Police chief warns of JI members in border areas

Nurni Sulaiman ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Balikpapan   |  Fri, 03/14/2008 1:17 AM  |  Headlines

National Police Chief Gen. Sutanto has appealed to residents of Kalimantan border regions to look out for suspicious activities, following reports members of the terrorist organization Jamaah Islamiyah could be returning from the southern Philippines.

People should report the presence of strangers acting suspiciously in their villages to security authorities, including the police or the military, he said.

Sutanto, who visited the province on Wednesday, said the National Police received intelligence about 300 Indonesian members of JI were returning home via Kalimantan and North Sulawesi after undergoing military training in the neighboring country.

"In anticipation of their return, we are calling on the local people to report anything suspicious and potentially detrimental to security forces," Sutanto said Thursday at Sepinggan Airport in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan.

"We have coordinated with police along the border zones to keep a close watch on their jurisdictions."

Sutanto said police officers were also required to pay closer attention to other major problems in the area such as human trafficking and illegal logging and fishing.

Security forces have conducted special surveillance in areas along the Philippine border with direct access to Indonesia, such as Manado in North Sulawesi and Nunukan in East Kalimantan. Nunukan is the easiest route for entering the country illegally.

Sutanto said police would not receive a shoot-on-sight order during preparations for the provincial governor race scheduled for May.

"We're a democracy, aren't we? There shouldn't even be terms like 'shoot-on-sight'. Use other options and hold fire," he said.

East Kalimantan Police spokesman I Wayan Tjatra said members from the provincial police anti-terror and intelligence units had been posted at the border for the past five years.

Wayan said the police had several measures in place in anticipation of the possible arrival of JI members.

"We have deployed a special team to secure the border following the arrests of terror network members in Nunukan after the 2002 Bali bombings," he said.

"We sent 10 men with reinforcements by regular personnel. We are now implementing tight security in border areas."

He declined to name which returning JI member was the most wanted.

"No names ... but we will always be on the alert for anything suspicious," he said.

The Tanjungpura Military Command is relying on its regular border security troops and has not formed any new team or deployed elite soldiers to the border areas.

"We have 19 command posts in East Kalimantan, such as the Simenggaris Post that directly borders Malaysia, and many checkpoints," said Tanjungpura Military Command spokesman Lt. Col. Andi Suyuti.

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