Jakarta (dpa) – An Indonesian Islamist group designated as a terrorist organization by the US State Department on Friday dismissed the move. The US State Department said Jemaah Ansharut Tauhid (JAT) was allegedly responsible for multiple coordinated attacks against civilians, police and military personnel in Indonesia. “The US has always looked for pretexts to undermine activist movements seeking to uphold Islam,” Abdul Rahim Ba'asyir, a JAT member in charge of Islamic propagation, told local Islamist news website Arrahmah.com. Abdul Rahim is the son of JAT founder Abu Bakar Ba'asyir. “What evidence do they have?” Abdul Rahman asked. “We should take their statements with a grain of salt. Let's just treat them as wind.” The newly listed JAT leaders are: acting chairman Mochammad Achwan, thought to about 65, spokesman Son Hadi bin Muhadjir, 40, and JAT recruiter and fundraiser Abdul Rosyid Ridho Ba'asyir, 38. JAT spokesman Son Hadi said the group had been made a scapegoat but insisted the designation would not affect it. “Like they say, dogs bark but the caravan goes on,” he was quoted as saying by the online news website Vivanews.com. The State Department said JAT was suspected of crimes including bank robberies to raise money for its activities, which allegedly include suicide bombings last year at a church in central Java and a mosque in west Java. Both attacks killed only the bombers. The JAT's inclusion on the US terrorist list makes it illegal to knowingly give money or material support to the group and freezes its assets in the United States. Abu Bakar Ba'asyir is in prison after his conviction last year in Indonesia on charges of organizing a militant training camp in the western province of Aceh. He is allegedly also the co-founder and former leader of Jemaah Islamiyah, which was linked to the global al-Qaeda terrorist network. Jemaah Islamiyah was blamed for the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings that killed more than 200 people. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/Zzjf6 Tags: Indonesia, Islamic Group, JAT, Terrorism Section: East Asia, Latest News
