In this issue:

Leading Indonesians Demand Proof of Jemaah Islamiah's Existence

Australia's PM Rushes To Impose Fascist Laws in Wake of Bali Bombing

India-U.S. Air Exercises Signal Increased Defense Cooperation

Mahathir Hosts Seminar on 'Golden Dinar' Proposal

Mahathir Tells Saudis a Muslim Nation Must Be Among World Powers

Indonesia To Build Nuclear Power Plant by 2015 at the Latest

Santoli, Knights of Malta Run Counterinsurgency in Philippines

Bush War Contributing to Philippines Budget Deficit

MMA Emerges as 'Third Force' Following Pakistan Elections

From the Vol.1 No.34 issue of Electronic Intelligence Weekly, Published October 28, 2002
Asia News Digest

Leading Indonesians Demand Proof of Jemaah Islamiah's Existence

Prominent Indonesians are demanding proof of the existence of Jemaah Islamiah, and, if it exists, of its links to terrorism. Following the Indonesian government's filing a request with the U.S. State Department and the United Nations to add Jemaah Islamiah to their respective lists of foreign terrorist organizations lists, an increasing number of Indonesians are asking: Where's the proof? Among those asking are:

*Chairman of the important Foreign Policy and Defense Committee in Parliament Ibrahim Ambong said the move to get the UN to add JI to the list was "rushed. There is no Jemaah Islamiyah in Indonesia. So why put JI on the list?"

*Foreign Ministry spokesman Marty Natalaegawa told reporters, "I would like to challenge the perception that this is an Indonesian-based organization. Nobody knows where its real base is."

*Coordinating Minister for Politics and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said JI was founded by deceased Abdullah Sungkar, but it did not exist as an organized group in Indonesia.

*Abu Bakar Ba'asyir's deputy and son-in-law Wahyudin, at the Islamic boarding school Ba'asyir runs in Ngruki, East Java, says JI is just a forum for discourse among Muslims, not a formal organization.

*Nahdlatul Ulamaleader Solahuddin Wahid expressed concern lest the government repeat the bloody crackdown on communists in 1965, in the name of fighting terrorism.

*Muhammadiyah leader Ahmad Safii Maarif said people would support the listing if the government could provide evidence.

Australia's PM Rushes To Impose Fascist Laws in Wake of Bali Bombing

Australian Prime Minister John Howard is rushing to impose fascist and colonial laws in the wake of the Bali bombing. New laws were rushed through Parliament Oct. 23 after a personal appeal from Howard to Labor leader Simon Crean, when the government "realized a technical waiting period in July's anti-terror laws meant they would be powerless to detain al-Qaeda suspects until mid-December," according to The Age Oct. 24. The UN is expected to pronounce the Jemaah Islamiah (JI) group an outlawed terrorist organization by the end of the week, allowing the Australian government to charge its members and sentence them with penalties including life imprisonment. Defense Minister Robert Hill said "constant movement" from Indonesia into Australia may well include JI supporters or operatives. This means anyone who has supported Ba'asyir or related Islamic groups in Indonesia can be named as a terrorist and arrested.

In the same fascist mold, Howard took steps toward declaring colonial-style extraterritoriality in Indonesia. The Age reports that Howard "has taken direct control of counter-terrorism measures, announcing a new law to enable the Bali bombing culprits and other overseas terrorists to be tried in Australia." A new extra-territorial murder offense would make possible extradition and trials in cases where Australians have been victims of atrocities abroad. The legislation will operate retroactively from Oct. 1.

India-U.S. Air Exercises Signal Increased Defense Cooperation

Joint India-U.S. air exercises began Oct. 21 at Agra, as part of a notable enhancement in defense cooperation between the two countries. The Hindu daily newspaper reports seven AN-32 and two IL-76 aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF), along with five C-130 planes of the U.S. Air Force, were participating in the exercise.

Sources told The Hindu that the week-long exercises had assumed significance, since this is the first time that only the Air Forces of the two nations are involved. In previous exercises, personnel from other service arms had also participated. A total of 150 from the U.S. Air Force and 300 from the IAF were participating in the exercises. The focus of the exercises was inter-operability between the two forces, which in plain English, means preparing the two forces to undertake joint operations if the need should arise in the days to come.

Mahathir Hosts Seminar on 'Golden Dinar' Proposal

Malaysian Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad hosted a two-day seminar Oct. 23-24, organized by the Institute of Islamic Understanding (IKIM) in Kuala Lumpur, on his proposal for a "golden dinar." The initiative was encouraged by Iran's Central Bank head, Bijan Latif, who also encouraged Dr. Mahathir to set up a secretariat to elaborate his proposal, and to better inform other nations as to how the dinar could be used among central banks, starting among Muslim countries.

Dr. Mahathir said he would brief his Cabinet on the secretariat proposal, and if there were agreement, then Malaysia's central bank, Bank Negara, would be informed. He also said that Iran might join with Malaysia in creating a secretariat.

In the session, IKIM chairman Tan Sri Ahmad Sarji Abdul Hamid outlined some of the proposals and issues that need to be examined before implementation, pointing to an existing prohibition by the International Monetary Fund on the use of gold as a medium of payment; hence, the proposed gold dinar could be a potential violation of the rule. He said there was also a need to study the effects of using a dual-currency-system tool and whether this would impede the growth of the gold dinar.

In his speech, Dr. Mahathir suggested that the dinar be used, initially, in bilateral trade, rather than taking a stab at multilateral trade all at once. He indicated that he believed anarchy in the international financial regime would remain until currencies could be better stabilized. He said that while the dinar would not totally eliminate speculation, gold prices would be more difficult to manipulate, adding that short-selling would be very difficult, if not impossible.

He stressed the dinar was intended exclusively for international trade and was not to be used as currency for daily transactions in the domestic market because it was heavy and cumbersome to carry.

Mahathir Tells Saudis a Muslim Nation Must Be Among World Powers

Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad of Malaysia expressed the need for a Muslim country to be among the world powers, singling out Saudi Arabia as having the potential to play the role, in his speech to a seminar on the Future Vision for the Saudi Economy at the King Faisal Hall Oct. 19. He said the purpose was to protect the interests of Muslims worldwide. "God knows that Muslims are in dire need of a Muslim country which is a world power," he said. "Saudi Arabia is well positioned to become one if it chooses to do so and is helped by the ummah worldwide.... Our holy places will remain holy places even if Saudi Arabia becomes a great industrial and financial power based on its oil and its many other God-given resources."

Dr. Mahathir was invited by the Saudi government to present his views and outline a future vision of the Saudi economy.

Mahathir said Muslims could not neglect science and mathematics, if they want to avoid being weak and oppressed. He said the Arabs had pioneered in the two disciplines in the past, but, unfortunately, at a certain stage, the Muslims abandoned these studies, and their civilization declined. Today, he said, they are among the least-educated and least-advanced people in the world. "I venture to say that in neglecting these essential subjects, they have actually disregarded the injunctions of Islam to seek knowledge and to be prepared with the necessary strength to protect themselves and their religion," he added. Mahathir added that Muslims should not exclude women from education if they want to maximize their productive potential.

Indonesia To Build Nuclear Power Plant by 2015 at the Latest

The Indonesian government is planning to build a nuclear power plant by the year 2015 at the latest, to meet the country's growing power needs, according to Yusri Henri, head of the Development of Nuclear Power Supervisory Agency. He said that a nuclear power plant would generate cheap electricity, although its development would be expensive, and the risks would be high.

Coming in the midst of the North Korea flap, and the international targetting of Indonesia for "harboring terrorism," it cannot be ruled out that the Indonesians are asserting their sovereignty to send a message that they, too, can develop ways to defend themselves.

The country already has a nuclear power laboratory in Jakarta. In 1997, the country's national atomic energy agency, Batan, recommended that a nuclear power plant be built within two years, but the plan was dropped with the financial assault on the country in 1997-98.

Yusri said research by Batan showed that by 2015, Indonesia was projected to require 35,000 additional megawatts of power to provide industries and homes in Java and Bali with electricity.

Santoli, Knights of Malta Run Counterinsurgency in Philippines

Former Congressional aide Al Santoli and his one-time employer Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) apparently never stopped fighting the Vietnam War: They have been running operations since then, aimed at subverting the governments of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, while doing what they can to start a war between the Philippines and China over the Spratley Islands. In June, Santoli left Rohrabacher's office and joined the American Foreign Policy Council (AFPC) in Washington, under whose auspices he set up the Asia-Pacific Initiative to "strengthen democracy and deter the spread of transnational terrorism and militant fundamentalism in the Asia-Pacific Region," according to Bill Gertz writing in the Washington Times Oct. 23.

Just as Project Democracy began its "private-army" Iran-Contra operations under the guise of "humanitarian aid," this bunch is running a multimillion-dollar humanitarian aid operation in the combat zones of Mindanao, especially the island of Basilan, to "win the hearts and minds" of the poor, and convince them not to join the Abu Sayyaf insurgents. Doctors are provided by Knightsbridge International, set up by "the U.S. Priory of the Knights of Malta," a feudal-era secret society, which has emerged from the crypt to join the new Crusade.

Gertz reports that these private-sector programs "bolstered non-combatant U.S. operations against terrorists in the Philippines because money from Washington for the training mission had run out in July."

Santoli, who also edits the China Monitor for the AFPC, said that the Philippines operation will be expanded into Indonesia, southern Thailand, and India, the "front-line areas in the war on terrorism."

Bush War Contributing to Philippines Budget Deficit

The Philippines budget deficit hit 166.47 billion pesos (U.S.$3.14 billion) in September, exceeding the old official projection by 57%, the Department of Finance said Oct. 23. Much of the deficit is to be blamed on vastly increased military and counterinsurgency spending demanded by the Bush Administration since 9/11; moreover, the U.S. just backed out of a promise of $30 million in aid to the Philippines due to the U.S. recession. Before revenue collections started falling, and before the government cut expenditures to zero growth over 2001 levels, the January-September budget deficit was projected at 106.33 billion pesos. That fell by the wayside in July, when the new 2002 target rose to 130 billion pesos, and in September, it was reset at 155 billion pesos. New data point to a budget deficit of 4.5% of GDP, or about 180 billion pesos.

Revenues from January to September were 48% below the old official projection, while expenditures were 577.36 billion pesos, 2% below their target. The National Treasurer says he can cover a 190-billion-peso deficit.

Guillermo Luz, executive director of the powerful Makati Business Club, warned: "The numbers are no longer tolerable and, based on trends, the government is headed for a budget deficit of 200 billion or even 220 billion pesos."

MMA Emerges as 'Third Force' Following Pakistan Elections

The electoral emergence in Pakistan of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), a grouping of six Islamic parties, as the "third force" in the just-concluded general elections, seems to have had its first effect. The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), operating in Afghanistan, has decided to close down its base in Karachi.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's decision to "lease out" a portion of Karachi's Qaid-e-Azam International Airport came under severe criticism from the MMA during the campaign. MMA is also opposed to the presence of U.S. forces on Pakistani soil, and wants them to vacate their military bases in Pakistan.

The Pakistani English-language daily The News said the ISAF had selected Karachi, with its several airports, as the hub for the Forward Mounting Base (FMB), in the middle of January 2002, to transport international troops and support logistics, including heavy arms and ammunition, inside Afghanistan.

Prior to the ISAF takeover of the part of Karachi Airport, a German delegation had met with Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for the same purpose. But when the CAA declined to consider any partner of the ISAF individually, the Germans quietly left Karachi, and now operate from Tajikistan.

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