Terror leader Abu Bakar Bashir found guilty

Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Bashir has been found guilty of inciting terrorism and financing an Aceh-based terrorist cell and sentenced to 15 years in prison, ending a decade-long effort by authorities to put the firebrand militant who endorsed the Bali bombings behind bars.

Hundreds of Bashir's supporters, who chanted "God is great" as judges spent hours reading through a summary of evidence, erupted in jeers when the verdict was read out.

Bashir was convicted for arranging the financing of a terrorist cell uncovered in the Indonesian province of Aceh last year, a new grouping that included a who's who of the remnants of the terrorist group Jemaah Islamiah and other assorted militants.

Prosecutors said Bashir was the "emir" of figurehead of the group, and had held at least one planning meeting with Dulmatin, a senior figure in the Bali bombings that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians.

Prosecutors had demanded a life sentence.

Amid an extraordinary security presence that included balaclava-clad snipers on nearby buildings, a defiant and beaming Bashir arrived at the court denouncing Australia and America, saying they wanted to "elimiinate" him because he was "fighting for Islam".

"Australia and America have a very big role ... in determining the court's verdict," Bashir said. "[They would] killl me if they can. If they can't, they just want to get me out of society."

He called on his supporters to keep up the fight for an Islamic state but stopped short of advocating violent retaliation if he was given a lengthy prison term.

"Don't be sympathetic to me, but carry out things on the way to Allah."

Maintaining his innocence before the verdict was read out, Bashir insisted "I am not a terrorist.

"If I helped in Aceh, then it is not wrong. It's in the Koran. It's a defence agains the war on Islam."

Among his supporters at the court were men wearing jackets emblazoned in Indonesian "Holy warrior, not terrorist".

One man leading the chanting was decked out in a shirt with Bashir's photograph printed on the front, and a large image of the former al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden on the back.

Bashir was implicated in the Bali atrocity as he co-founded Jemaah Islamiah and some of the members of the cell had attended his school. Bashir repeatedly praised the bombings and those involved as "holy warriors".

He labelled Australian and other foreign tourists who frequent Bali as "maggots".

But authorities failed in an attempt to bring him to justice on unrelated terrorism offences soon after the first Bali bombings in 2002 and Bashir only served a short term for "rebellion".

A second, later, attempt to convict him of conspiracy involving the Bali attacks also failed after an initial guilty verdict was overturned on appeal.

Before the verdict, Bashir said he would appeal against any finding of guilt against him.

It is feared the sentence could spark an angry response from the supporters, and authorities have been on high alert for the possibility of retaliation.

Prosecutors had demanded a life sentence for Bashir, who was accused of using the radical organisation which he now leads, Jemaah Ansharut Tauhid, as a front to fund a terrorist cell and paramilitary camp found last year in a mountainous jungle area of Aceh on the northern tip of Sumatra.

AAP reports: Reading out the verdict, the chief judge said the evidence presented in the case had proved the defendant had "incited others" to commit acts of terrorism by persuading them to undertake military training at the Aceh camp.

"As well, he persuaded them to commit violence, which led to the deaths of policemen, and which created an atmosphere of terror ... especially for the people of Aceh in general."

Bashir, the former spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiah, the group responsible for the 2002 Bali bombings, has denied the charges throughout the trial, which began in February.

He has not denied knowing about the Aceh camp but has previously said the activities happening there were merely a type of training called idad, which all Muslims must undertake.

A large cache of ammunition and weapons, including AK-47 rifles, was found when the paramilitary camp was raided by police in February last year.

Source: SMH

Indonesia AML Agency Reports 1,800 Officials to Corruption Authorities

Indonesia's anti-money laundering agency on Tuesday called on government institutions, including the House of Representatives and law enforcers, to be transparent about what they do with reports of suspicious bank accounts held by their staff.

Muhammad Yusuf, chairman of the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK), said the list of more than 1,800 people who since 2003 had been detected as having suspiciously large bank accounts did not only include young civil servants and police officers, as had previously been said.

The names of the account holders also included some members of the House and officials working in law enforcement institutions, Yusuf said.

He declined to identify people on the list by name, but said the data had been submitted to their respective employers as well as to the police, prosecutors and the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) for further action.

“Regarding the details and the development of the legal processes — which cases are legally processed and which are not — you will have to ask them,” Yusuf said of the institutions.

And since it was now up to the institutions to investigate and sanction those unable to explain the source of their wealth, he called for transparency, including for cases that end up being dropped.

“If it turns out true that A has an account containing, let us say, Rp 20 billion to Rp 30 billion [$2.2 million to $3.3 million], but investigations fail to find enough evidence, it is OK, there is no problem with that, as long as the public is told,” Yusuf said.

He said the PPATK was planning to regularly query the relevant government institutions about the progress of the cases reported among their ranks.

“We will do it once every two or three months,” Yusuf said, adding that every time they would synchronize the information they had with those of the institutions concerned.

He added that if the ministries responded that they had to drop an investigation for lack of evidence, his institution would demand data to authenticate the claim rather than accept it on face value. “We want to be more comprehensive, not like in the past,” he said.

The state administrative reform deputy minister, Eko Prasodjo, said last month that his ministry would soon begin investigating the “fat accounts” of young civil servants after PPATK announced that 10 civil servants aged 28 to 38 held bank accounts worth hundreds of billion rupiah. 

The National Police last year said it had investigated reports of 17 suspiciously large bank accounts held by senior police officers. 

Only three of those accounts were found to have irregularities, but those three belonged to officers already convicted of or on trial for other crimes.

On Monday, the private Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) announced the results of a survey it conducted last month that found that only 44 percent of respondents were satisfied with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s corruption eradication efforts, the lowest in five years.

The survey blamed long-unresolved cases and the KPK’s declining reputation for the erosion of public trust.

The government on the weekend flagged a plan to force civil servants to disclose their wealth.

Source: Jakarta Globe

Ghana fingered in Australia massive identity fraud

Ghana has been named as one of the countries whose citizens are stealing the identities of Australians.

News out in the Australian media say the theft which is in a large scale involves spies, drug dealers, illegal immigrants and people engaged in money laundering.

The report say passport details of five people emailed to a travel agent for travel for people from Ghana has been found.

One report by the Herald Sun citing documents from the country’s Department of Foreign Affairs and trade says the illegal practice of forging passports of living Australians is widespread.

According to the report, a fake or doctored Australian passport has been found, on average, once a week in the past three years.

Fake passports were detected at ports in countries including Britain, Dubai, Ghana, Thailand, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Egypt, Turkey, and Peru, the report indicated.

According to the report, some of the passports were in the hands of spies, smugglers and thieves.

Australian passports were used in 525 frauds in the last financial year, and many people were caught lying to get a passport, it said.

Source: Citifmonline

Indonesia seen long way from beating money laundering

Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

An economist says Indonesia will continue to be at risk of high inflation, volatile markets and lack of business competitiveness unless it steps up the battle against money laundering.

Despite having been removed from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)'s money laundering blacklist, Indonesia has much work to do to strengthen domestic laws and institutions meant to tackle the crime, economist Faisal Basri of the University of Indonesia told a forum here over the weekend.

He urged the authorities to use this week's visit by the global money laundering watchdog's Asia Pacific Group (APG) to push for further amendments aimed at strengthening the Money Laundering Law.

"Indonesia must be constantly warned of the dangers of money laundering. Being off the list should not be our only goal in eradicating (money laundering), but how it can help improve the health of our economy," Faisal said.

"The fact now is that Indonesia shows all the symptoms of an economy plagued by money laundering, and there are still many who for their own interests don't want to see a stronger anti-money laundering regime."

Likening laundered money to toxins in the blood stream, Faisal said when illegal funds entered the financial system it made it difficult for monetary authorities to determine effective policies.

He said this was one reason Indonesia had relatively higher inflation than other countries in the region.

Laundered money invested in the capital markets can make these markets more volatile and susceptible to capital flight, he said, while business competitiveness will be distorted by businesses set up merely to launder money.

Laundered money can also contribute to the creation of an "underground economy", which Faisal estimates already accounts for 40 percent of Indonesia's economy -- which, again, can undermine the implementation of economic policies.

"Although this (underground economy) includes the informal sector, it also includes those (sectors) related to corruption, smuggling and the illegal funds being laundered, making the whole economy unhealthy," he said.

Financial Transaction Reporting and Analysis Center (PPATK) chief Yunus Husein expects another amendment of the Money Laundering Law will help in establishing a better equipped institution to deal with the problem.

A proposed amendment to the law was submitted to the House of Representatives in October last year.

If passed, it would require non-financial service businesses and professionals who potentially could be involved in money laundering -- such as car dealers, property companies, jewelry traders, notaries and public accountants -- to report suspicious transactions.

The current law requires only banks and financial service companies to report suspicious transactions.

The amendment also would give more investigative powers to the PPATK, as well as the authority to block financial transactions suspected of being related to money laundering.

This would be the third amendment to the law, which was passed in 2002 after Indonesia was included on the FATF's list of non-cooperative countries.

Indonesia was removed from the list in 2005.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailheadlines.asp?fileid=20071029.B08&irec=7

Sri Lanka: International Conference on Countering Terrorism

Sri Lanka: International Conference on Countering Terrorism draws international terrorism experts to Colombo

20th October 2007

The three-day International Conference on Countering Terrorism is now on in Colombo on the theme 'Terrorism: A Challenge to Democratically Elected Governments.' The Conference, brought together renowned terrorism experts, including from the academia and the media, from 23 countries including Australia, China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, the United States and Vietnam. It was also widely attended by the Diplomatic Community .

Delivering the Inaugural Address, Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama, highlighted that "Sri Lanka had been a foot soldier in the battle against terrorism over a long period of time and notwithstanding some impediments and setbacks, can in several aspects count itself as having been a success story in the battle against terrorism." Sri Lanka's refusal to compromise or condone terrorism while constantly seeking to resolve the conflict through political means, to persuade other states to proscribe the LTTE, prevent money flows and apprehend those conniving with terrorists, has been significant. Successive governments and the people of Sri Lanka have also shown considerable resilience in the face of terror, whilst also ensuring that economic growth was not compromised. The Minister hoped that the deliberations of this Conference would, among other matters focus on the need for states to go beyond merely adopting conventions, to convert these into tangible action by developing enabling legislation and taking concrete action against those including terrorist front organizations operating from their soil. Noting that a bulk of maritime traffic passes through the Indian Ocean region and that in recent times many acts of terrorism had taken place in these waters, the Minister emphasized the urgent necessity to develop robust modalities to arrest the growing threat that faces Indian Ocean states from terrorists.

The former Director of the European Center for the Study of Conflicts in France, and one of the earliest writers in the field of terrorism, Dr. Gerard Chaliand traced the evolution of terrorism over the years. Referring to the LTTE, he said "the independence they ask cannot be granted and should not be granted, not only because no State is willing to accept such a blow to its sovereignity but also because, like the Shining Path or the Khmer Rouges, the LTTE under the leadership of V. Prabhakaran is a totalitarian movement, which has transformed its groups into a killing machine." He said "the most important thing about the LTTE is that it is a totalitarian movement fighting in a country which is democratic." He said the "LTTE has brutally eliminated all other parties or groups willing to represent the Tamils". "An absolutely intolerant sect, no peace seems possible with V. Prabhakaran as we have seen from the peace process of 2002-2005, which was but a tactical truce", Dr. Chaliand added.

Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Palitha Kohona delivering the vote-of-thanks repeated the unprecedented challenge Sri Lanka faces in combating terrorism and Sri Lanka. He said the world had focused on international terrorism only after 9/11 but terrorism had affected countries long before then. He emphasized that "the international rule of law against terrorism is being strong themed each year," adding that "there are 13 UN Conventions addressing different dimensions of the global terrorist threat and a comprehensive convention is being negotiated." The Foreign Secretary pointed out that "terrorism will never be eradicated solely by cooperation among law enforcement officials. It requires a concerted political effort and policy coordination among countries. Further it also requires an ability to understand and minimize the motivation and impetus that inspire terrorist acts."

Renowned Chairman of the French Anti-Terrorist Judges, Judge Jean Louis Bruguiere, who was the Guest of Honour of the Conference, and addressing the first panel of the day focused on the international responses to terrorism, traced the manner in which international efforts at responding to terrorism have evolved over the years, stating that if the fight against terrorism is an inescapable requirement, "we owe it to ourselves to reinforce our international cooperation at every level, notably by adopting multilateral or bilateral conventions in the field of judicial cooperation as well as extradition." He said the French Government considers "that an organization like the LTTE is a terrorist organization like any other and that its activities even in the area of logistics, have to be repressed with the same vigour as for terrorist networks operating on our [French] soil and threatening us directly" and that on this basis "that in April this year the French Government had dismantled a vast network of Tamil militants who actively supported the LTTE, notably at the financial level."

This session, which was chaired by the Dean of the Faculty of Arts of the University of Colombo, Prof. Amal Jayawardena,while the discussants were the Executive Director of the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies, Dr. Rifaat Hussain and the Senior Terrorism Prevention Officer of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Vienna, Dr. Ms. Irka Kuleshnyk.

Addressing the panel on regional responses to terrorism, former Commander of the Indian Army, Gen. V. P. Malik emphasized the need to combat and defeat terrorism in all its manifestations. He said "terrorist activities anywhere will stop only when their fuel runs out." Gen. Malik who traced the important steps taken to counter terrorism in South Asia, emphasized the need for a regional strategy and cooperation, but essentially local operatives and doctrines.

Former Secretary General of SAARC, Ambassador Nihal Rodrigo, chaired this session, while the discussants comprised the Associate Research Fellow of the China Institute of International Studies, Prof. Zhang Lijun, the Deputy Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Mr. Vladimir Titokerni as well as the Pro-Chancellor and Director of the School of Science and Forensic Science, National Law University Rajastan, India, Prof. P. Chandra Sekharan.

The third thematic session focused on the domestic dimensions of terrorism where the head of the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research in Singapore, Dr. Rohan Gunaratna, who was the principal speaker, who joining the deliberations on a video link, highlighted the recent successes of the security forces in combating LTTE terrorism. He noted that within the year the Sri Lanka Navy destroyed eight merchant vessels. In order to defeat the LTTE, Dr. Gunaratna articulated the need for strengthening and building capacity in the intelligence field, with a high degree of professionalism, and also stressed the necessity for special forces and elite units that could target the leadership of the LTTE.

Former Inspector General of Police, Mr. Chandra Fernando chaired the discussion at which intervention were made by Deputy Solicitor General, Mr. Dappula de Livera and Prof. Karunaratne Hangawatte of the University of Nevada.

The final panel discussion of the day focused of the critical area of combating terrorist financing, where the Founder and CEO of World-Check, Mr. David Leppan spoke extensively on the manner in which terror groups collect funds and their illegal activities.

Researcher of the Centre for Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism of the Macquarie University of Australia, Mr. Shanaka Jayasekera the co-speaker at this session noted that the LTTE's supply chain capability has been significantly disrupted, estimated at between 65% to 70%. This would result in the need for the LTTE to aggressively campaign for fund raising activities in the 12 top level resource mobilization countries. In order to maintain the advantage the Government has achieved, it is imperative that the fund-raising be curbed with international cooperation in the next few months. Therefore it is suggested that a contact group be established as a prelude to the commencement of a political process."

The Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, Dr. Ms. Ranee Jayamaha chaired the sessions, at which the discussants were Mrs. Joan De Zilva Moonesinghe formerly of the Financial Investigation Unit and the Advisor of the Financial Investigation Unit of the Central Bank, Mr. Eric Stonecipher.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Colombo

20 October 2007

U.S. Intelligence Chief Outlines Successes Against Terrorism

Michael Hayden, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, spoke recently of the international community's successes against terrorism in key regions of the world and diminished worldwide support for al-Qaida.

Hayden told the Washington-based Atlantic Council of the United States November 13 that the United States - in cooperation with partners such as Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and the Philippines - has greatly diminished the reach of several terrorist groups.

Al-Qaida in Iraq, for example, "is on the verge of strategic defeat," with the flow of money, weapons and foreign fighters into Iraq now "greatly diminished," Hayden said.

And al-Qaida's operational arm in Saudi Arabia largely has been defeated, he said. Indonesia has made inroads in detecting and disrupting terrorist plots in the past three years as a result of what he called "aggressive action by one of our most effective counterterrorism partners." Filipino allies have kept the pressure on the Abu-Sayef group, Hayden said, limiting its effectiveness.

While the remote, tribal areas on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border remain problematic, progress has been made, according to the CIA director. He said the practice of terrorists taking refuge in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas is lessening. Due to cooperation among the Pakistan government, its military and the U.S. intelligence community, terrorist networks have lost many "decision makers, commanders, experienced and committed fighters" who, Hayden said, planned attacks against Europe and the United States.

The Pakistani government and military "deserves great credit for its current campaign against extremists," he added. More al-Qaida leaders have been killed or captured "in partnership with our Pakistani allies than ... with any other partner around the world," Hayden said.

The CIA official cited another reason for optimism in the fight against terrorism: "Some hard-line religious leaders are speaking out against al-Qaida's tactics and its ideology." Hayden cited generic polling showing declining support for al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden in predominantly Muslim countries.

More and more Muslims "are pushing back against the senseless violence and flawed worldview of al-Qaida," he said. Credible, authentic, influential Islamic voices are speaking out and "refuting al-Qaida's twisted justification for murdering innocents" as well as its ideology seeking to erase the distinction between combatants and noncombatants.

Besides Pakistan and Indonesia, Hayden praised the counterterrorism efforts of other U.S. partners such as Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Military and law enforcement activities and even efforts addressing the conflict of ideas have resulted in improvements in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, he said. "I have always said that the civilized world will win this fight when we win the war of ideas," he added.

NEXT STEPS

Efforts to defeat al-Qaida in the near future will continue to center on Yemen, Somalia and the Afghan-Pakistan border, according to Hayden. Intelligence suggests that some veterans of terror operations in Iraq are now drifting to other regions, such as North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, in search of new action.

Even though al-Qaida has suffered serious setbacks in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, the intelligence-agency director said, "it remains a determined, adaptive enemy." Al-Qaida is still "the most dangerous threat we face," he told the Atlantic Council's Global Intelligence Forum.

In Hayden's opinion, al-Qaida's base of operations on Pakistan's border with Afghanistan remains "the single most important factor today in the group's resilience and its ability to threaten the West." He contends that the remote, tribal areas along the Afghan-Pakistan border have supported terrorist financing, recruiting, training and plotting in the past.

While al-Qaida-related operations in the tribal regions do not rise to the level of activity that once existed in Afghanistan, Hayden said, its recent efforts to destabilize Pakistan are worrisome.

The Pakistani army has been fighting extremists "forcefully and with considerable success since early August," Hayden said. The Pakistanis have a multibrigade operation under way in the tribal area of Bajaur, and while they have sustained losses, "they are also imposing significant casualties on our common enemy."

But when al-Qaida is dealt a blow, Hayden said, its senor leadership recalibrates. "They constantly look for ways to make up for losses, extend their reach, take advantage of opportunities, and we're seeing that ... in some places like ... Somalia or Yemen."

Yemen has witnessed an unprecedented number of attacks in 2008, Hayden said, including two against the U.S. Embassy. The sophistication of attacks and the range of targets are broadening. Hayden said that, like what has happened elsewhere, terrorist cells in Yemen "are operating from remote, tribal areas where the government has traditionally had very little authority."

That al-Qaida tends to gain strength only in isolated, ungoverned territories "may be the most damning thing we can say about this organization," Hayden said. It can subsist only beyond the reach of civilization and the reach of the rule of law.

HANDLING THE TRANSITION

As head of the CIA, Hayden's service may continue into the Obama administration, although frequently a new president appoints his own director. Asked about his interest in continuing in his present position - which includes conducting daily presidential intelligence briefings at the White House - the director said he serves at the pleasure of the president, but would consider staying if asked.

As this is the first wartime presidential transition for the United States in 40 years, some thought is being given by transition officials to keeping some Bush appointees, at least temporarily, so the transfer of power from one administration to another is as seamless as possible.

Hayden said members of the Bush administration have been directed to "make this the smoothest transition in recorded history." With the United States on a wartime footing and al-Qaida already having made a critical remark about President-elect Barack Obama on the Internet, the director said, efforts are under way to get a new team ready for any contingency as swiftly as possible "so that there is no diminution in the ability of the Republic to defend itself."

Video of the forum ( http://www.acus.org/event_blog/cia-director-event ) is available on the Atlantic Council Web site. A transcript of Hayden's remarks ( https://www.cia.gov/news-information/speeches-testimony/directors-remarks-at-the-atlantic-council.html ) is available on the CIA Web site.

For more information about U.S. policy, see Confronting Terrorism ( http://fpolicy.america.gov/fpolicy/security/counterterrorism.html) on America.gov.

Source: NewsBlaze