RI teams up with neighbors to nab Poso terror suspects
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, 11 Nov 2006

The National Police announced Friday they had taken preventative measures to prevent at least 29 local terror suspects from fleeing Indonesia.
"We are cooperating with the police and customs offices in Malaysia and the Philippines as the militants are likely to cross the border," said National Police spokesperson Brig. Gen. Anton Bachrul Alam.
The 29 men are suspected of taking part in violent attacks in the religiously divided town of Poso in Central Sulawesi.
Anton said that some of the Poso extremists currently on the run had previously lived in Malaysia and the Philippines, where they had studied radical Muslim doctrines.
But the police say they expect the militants will voluntarily surrender.
"Besides anticipating their possible escapes, we are focusing the manhunt in both Poso and Palu. We don't have the target but the sooner we catch them the better," said Anton.
The National Police sent letters to the families and local communities of the extremists, notifying them of the planned crackdown on the radical group in the hope that they would lead the police to the men.
The manhunt team consists of personnel from the Detachment 88 terror squad and Central Sulawesi Police.
The National Police say they have sufficient evidence to charge the 29 with several terror attacks in Poso, including bombings and murders, and can also tie them to robberies, the beheadings of three Christian schoolgirls, the assassinations of a subdistrict leader and a priest and the arson of a church.
Anton said the suspects would be charged under the Criminal Code and the antiterrorism law to avoid any possible human rights violations.
The police said the group acted as a "mass mover", using sectarian issues to incite violence whenever they were in danger of being caught.
The group is believed to be hiding in the Tanah Runtuh area, which is controlled by local Muslim leader Adnan Arsal.
Adnan is the father-in-law of Hasanuddin, one of the three men arrested over the beheading of the three Christian students. He originally told police he would help them and hand over the men, but has failed to do so. He is currently in Jakarta, attempting to find support.
Anton said the National Police were currently investigating whether Adnan had been protecting the militants.(03)