Indonesia: The disbanding of the Laskar Jihad (October 2002)
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 15 November 2002 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | IDN40527.E |
| Reference | 5 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Indonesia: The disbanding of the Laskar Jihad (October 2002), 15 November 2002, IDN40527.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3f7d4da87.html [accessed 31 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Several articles referred to the disbanding of the Laskar Jihad in October 2002 (The Observer 20 Oct. 2002; Channel NewsAsia 16 Oct. 2002; The Jakarta Post 16 Oct. 2002). The Jakarta Post reported the reasoning for its dissolution and details of its pull out of Maluku's capital, Ambon (16 Oct. 2002).
The Jakarta Post reported that, according to Laskar Jihad leader Ja'far Umar Thalib, the Laskar Jihad was dissolved on 6 October 2002. Ja'far provided the following reasoning regarding the dissolution of the group:
... FKAW and Laskar Jihad could no longer be maintained because many of their members had become involved in practical politics, committed a breach of its moral code and violated the principles of the organization.
Some executives of Laskar Jihad had established ties with Muslim politicians, including Vice President Hamzah Haz, Zainuddin M.Z. from United Development Party of Reform and Achmad Sumargono from the Crescent Star Party, Ja'far said, adding that such a move was the kind of practical politics that the group had avoided for years.
The violations of morals and the organization's principles, which, he said, were often indulged in by Laskar Jihad activists, respectively included posing for photographs and having face-to-face interviews with female journalists (The Jakarta Post 16 Oct. 2002).
According to the article, the FKAW is the Laskar Jihad's "parent organization, the Communication Forum for Ahlussunnah Waljamaah" (ibid.). Ja'far stated that the dissolution of the Laskar Jihad was not related to the bombings which had occurred in Bali days earlier (ibid.).
The article reported the following details of the group's dissolution:
On Tuesday [15 October 2002] the [Laskar Jihad] began ceasing its presence in the Maluku capital of Ambon, where it had helped Muslims fight Christians in three years of sectarian conflict, and sent home at least 700 of its members and their families, all from Java.
...
[Ja'far] said the decision to dissolve Laskar Jihad was issued on Oct. 6, 2002, despite the fact that the group appeared to be shutting down its headquarters in Yogyakarta only nine days later.
The main office, located in Degolan village, Sleman regency, some 17 kilometers north of Yogyakarta, was locked and teaching activities there were halted.
Neighbors said they still saw some people at the headquarters on Monday, but no longer found any of them by Tuesday morning.
The group's online website www.laskarjihad.co.id has been closed since Saturday. Activists of the militant group, who usually raise funds from motorists on streets in Yogyakarta and Jakarta, have disappeared.
Ja'far said the closure also affected all the Laskar Jihad branch offices in 26 provinces across the country, including those in the troubled towns of Ambon in Maluku and Poso in Central Sulawesi.
...
In Ambon, the 700 returning Laskar Jihad members left the city's Yos Sudarso harbor for Jakarta aboard the ship KM Doloronda. Ahead of their departure, they and local Muslims staged a motorcade along the main streets close to the Muslim areas across the city.
Maluku Police chief Brig. Gen. Soenarko and other local senior security and government officials witnessed the departure of the Muslim hard-liners.
Hundreds of local Muslims also bade farewell to the returning Laskar Jihad members, with some of them observed to be sobbing.
The remaining 300 members are scheduled to leave Ambon next week.
...
Soenarko told journalists that the members had left Ambon "voluntarily" and that the Maluku civil emergency authorities, led by Governor Saleh Latuconsina, had not forced them to abandon the province (ibid.).
The Jakarta Post also linked the dissolution of the Laskar Jihad to the arrest of Ja'far who was "charged with defaming President Megawati Soekarnoputri" and "inciting violence" (7 Nov. 2002; 9 Nov. 2002). Ja'far's trial was reportedly suspended by the East Jakarta District Court due to health reasons (The Jakarta Post 9 Nov. 2002). Further reports of legal proceedings against Ja'far could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
The Jakarta Post reported that approximately 600 Laskar Jihad members had arrived to the Tanjung Perak seaport via ferry from Ambon (19 Oct. 2002). According to the report, "no special reception was arranged, but hundreds of police personnel were deployed to safeguard the arrival of the militants" (The Jakarta Post 19 Oct. 2002). Many of the returning members were "seen warmly shaking hands with police personnel" (ibid.). The article also quoted an ex-member of the Laskar Jihad as stating that he didn't regret the dissolution of the group, and was planning to continue "fighting evil practices" (ibid.).
According a 9 November 2002 Jakarta Post article, the National Inquiry Team (TPIN), the body assembled to "collect accurate data and information" on Maluku's sectarian violence, will proceed to investigate cases involving the Laskar Jihad. I Wayan Karya, the chair of the TPIN, is cited as stating that the TPIN will continue to "record all [its] findings on Laskar Jihad in the field and ... study their cases and bring them to court. It will be up to the judges whether to try them or not" (The Jakarta Post 9 Nov. 2002).
Although The Independent mentions a link between the Laskar Jihad and the Jamaah Islamiya (21 Oct. 2002), information on whether Laskar Jihad members had gravitated to the Jamaah Islamiya following the Laskar Jihad's dissolution could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Channel NewsAsia. 16 October 2002. "International Community Calls for Jemaah Islamiyah Ban." (NEXIS)
The Independent. 21 October 2002. Kathy Marks and Elizabeth Nash. "Bali Bombing: Spain Claims its Warning Over Indonesian Terror Cell Went Unheeded." (NEXIS)
The Jakarta Post. 9 November 2002. Octovianus Pinontoan. "Inquiry Team Collecting Data, Info on Ambon Conflict." _____. 7 November 2002. Damar Harsanto. "Militant FPI Decides to Call it a Day." _____. 19 October 2002. Ainur R. Sophiaan. "600 Laskar Jihad Members Arrive, Return to Schools." _____. 16 October 2002. Sri Wahyuni and Octovianus Pinontoan. "Laskar Jihad Dissolved, Endes [sic] Ambon Presence." The Observer. 20 October 2002. Jason Burke. "Terror in the East: Revealed: The Quiet Cleric Behind the Bali Bomb Horror: Bali Joins Long List of Vicious Attacks by One of Osama Bin Laden's Most Deadly Disciples-and He Will Strike Again." (NEXIS)
Additional Sources Consulted
IRB Databases
World News Connection (WNC)
Internet sites, including:
The Advertiser [Adelaide]
Asia Times
BBC World News
Center for Defence Information (CDI), Washington
Christian Science Monitor
Front Page Magazine
Inside Indonesia
Jakarta Independent Media Center
New York Times
RAND Organization, Washington
Suratkabar
Time Europe
