Govt vows to capture source of online death threats

The government has vowed to capture those responsible for publishing death threats against the President, Vice President and other government officials, on a website.

"We will take care of these things. This is one of the responsibilities of the police and state agencies," presidential spokesperson Andi Mallaranggeng said at the state palace on Tuesday, as quoted by Antara state newswire.

Andi was referring to a website, www.foznawarabbilkakbah.com, which published death threats in Bahasa Indonesia, Arabic and English against President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Vice President Jusuf Kalla, Justice and Human Rights Minister Andi Mattalata, Attorney General Hendarman Supandji and the deputy attorney general for general crimes, Abdul Hakim Ritonga.

The website appeared after the government announced its plan to execute three terrorists (who had been convicted for the first Bali bombing) at some stage between Nov. 1 and 20. These convicts are known as Amrozi, Ali Gufron and Imam Samudra.

A statement on the website quotes the Koran, saying that those fighting in the name of truth will not succumb to a law that is made by humans.

The statement also calls on fellow Muslims, especially those it considers leaders (including Osama Bin Laden and Azh-Zhawahiri) to avenge the deaths of muslims.

National Police head of crime detectives unit Susno Duaji said police had not been able to determine whether the website was meant as a prank or not.

"We will identify the motives behind the publication," Susno said, as quoted by Tempointeraktif.com.

Andi added that the government would not bow down to threats from terrorists, and that new measures to ensure the safety of the President had been put in place.