Jakarta: Indons in Mindanao won’t be harrassed

DAVAO CITY — Indonesian diplomats said here over the weekend said they are confident there shall be no harassment of known Indonesian communities in Mindanao after the government elevated the Jemaah Islamiyah as a top national security threat.

"We still believe the Philippine government will be wise enough to identify and separate the issue and at the same time not generalize. Is the JI identical to Indonesia? I don’t think so," Indonesian vice consul Johannes Manginsela told The STAR.

Manginsela said they trust authorities will know how to address the issue and that they’re confident there shall be no harassment of Indonesians in the Philippines just because of the JI issue.

There are at least 7,000 Indonesians living in Mindanao, most of them arried to Filipinos in the coastal towns of South Cotabato, including Balut and Saranggani Islands.

The diplomat stressed that Indonesia continues to cooperate with Manila in the fight against terrorism and both nations are dealing with the same terrorism problem.

The JI was reportedly able to establish a firm network with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) wherein a series off training since 1995 were held in Camp Abubakar,, with not only Filipino but also Indonesian and singaporean and Malaysian recruits.