‘100 JI militants in South ready to strike’

CEBU — A noted regional security analyst said here yesterday the regional Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terror network has 100 foreign militants in Mindanao who have trained 400 to 500 fighters for new attacks.

Dr. Rohan Gunaratna, head of the Singapore-based International Center for Political Violence and Terrorism Research, told reporters on the sidelines of a three-day international experts’ conference on counterterrorism here that nearly 100 JI militants were being given refuge by rogue guerrilla leaders of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

"The JI is very patient, very cunning, very clever and it takes its time planning its attack," Gunaratna said, adding that "it is just a matter of time" before another attack takes place in the region.

"The JI believes in doing a few attacks but makes sure that it makes a huge impact," he said.

Gunaratna urged Southeast Asian governments to launch joint military and intelligence operations against the JI to head off new attacks.

He said the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia should develop a "new platform" in its fight against the JI, and deploy joint forces to track down the extremists in their jungle bases.

"Because we see that the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia enjoy a common sea border, it is important for the militaries and navies of these countries to conduct joint operations."

Gunaratna warned the JI militants are the most "deadly and lethal."

"Although the numbers are very small, JI is a very deadly and a very lethal organization so the government of the Philippines… and other governments that are fighting JI must work together to track JI leaders and kill them or to put them in prison," he said.

JI has been blamed for the October 2002 bombings in the Indonesian resort of Bali which killed 202 people and of deploying suicide bombers in another attack in the resort island last year, killing 20 civilians.

Gunaratna said the JI continues to operate jungle camps in Indonesia and in Mindanao, where they are training the extremist Abu Sayyaf and the MILF.

"JI is a very patient organization, it is like al-Qaeda. It is a very cunning and clever organization. It will take its time to plan, prepare and execute large-scale attacks," Gunaratna warned.

He claimed the JI has a small number of camps operating in Southeast Asia.

"It is important to dismantle those camps and capture or kill those members who are operating those camps and those individuals who are leading the JI network in the Philippines and Indonesia," Gunaratna said.

He warned the JI is now making efforts to "develop capabilities" like those of their counterparts in the Middle East in staging suicide attacks.

"In the future, we could have suicide attacks in the Philippines… it’s a question of time and how they could convince people to do it," Gunaratna said.

"Filipino Muslims are very tolerant compared to others in the region but we’re seeing more radicalization," he said.

During the summit here, Gunaratna urged the Indonesian government to "criminalize" the JI as an organization and keep behind bars its spiritual founder Abu Bakar Bashir, who reportedly expects to walk free in June after serving only 29 months in prison for his role in the 2002 bombings.

Gunaratna also revealed a faction led by JI’s most wanted leader Malaysian Noordin Mohammad Top is closely working with the Abu Sayyaf, while another led by Indonesians Umar Patek and Dulmatin is being sheltered by the MILF.

The three JI leaders are all accused of playing key roles in the Bali bombings.

While the MILF is engaged in peace talks with the Philippine government, Gunaratna said the Muslim group continues to shelter the JI militants.

He said the MILF should be held "accountable" for their presence.

Gunaratna also urged governments to check if millions of dollars in private funds from the Middle East intended for poor Muslim regions were reaching the rightful beneficiaries.

He said the funds were being diverted to the hands of extremists.

Noting the efforts of the Philippine government to retain terrorism as a capital crime despite the abolition of the death penalty, Gunaratna said no country "has fought terrorism effectively without appropriate anti-terrorism legislation."

"It is important to have the death penalty but it also important to exercise discretion when it comes to sentencing someone to death," he said.

"But the death penalty is a very important instrument in the fight against terrorism."

On Easter Sunday, President Arroyo announced her decision to commute all death sentences to life imprisonment. Among those who would reportedly benefit from the commutation are convicted terrorists.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, however, told reporters Mrs. Arroyo might make an exception to her order in the case of convicted terrorists.

Ermita said there were ongoing efforts to reconcile proposals to abolish the death penalty with the pending anti-terrorism bill in Congress.

Both measures have been certified as urgent by the President, he said. The proposed anti-terrorism bill imposes the death penalty for some offenses.

Ermita noted that abolishing the death penalty for convicted terrorists might send a weak signal to the international community on its global effort against terrorism.

Gunaratna, an acknowledged expert on the terror organizations in the region, said the Philippines’ "biggest weakness" in dealing with terrorism is that it does not have an anti-terrorism law as he urged Filipinos to "put to task" their political leaders for their inaction on the measure.

He noted many suspected terrorists arrested in the country have been allowed to post bail, thus giving them the opportunity to stage more deadly bombing attacks.

"This is a huge mistake," Gunaratna said. "Philippine law enforcement authorities can be effective on the ground only if they have legal coverage.

"This is huge failure on part of political leadership and the political opposition in the Philippines," he added. - With AFP