Indonesia: April 15, 2004

Archives

The army has started a major operation to hunt down the remaining armed rebels in Aceh province. At least eleven rebels have been killed so far. The government says that, in the last eleven months, 2,000 rebels have been killed and 1,200 more were captured or turned themselves in.  In the last month, the number of people killed in Aceh has run at 50-100 a month.

There is fear that radical Islamic organization Jemaah Islamiyah is a greater threat to the country. Jemaah Islamiyah has been allowed to advertise, do fund raising and recruiting. Islamic radical clerics openly preach hatred against non-Moslems, including the millions of Indonesians who are not Moslems. The government still fears confronting Jemaah Islamiyah, because the many Islamic political parties will attack them for turning on "fellow Moslems." Politics as usual.