Non-Subscriber Extract
JTIC Briefing: Terrorist financing in Indonesia
- Article Tools
| 16 December 2004 |
By Nick Ridley
Despite the introduction of new legislation to tackle money laundering after the Bali bombing in 2002, Indonesian authorities face a major challenge in curbing terrorist fundraising activities by groups such as Jemaah Islamiyya (JI).
Southeast Asia has never been underestimated or downplayed within overall anti-terrorist efforts. However, at times it appears to receive less focus than other regions.
In June 2003, Nicolas Sarkozy, then French Minister of the Interior, stated at a G8 summit that Al-Qaeda had moved its base from Afghanistan to Asia, specifically locating the centres as being in Chechnya and Georgia. US presidential debates in late 2004 considered whether Al-Qaeda and its associates have been afforded a significant power base in Iraq due to the conflict involving the presence of occupying coalition troops. One argument put forward is that more efforts could have been made to finish off Al-Qaeda and its Islamic affiliate organisations had Iraq not been such a time and resource-consuming distraction. These arguments turn purely on a central Asia-Middle East axis.
But Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia, has of course played a significant global role in Islamic extremist terrorism, particularly since 2000. Terrorist incidents in the region have included car bombings, suicide bombings and the immolation of 116 ferry passengers. After months of uncertainty, the Philippine government recently confirmed in an investigation into the incident that the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) had been behind the attack.
Southeast Asia has always been prominent in terms of Islamic extremist groups acting on their own initiative. This is partially due to the number of different extremist groups that exist, some with conflicting aims and political agendas. Such groups maintained significant ideological links of continued solidarity. The apparent lack of an Al-Qaeda central financial command structure makes comparatively little difference to Islamic extremist cells based in Southeast Asia in terms of their ability to finance and carry out attacks.
310 of 1,389 words