Deakin Speaking

The death yesterday of South-east Asia’s most wanted criminal, the terrorist Noordin Mohamad Top, came as a happy surprise to Indonesian authorities, given they did not know he was in the Solo, Central Java house they were raiding. However, given the closing security net around Top, it was always possible that he would meet his end in such an unplanned way.

The real question that comes with the death of Malaysian-born Top is whether this will spell an end to Islamist terrorism in Indonesia or, indeed, South-East Asia. The answer is twofold, the first part depending on how one defines ‘terrorism’, and the second part depending on how one defines ‘Islamism’.

A website claiming to represent the successor organisation to Indonesia’s Jema’ah Islamiyah terrorist network has claimed that the recent bombings of two luxury hotels in Jakarta was an attack against foreign intelligence and businesses operating in Indonesia. It also claimed the bombings in honor of JI leader Azhari, who was killed in a shoot-out with Indonesian security forces in 2005.

The website, claiming to represent an organisation called ‘Tandzim al Qo’idah Indonesia’ (Indonesian Organisational Base), represents a new trend in Indonesian Islamist terrorism, being the first such official claim of responsibility for a terrorist attack. Its ‘official statement’, dated 26 July 2009, was ‘signed’ by Indonesia’s most wanted man, Noordin Muhammad Top.