Islamic extremists on Java disband after murder spree
Laskar Jihad is blamed for the slaughter of thousands of Christians in a sectarian conflict in the Maluku islands.
The claim appeared to be the first sign Indonesia is getting serious about cracking down on Muslim extremism after last Saturday’s bombing of a nightclub in Bali in which nearly 200 people died.
Achmad Michdan, the group’s legal adviser, said in Jakarta the dissolution was not connected to the bombing.
There have been no suggestions that Laskar Jihad was involved in the attack.
“It has nothing to do with the bombs. There was no pressure on us from military,” Michdan said.
“It is an internal matter. The clerics in Indonesia and in the Middle East have disagreed with (group leader) Jafar Umar Thalib’s teachings and have asked him to disband the group,” Michdan said without elaborating.
Thalib is currently on trial for inciting violence in Maluku.
Laskar Jihad, or Holy War Soldiers, was founded in early 2000 in Bogor, a city just south of Jakarta.
At the time, Agus Wirahadikusuma, a top reformist general, accused hard-line army commanders loyal to former dictator Suharto of setting up the group to disrupt democratic reforms and prevent the introduction of civilian control over the military.
The army leadership denied this, but refused an order by then-President Abdurrahman Wahid to act against the group, whose members were allowed to proceed to Maluku where a small-scale religious conflict had erupted in 1999 between Muslims and Christians.
Eventually, about 3,000 Laskar Jihad militiamen were brought into the archipelago. They are accused of mounting attacks on unprotected Christian villages, and were seen cooperating with army units in attacks on Christian neighbourhoods in Ambon.
As many as 9,000 people died in the conflict. A ceasefire has been in place in the province since February.
National authorities have become increasingly embarrassed by Laskar Jihad’s activities.
