Melbourne (AsiaNews) – A “political move”, an initiative “that will not find support” – this is how Sidney Jones, director of the International Crisis Group for South-east Asia, described the request of a group of Muslim lawyers in Indonesia to dismantle the special anti-terrorism squad of the national police force. Last month, the Team of Islamic Lawyers (TPM) filed a lawsuit against the renowned Densus-88, accusing it of abuse of power and of violations of human rights. The initiative followed the arrest of Abu Dujana, leader of the armed wing of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and one of the most sought after fugitives in the country. The Muslim lawyers claimed that the officers, when firing on the terrorist, severely traumatized his eight-year-son because he witnessed the shooting together with his mother. Now the TPM is calling on the government to dissolve the special group because it uses aggressive means which go against human dignity.
Jones told AsiaNews that Densus-88 is a squad that works very well, and it recently dismantled many JI cells in Indonesia and captured high-ranking figures from Abu Dujana to Zarkarsih. “Most Indonesians appreciate it, except for a part of society that is convinced that the special squad works for the interests of the US, Australia and Great Britain.” The reference is to the more radical branches of civil society and the ruling class. Some MPs have even expressed the desire to take the wife and son of the terrorist to Parliament to expose their complaints about the treatment of Abu Dujana.
Jones, who is currently a guest of the University of Melbourne, maintained that the political maneuver of the TPM was aimed at “diverting” the focus of public opinion and at transforming Dujana “from the number one threat of the country to a victim in the hands of the police.” The analyst added: “But the initiative will not lead anywhere and the government will not cede to this pressure.”
JI is a terrorist network operational in south-east Asia and held to be close to al-Qaeda. It is responsible for several attacks in Indonesia, including the Bali bombings in 2002, in 2004 against the Australian Embassy in Jakarta and the car bombing in 2003 at the Marriot Hotel, also in the capital.