs to agree on incentives and penalties to press Khartoum, and to appoint one mediator to keep the process going.

Arms deliveries reported by Sudan's government rose sharply from 2001 to 2008, the Small Arms Survey said, adding more weapons were getting through from neighbouring countries and other sources with the help of brokers, some of them European."Both the NCP and the government of Southern Sudan continue to acquire small arms and light weapons destined for their armed forces in what is taking on the character of an arms race," the Small Arms Survey report said.

Iran and China were the main suppliers to the north, it added, while the south was getting much of its weapons via Kenya and Ethiopia, with a transfer of tanks coming from Ukraine through Kenya documented in 2007 and 2008.

The report said Sudan's northern army had around 225 000 troops, armed with an estimated 310 000 small arms, while the southern Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) had around 125 000 men with 175 000 small arms.

Both armouries were dwarfed by the estimated 2 million weapons in the hands of Sudanese civilians, the report said.

Two million people were killed and 4 million fled their homes between 1983 and 2005 when Sudan's north and south fought over differences in ideology, ethnicity and religion.

DTN News: Indonesia TODAY September 2, 2009 ~ Indonesian Publisher Declared Bomb Suspect Says Police

DTN News: Indonesia TODAY September 2, 2009 ~ Indonesian Publisher Declared Bomb Suspect Says Police *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) JAKARTA, Indonesia - September 2, 2009: A radical Indonesian publisher said to be a former member of Al-Qaeda has been declared a suspect in July's deadly luxury hotel bombings in the capital Jakarta, national police said Tuesday. Publisher and blogger Mohammed Jibril Abdurahman, who went by the online moniker "Prince of Jihad", was officially declared a suspect following his arrest a week ago, police spokesman Nanan Soekarna told reporters. The move allows police to keep him in custody pending possible charges. "He is alleged to have been involved in terrorism, specifically financing and other offences, including using a false identity. The details of his involvement will all be explained at an appropriate time," Soekarna said. Mohammed Jibril, 24, could face charges of conspiracy and aiding terrorism as well as immigration violations and falsifying documents, he said. Police have said Mohammed Jibril channelled money from abroad to fund the two July 17 suicide bombings, which killed seven people and two bombers in Jakarta's JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels. Police have not said where the money has come from, but are investigating whether it came from Al-Qaeda money men in the Middle East or South Asia. The July 17 attacks, the first of their kind in Indonesia in nearly four years, are the suspected work of Malaysian terror mastermind Noordin Mohammed Top, 41, who leads a violent splinter group of the Jemaah Islamiyah network. Noordin was allegedly behind a 2003 attack on the Marriott that killed 12 people, as well as the bombing of the Australian embassy in 2004 and tourist restaurants on the holiday island of Bali in 2005. National police chief Bambang Hendarso Danuri told parliament Monday police had spotted Noordin in a safehouse in Central Java but had narrowly missed him by the time they burst inside in dramatic televised raid. Noordin was initially reported dead at the end of the 17-hour siege but the body later turned out to be that of Ibrohim, a florist working in the Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotel complex who helped plot the attacks from the inside. Danuri also told parliament police had documents proving Noordin's group had planned another attack "bigger than the events in other places." Danuri did not elaborate, but appeared to link the plot to Mohammed Syarir, a fugitive Noordin acolyte who had worked as a technician for national airline Garuda Indonesia. Police have refused to speak further on the chief's comments, which could also be a reference to an alleged plot by a Noordin cell uncovered last month to use a truck bomb to attack the home of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Police say they have killed three members of Noordin's group, "Al-Qaeda in the Malaysia Archipelago", and arrested five since July 17, including a Saudi national who allegedly helped bring in foreign money for the attacks.

DTN News: Indonesia TODAY September 1, 2009 ~ Terrorist Infiltrated Airline According To Indonesian Police

DTN News: Indonesia TODAY September 1, 2009 ~ Terrorist Infiltrated Airline According To Indonesian Police *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) JAKARTA, Indonesia - September 1, 2009: A suspect wanted in connection with hotel suicide bombings in the Indonesian capital infiltrated the national airline in a plot to carry out a "bigger attack," the police chief said Monday. Indonesian National Police spokesman Maj. Gen. Nanan Sukarna, right, and his deputy Brig. Gen. Sulistyo Ishak, left, hold wanted posters of four militants, from left to right, Ario Sudarso, Mohamad Syahrir, Bagus Budi Pranoto and Syaifudin Jaelani who are suspected to be involved in recent J.W. Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotel bombings during a press conference at the National Police headquarters in Jakarta, Indonesia. The suspect, identified only as Syahrir, was recruited by a militant network and had been working as a technician with the airline, Garuda Indonesia, said National Police Chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri. Documents seized by police uncovered the plot to strike Indonesia's airline sector, he said, without providing details about when or how the attack was supposed to have taken place. Syahrir resigned from the airline and remains at large, Danuri said. The blasts at the J.W. Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels on July 17 killed seven people and wounded more than 50 others, ending a four-year pause in terror attacks in the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation. Syahrir is the brother-in-law of a militant suspect shot dead by police earlier this month in an hours-long standoff in Central Java province, Danuri said. The dead suspect, Ibrohim, had been working as a florist at the two hotels for years before smuggling in explosives and the bombers for the July attacks, police say. Danuri declined to provide further information to reporters after making his comments to parliament's foreign affairs and security committee, but the details appear to support theories by terrorism experts that militants infiltrated potential targets years in advance. Additional evidence was also found about a plot to assassinate President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in retaliation for the execution of three convicted Bali bombers in 2008. Danuri provided no further details. Police were still searching for several suspects in the recent hotel bombings, including the alleged mastermind, Noordin Muhammad Top, said to head a breakaway faction of the regional terrorist network Jemaah Islamiyah. Indonesia suffered bombings between 2002 and 2005 that together killed more than 240 people, most of them foreign tourists on the resort island of Bali. Danuri said 455 suspected militants have been detained in Indonesia since 2002, and 347 received prison sentences ranging from a few months to the death penalty. Some 192 have served prison terms and been released. One of the four fugitives in the Jakarta hotel bombings was a convicted bomb-maker named Urwah who was sentenced to seven years but released and "returned to his old habitat," Danuri said. Police have said they were investigating the possibility the July bombings were carried out with foreign funding, which terrorism experts believe could indicate links to al-Qaida. Authorities say the terrorism network was involved in four major attacks in Indonesia, including the two Bali bombings in 2002 and 2005, the J.W. Marriott bombing in 2003, and a blast at the Australian Embassy also in Jakarta in 2004.

DTN News: Indonesia Awaits DNA Test To Confirm Terror Leader's Death

DTN News: Indonesia Awaits DNA Test To Confirm Terror Leader's Death

*Source: DTN News / AFP

(NSI News Source Info) JAKARTA, Indonesia - August 10, 2009: Indonesian police said Sunday it could take two weeks to confirm the death of Asian terror mastermind Noordin Mohammed Top, who was reported killed in a dramatic standoff with police special forces. Indonesia awaits DNA test to confirm terror leader's death. Police chief Danuri said they had rigged a small truck as a bomb and were planning to launch a suicide attack against Yudhoyono's main residence, which is a 12-minute drive away. The Islamist was killed Saturday morning in a hail of gunfire and explosions from US-trained counter-terrorism forces who had surrounded his suspected hideout in remote Beji village, Central Java, according to local media. The 17-hour siege of the farmhouse was the culmination of a series of raids and arrests of his accomplices which uncovered a plot to attack President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's home outside Jakarta, police said. Police called on people to remain vigilant and stressed their counter-terrorist operations were ongoing, as the military stepped up security for the president. "We have optimised and increased security for him and his family," military spokesman Sagom Tamboen said. "Based on the police information that there is a cell group that wanted to attack RI-1 (Yudhoyono), then we act according to the situation." National police spokesman Nanan Soekarna said it could take two weeks to confirm whether Noordin was killed as heavily armed police riddled the squat farmhouse with bullets and explosions on Saturday morning. "The whole process of DNA testing will take two weeks. It's a standard procedure," he said. "The test is being conducted at the Kramat Jati police hospital," he added, referring to a hospital in Jakarta where the body of the militant found in the farmhouse was taken after the siege. National police chief Bambang Hendarso Danuri said late Saturday that the identification process would take less than a week. Noordin, 40, a Malaysian Islamist, has been blamed for multiple terror attacks against "iconic" Western targets in Indonesia which have killed around 50 people and injured hundreds since 2003. The latest were believed to have been the July 17 twin suicide bombings on the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in the capital, which killed seven people including six foreigners, plus the two bombers. A member of the Jemaah Islamiyah regional terror group responsible for the 2002 Bali attacks which killed more than 200 people, he split to form his own even more violent network to "defend Islam" from perceived injustice. The self-proclaimed leader of "Al-Qaeda in the Malay Archipelago" was one of Asia's most wanted men and had a 100,000-dollar bounty on his head from the Indonesian government, who saw him as public enemy number one. The police raid on his suspected hideout overshadowed other operations including the arrest of five of Noordin's alleged accomplices and the uncovering of a major bomb factory in Bekasi, outside Jakarta. Two would-be suicide bombers were shot dead by police early Saturday at their rented house in Bekasi as they tried to resist arrest, police said. Police chief Danuri said they had rigged a small truck as a bomb and were planning to launch a suicide attack against Yudhoyono's main residence, which is a 12-minute drive away. The attack had been planned to take place around Indonesia's Independence Day on August 17, and had been ordered by Noordin during a meeting on April 30 as revenge for the execution of the Bali bombers late last year, Danuri said. Yudhoyono opened an international conference on AIDS/HIV in Asia and the Pacific on the resort island of Bali late Sunday. "In the last few days, our security forces were able to raid some of the (terrorists') hiding places, kill them in shootouts and seize explosives. We will keep hunting them and we will remain vigilant," he said in a speech. Police have come close to arresting Noordin several times in the past and have captured or killed some of his closest associates during a six-year manhunt. Analysts said his death would be a blow to his network, estimated to number as few as 30 hardcore cadres, but would not end the terror threat in the world's most populous Muslim-majority country. "Every time there was an attack, there were new accomplices," Institute for International Peacebuilding researcher Taufik Andrie said. "There are several people who have the potential to replace Noordin." He said he doubted the reports that Noordin had been killed. "The dead guy doesn't seem to be Noordin. He has impeccable instincts for evading police raids," he said.

DTN News: Police ~ Suspect Planned Attack On Indonesia Leader

DTN News: Police ~ Suspect Planned Attack On Indonesia Leader

*Source: DTN News / Int'l News (NSI News Source Info) BEJI, Indonesia - August 9, 2009: A leading Southeast Asian terrorist suspect reportedly killed Saturday in a gunbattle with police at a village hide-out was planning a suicide car bomb attack on Indonesia's president, the national police chief said. Indonesian police officers regroup following a raid on a house where suspected terrorists were holed up in Bekasi, West Java, Indonesia, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2009. Indonesian police hunting the terrorists behind last month's attacks on hotels in the capital raided one house and besieged another Saturday, killing two suspected militants, arresting five and seizing explosives and a car bomb, a senior officer said. Police said they could not confirm that the body recovered from the house in central Java was that of Noordin Mohammad Top until DNA tests are complete. Noordin is suspected of having masterminded Southeast Asia's worst terror attacks, some with al-Qaida backing. If verified, his death would be a major victory in Indonesia's fight against Islamist militants blamed for five major bombings that killed 250 people, including attacks on Bali island in 2002 and 2005. National police Chief Bambang Hendarso Danuri said Noordin and other militants had been plotting to bomb the home of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Police on Saturday also raided a house on the outskirts of Jakarta where they killed two suspected militants and seized bombs and a car rigged to carry them, the police chief said. The house is three miles (five kilometers) from the president's residence. He said the decision to attack Yudhoyono was made at an April 30 meeting led personally by Noordin because of the government's decision to execute three convicted Bali bombers. Yudhoyono told reporters he had been briefed about an ongoing operation "to uphold law and to eradicate terrorism," but made no mention of Noordin. "I extend my highest gratitude and respect to the police for their brilliant achievement in this operation," he said. Noordin is also suspected of planning last month's suicide bombings at the J.W. Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in Jakarta that killed seven people and ended a four-year pause in terror strikes in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation. Noordin eluded capture for about seven years despite a massive crackdown by Indonesian authorities that netted more than 200 suspected militants. A Malaysian citizen, Noordin claimed in a video in 2005 to be al-Qaida's representative in Southeast Asia and to be carrying out attacks on Western civilians to avenge Muslim deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq. Officers surrounded the central Java house late Friday after making arrests in a nearby town. At one point, they sent remote-controlled robots into the isolated building to search for bombs. Indonesian police have been met with booby traps and suicide bombers in at least one other previous raid on a terrorist hide-out. Local TV stations reported that Noordin was killed in the 16-hour siege. The remains of a man thought to be Noordin were flown from the location to Jakarta for an autopsy. "If Noordin M. Top was captured or killed, this would be extremely good news and a huge step forward for Indonesia's struggle against terrorism," said Jim Della-Giacoma, Southeast Asia project director for the International Crisis Group think tank. "Whether or not the risk of further attacks declines depends on who else is arrested or killed with Noordin." Noordin is also believed to have orchestrated an earlier attack on the J.W. Marriott Hotel in 2003 and a massive suicide truck bombing outside the Australian Embassy in 2004 which together killed dozens and wounded hundreds. Those early attacks were blamed on the regional terrorist network Jemaah Islamiyah and funded by al-Qaida, but Noordin later broke away to form a more violent offshoot that supported targeting civilians. His foreign connections have since became uncertain. Java, home to more than half of Indonesia's 235 million people, has long been the focus in the hunt for Noordin and his associates. In November 2005, Azahari bin Husin, a top Jemaah Islamiyah bomb maker, was fatally shot by counterterrorism forces in east Java. Sariyah Jabir, another explosives expert, was killed in April 2006 during a raid on a militant hide-out in central Java.

DTN News: Malaysia Court Charges 29 Over Mass Protest

DTN News: Malaysia Court Charges 29 Over Mass Protest *Source: DTN News / AFP (NSI News Source Info) KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - August 4, 2009: A Malaysian court on Monday charged 29 people, including a teenage boy, for taking part in a massive weekend protest against internal security laws that saw 589 people arrested. Demonstrators march near Merdeka Square (Independence Square) in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia court charges 29 over mass protest. In the biggest demonstration in Malaysia for nearly two years, police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse thousands of people calling for the abolition of laws that allow for detention without trial. Most of those detained were released over the past two days but the 29 still in custody were charged at a Kuala Lumpur court with taking part in an illegal rally or aiding an illegal organisation. Among them were five women, including Norlaila Othman whose husband has been held under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for seven years, and a 16-year-old teenager. In Malaysia, it is illegal to hold a demonstration without a permit from police, who rarely give the green light. The 29 all pleaded not guilty and were released on bail. If convicted, they could be jailed for between one and three years, depending on which of the two charges they face. Defence lawyer Azizul Shariman Mat Yusoff denied the group that mounted the protest was an illegal organisation. "The Abolish ISA Movement is a coalition comprising 83 registered NGOs and political parties," he told the court. Prime Minister Najib Razak has denounced the protest, saying he has already promised to review the controversial legislation. But the opposition and rights groups are calling for the colonial-era ISA -- which has been used to detain government opponents as well as suspected terrorists -- to be abolished.

DTN News: Protestors In Malaysia Are Detained

DTN News: Protestors In Malaysia Are Detained *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - August 3, 2009: Malaysia detained dozens of antigovernment protesters on Sunday, following a massive weekend demonstration in Kuala Lumpur that raised the stakes in a long-running struggle for political power in the country. A demonstrator pleads with riot police during a protest against a law that allows detention without trial on Sunday in Kuala Lumpur. On Saturday, riot police fired tear gas and water cannons during clashes with thousands of demonstrators who were protesting a long-standing law allowing detention without trial. The law -- known as the Internal Security Act -- enables Malaysian authorities to detain indefinitely individuals they consider to be security risks. In the past, al Qaeda-linked terrorists have been held under the provision. Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and human-rights activists say the law also is used to stifle dissent in Malaysia, where the National Front coalition has ruled the country without interruption since independence from Britain in 1957. The law represents a "powerful threat to anybody criticizing the government," Mr. Anwar said in a phone interview. Last year, the law was used to detain a blogger, a journalist and members of a Hindu-rights activist group. On Saturday afternoon, as many as 10,000 protesters converged in the center of Malaysia's main city, intending to march to the national palace, where they planned to submit a petition to repeal the security law. Chants of "Reformasi" -- the Malaysian term for political reform -- echoed through the narrow streets of downtown Kuala Lumpur. Police fired tear gas to break up the protesters before the march began. Police used batons to charge into groups of demonstrators, scuffling with many of them before they could deliver the petition. Analysts said the showdown could buoy Mr. Anwar's opposition alliance in its effort to win enough support to form a new government. Some protesters fled to a nearby department store to evade arrest. A number of businesses pulled down their shutters as concerns about violence grew. Witnesses say they saw police dragging detainees into vans, sometimes kicking and screaming. Inspector General of Police Musa Haji Hassan said in a statement Saturday that police arrested 310 protesters because the rally hadn't been granted a permit. The number of detainees was revised up to 438. By late Sunday, 39 protesters remained in custody, an opposition lawyer told the Associated Press. Mr. Anwar, the 61-year-old opposition leader, said the police response to the demonstration indicated that the government is trying to clamp down on growing distrust in the way Malaysia's political leaders use colonial-era laws such as the Internal Security Act. State media reported that Prime Minister Najib Razak said the protesters had been warned not to assemble, and said he had received many complaints about traffic disruptions in the area. Mr. Najib said he would leave it to the police to determine what to do with the people detained during the protest. In the past, he has pledged to consider amending the Internal Security Act. Other government officials and political activists have said the law is needed to combat terrorism and maintain social order in the nation of 27 million, which includes large ethnic-Chinese and -Indian minorities, as well as the majority Muslim Malay population. Political analysts said Saturday's crackdown could give Mr. Anwar and his fragile opposition alliance a boost at a time when Mr. Najib has been gaining public approval. The prime minister's approval rating in a recent opinion poll climbed to 65% in July from 45% in May. James Chin, a political-science professor at the Malaysian campus of Australia's Monash University, said that despite those gains, the rally was intended to "send a strong signal to the rest of the world that nothing has changed in Malaysia" in terms of human rights in recent years.

DTN News: Malaysian Police Use Tear Gas, Water Cannon On Protesters

DTN News: Malaysian Police Use Tear Gas, Water Cannon On Protesters

*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - August 2, 2009: Police in Malaysia used tear gas and water cannons to disperse more than 10,000 demonstrators who gathered in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, to protest a law allowing detention without trial.

Local police said close to 600 people, including women and young people under 18, were arrested Saturday outside the national mosque and shopping mall.

Protesters run as Police fire water cannon during an anti-Internal Security Act (ISA) demonstration in downtown Kuala Lumpur, Saturday, Aug. 1, 2009. Riot police fired tear gas in a clash with at least 10,000 opposition supporters who marched in Malaysia's main city Saturday to protest a law allowing detention without trial.

Authorities set up roadblocks and introduced other security measures to curb rallies organized by supporters and opponents of the country's Internal Security Act. Malaysian authorities banned both demonstrations, saying they would undermine public peace.

Under the law, people considered national security threats can be detained for long periods of time without trials.

Prime Minister Najib Razak urged demonstrators to refrain from rallying, saying the law will be reviewed. In his first act after taking office in May, the prime minister freed 13 people who had been detained under the security act.

But a number of people, most of them suspected of links to terrorist groups such as Jemaah Islamiyah, are still detained under the act.

Critics say the law is often used to detain outspoken government opponents. They have also condemned the secrecy and alleged torture linked to the use of the law. But some government officials say it is necessary for national security.

DTN News: Al-Qaeda Linked To Terrorists Behind Jakarta Bombings

DTN News: Al-Qaeda Linked To Terrorists Behind Jakarta Bombings

*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media

(NSI News Source Info) JAKARTA, Indonesia - July 23, 2009: THE terrorist network behind the Jakarta hotel bombings received help from al-Qaeda leaders in Pakistan.

Indonesian police spokesman Nanan Soekarna holds sketches of two Indonesian men they suspect were the suicide bombers in Jakarta, July 22, 2009. Indonesia on Wednesday released sketches of the faces of two Indonesian men they suspect were the suicide bombers in near-simultaneous attacks on two luxury hotels in Jakarta.

Two of the country's highest security officials have linked al-Qaeda to the blasts that killed at least nine people. Noordin Mohammed Top, the Malaysian-born leader of a violent splinter group of Jemaah Islamiah that is believed to have carried out the attacks, has had close links to al-Qaeda since 2002 when the group funded the first Bali bombing. Noordin was a key organiser of four big bombings in Indonesia since 2002 in which more than 240 people have died. In central Java, police have arrested one of Noordin's wives. Ms Arina, her two children and mother were taken to Jakarta for interrogation. DNA tests reveal that the bomber at the JW Marriott Hotel was aged 16 or 17. Yesterday police released sketches of him and the bomber at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. The youth's DNA was found in room 1808 of the Marriott. Police are trying to establish whether the man who checked into the room two days before the blasts was Nur Hasbi, also known as Nur Said, a long-time foot soldier of Noordin who has been on Indonesia's most wanted list since 2006. He was believed to have been one of the suicide bombers. DNA tests show he was not. Police have appealed for the public's help to identify the bombers. The media in Jakarta are speculating that Noordin's network arranged for one its operatives, identified as Ibrahim, to obtain a job in a florist's at the Ritz-Carlton three years ago. A man who might be Ibrahim is shown on security footage taking a backpack to the shop several times in the days before the bombings. DNA tests have shown he was not one of the bombers. The head of the counter-terrorism desk at the Co-ordinating Ministry of Political, Legal and Security Affairs, Ansyaad Mbai, told Kompas newspaper that information obtained by police pointed to al-Qaeda's involvement. "So far the cells which are believed to be [connected with] al-Qaeda in South-East Asia are the cells in Jemaah Islamiah," Inspector-General Mbai said. A former head of Indonesia's Detachment 88 anti-terrorism squad, Surya Darma, also said he was convinced of al-Qaeda's involvement. "This kind of operation is not a domestic kind of work," Brigadier-General Darma said. "This is al-Qaeda." General Darma said the terrorists who carried out the Mumbai attacks last year, which were planned in Pakistan, stayed in their target hotels, as did the Jakarta bombers. General Darma did not believe the bombers would have assembled the bombs. "The bomb maker and the bomb executor usually do not meet each other. It is because they have their own separate jobs." General Darma said that based on six years of interrogating terrorism suspects he was "100 per cent sure that no matter how small the role, there must have been help from inside the hotel". A former member of JI, Nasir Abbas, has said the bombings would almost certainly be related to international issues. "The actions were related to the US's action towards Iraq, Afghanistan or Taliban," he said. Meanwhile, police appear to have begun a crackdown on the firebrand Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, the spiritual leader of the Bali bombers and head of the Islamic school where some terrorists were educated. They stopped him delivering a sermon in East Java on Tuesday. Bashir has claimed the Jakarta bombings were a warning from Allah and if Indonesia continued to refuse to become an Islamic state, they would continue.

DTN News: Indonesia Links Fugitive Leader To Jakarta Blasts

DTN News: Indonesia Links Fugitive Leader To Jakarta Blasts *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media

(NSI News Source Info) JAKARTA, Indonesia - July 18, 2009: Senior Indonesian counter-terror officials say a wanted Malaysian national is behind the recent twin bomb blasts in two luxury hotels in Jakarta.

Indonesian soldiers stand guard outside the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia, Saturday, July 18, 2009. Investigators worked Saturday to identify a pair of suicide bombers who attacked two American luxury hotels in Indonesia's capital, and health officials confirmed at least four of the dead were foreigners.

The Indonesian Security Ministry's anti-terror desk chief, Ansyaad Mbai, said on Saturday that "the attacks were clearly linked to Noordin Mohammed" who is wanted for plotting the Bali bombings of 2002.

Indonesian police say the homemade bombs used in the attack were identical to those used in previous attacks linked to Noordin.

The fugitive militant is already wanted by Malaysian and Indonesian authorities for his alleged involvement in several bomb attacks in Jakarta and Bali. Noordin also known as TOP was said to be a key recruiter and financier for the Jemaah Islamiah militant group and is now thought to have set up his own splinter group.

The attacks on the Marriott Hotel and the nearby Ritz-Carlton Hotel in central Jakarta's business district on Friday killed at least nine people and injured more than 50 others.

Five foreigners are known to be among the dead while several more were taken to hospitals for treatment. Jakarta has been targeted by militants several times over the past years.

The deadly attacks on two clubs in Bali in October 2002 killed 202 people including several Australian tourists

Singapore Hosts Intelligence Chiefs Pow-Wow

Singapore Hosts Intelligence Chiefs Pow-Wow

(NSI News Source Info) February 21, 2009: Singapore Defense Minister Teo Chee Hean played host to the second Asia-Pacific Intelligence Chiefs Conference (APICC) Feb. 18-20 at the Sheraton Towers Hotel. The conference is co-hosted by the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and the U.S. Pacific Command. APICC is an informal forum for military intelligence chiefs from the Asia-Pacific region to discuss intelligence challenges. Gordon MacKay, left, speaks to Singapore's Defense Minister Teo Chee Hean before a plenary session at the Shangri-la Dialogue Asia security summit in Singapore. The theme for this year's conference is "Sharing Expertise in Managing Transnational Security Issues," a press release said. The first conference was held in 2007 in Kuala Lumpur. The conference focused on "enhanced information-sharing among the Asia-Pacific nations on counterterrorism, maritime security and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief." Intelligence officials included representatives from Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States. During the opening ceremony, Teo said that "intelligence and information sharing is an important aspect of international cooperation" and emphasized that by sharing diverse perspectives and experiences, such exchanges help to build understanding and "lay the foundation for our countries and armed forces to work together in response to any future crises." He stressed that in today's complex security landscape "our armed forces and intelligence professionals need to cooperate in the sharing of information, knowledge and expertise" as this was "crucial for a collective understanding of the challenges faced, and to enable relevant and coordinated responses by the stakeholders." Teo said the economic crisis would compound problems in the areas of terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, piracy, natural disasters and pandemics. "These hardships will create additional social and political stresses, and, if not managed properly, could lead to greater friction and tensions. We saw this in our region here in southeast Asia in the aftermath of the 1997 Asian financial crisis," he said. Only by international cooperation can problems be kept from spinning out of control. He said three broad principles would help regional actors survive this coming crisis. "First, achieving regional security is the collective responsibility of all stakeholder countries. Second, our cooperative approach should be open and inclusive, engaging responsible international organizations and extra-regional stakeholders that can play a constructive role. And third, such cooperation must take place in a framework of respect for international law, regional norms and national sovereignty, recognizing the diversity of the Asia-Pacific region." As an example, Teo pointed to Singapore's creation of the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) in 2006 with 14 member countries. "The ReCAAP Informational Sharing Centre has helped to provide more accurate reports of incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships in the region, as well as facilitated the sharing of best practices among countries," he said. "Similarly, the Information Fusion Centre, to be located at the Changi Command and Control Centre in Singapore, will enhance information-sharing on the sea situation in our region and beyond, thereby promoting international and regional maritime security cooperation." Teo also pointed to the Mumbai attacks as a latest example of a "string of terrorist attacks" and a "grim reminder that terrorism remains a common and persistent threat." Teo said good intelligence cooperation in information exchange, early warning and capacity building are the foundations to fighting terrorism. "Countering the regional Jemaah Islamiyah network, whose tentacles spread across several countries in our region, including Singapore, would not have been possible without good intelligence exchange and close regional cooperation," he said. "Good intelligence exchange and concerted action has also allowed the JI network to be disrupted, potential attacks thwarted and key personalities arrested."