Indonesia does not want this terrorist to come home

Bibhu Prasad Routray

Al Arabiya, 2 August 2011

http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/08/02/160445.html

Very few countries in the world would decline to lay their hands on a terrorist of the most wanted variety, who can provide useful insights into the operational dynamics of the terror formation that has been involved in several bombings in the country.

But Indonesia, it would appear, is a class apart.

This Southeast Asian country, which has been home to the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terror outfit and has been targeted on several occasions by the JI’s terror campaign, is reluctant to receive Umar Patek, one of the prime suspects in the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people.

Indonesian national Umar Patek was arrested on January 25, 2011 along with his Filipino wife in Abbottabad, the garrison city of Pakistan, which incidentally served as home to Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden till his killing on May 2. Umar Patek reportedly was in the city to meet Osama. Pakistani authorities did not make Patek’s arrest public till March 30, subsequently adding to the speculations that some people in Pakistan were aware of OBL’s presence, much before his death.

Patek, a key JI figure and an explosives expert, had trained with the Al Qaeda before the 9/11 terror attacks and had maintained the JI’s linkages with the Al Qaeda. He had apparently entered Pakistan from Thailand.

Indonesia reportedly is concerned that its lower courts won’t be able to effectively prosecute Umar Patek. The country had not enacted any counter-terrorism law before the 2002 Bali bombing and as a result, Umar Patek will have to be tried under the earlier laws, which will possibly allow him to walk free.

However, this exactly isn’t a valid reason. Indonesia has successfully charged and convicted several JI terrorists involved the Bali bombing and executed them in 2008. The absence of an anti-terror law had not limited the judiciary’s options.

Moreover, Indonesia feels that Patek has no new insight to provide on the JI. Indonesian authorities have maintained that following the execution of many of JI’s leaders and the June 2011 sentencing of JI’s founder Abu Bakar Bashir, the outfit is on a decline. Patek’s presence by no means is operationally useful to the counter-insurgency agencies in the country.

On the other hand, Indonesia perceives danger from the high probability of Umar Patek becoming a rallying point for the remaining JI splinter groups in the country. In a media interview Ansyaad Mbai, head of Indonesia’s National Antiterrorism Agency said in early July that Patek’s transfer may increase the threat of terrorism in the region. He added that Patek would become a new figurehead for violent jihadis if returned to the country of his birth.

“Umar Patek was chased by many countries. There was a (million dollar) prize on his head but now that he’s arrested it’s as if Indonesia must face the problem alone,” Ansyaad told. Coming from the head of the country’s National Antiterrorism Agency, the statement appeared rather strange. “This man is very dangerous. His presence here would increase the terror threat, not only to Indonesia but to several countries with a presence here,” he added.

Indonesia had cited the same reason for asking Thailand to handover another JI leader Hambali to the US, after his arrest in Bangkok in 2003. The Thai authorities obliged and Hambali is currently lodged in Guantanamo bay detention facilities.

Patek is also wanted in Australia, which had lost 88 of its citizens in the 2002 Bali bombings. Philippines too wants Patek, for the latter’s connections with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), terror outfits that are active in the southern part of the country. Patek had trained the Filipino groups in explosives assembling.

This time Jakarta asked Pakistan to hand over Patek to the US, where he is wanted in connection with the Al Qaeda links. Patek carries a head money of one million US dollars. However, Pakistan, worried of being seen as still acceding to US requests at a time when relations between both countries have dipped, declined and is in the process of extraditing him to Jakarta, in spite of the fact that it does not have an extradition treaty with Jakarta.

Challenge begins for Indonesia immediately after Patek’s homecoming. Will it be able to prosecute Patek or will it find an easy way out by simply handing him over either to Australia or to the US is something to watch out for. It still has another easier option of incarcerating Patek for indefinite period, without submitting him to any judicial process.