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Official says prison used by extremists to recruit, radicalize

Indonesian prisons are a weak link in the country's fight against terrorism, with militants often emerging more organized and committed to violence than before they were jailed, a top anti-terror official said yesterday.

General Ansyad Mbai made the remarks on the sidelines of a six-country conference aimed at strengthening cooperation in the fight against terrorism in Southeast Asia, which has seen a string of attacks and failed plots by the al-Qaeda linked Jemaah Islamiyah.

The Australian and Indonesian foreign ministers said states had made progress against Islamic terrorism in the region, but that radicals were continually changing tactics and remained a threat

"We have foiled terrorist plots, captured and prosecuted terrorists and disrupted their networks, but they are still out there," Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said.

"Even as our capacity to stop them improves, their methods and abilities become more sophisticated," he added.

Indonesia has arrested and prosecuted almost 200 militants with direct or supporting roles in attacks in Indonesia.

The deadliest attack on Indonesian soil the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings that killed 202 people, 88 of them Australian tourists.

Mbai said militants should not be allowed to mix in jail as they do now, saying terror leaders were able to give religious instruction to other terrorists as well as common criminals.

He also noted a recent case in which Indonesian police seized a portable computer from a notorious militant who they said used it to communicate with sympathizers outside the prison.

"The prisoners should be treated specially, they should be split up from one another," Mbai told reporters.

"We must not allow them to become united, stronger and more radical while they are in jail," Mbai added.

Countries represented at the meeting in Jakarta also include the Philippines, which is fighting the Abu Sayyaf Islamic militant group, Thailand, where militants are engaged in a bloody campaign for an Islamic state in the south, and Malaysia and Singapore, which have both locked up scores of militants in recent years.

"We owe it to our citizens to wage an effective battle against terrorism," Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda said, adding that more regional cooperation was needed to "counter the clever and seductive propaganda of the terrorists."

Jemaah Islamiyah's core members consist of Indonesians and Malaysians who have fought in Afghanistan.

Though the regional terror network has been damaged by arrests in recent years, police warn that several of its members remain on the run and are likely planning new attacks.
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