Release International

One of Indonesia's most notorious extremists has praised the government's handling of recent unrest in Central Sulawesi.

Jafar Umar Thalib, the former head of the now disbanded Laskar Jihad, has said there is no need to revive his group. 'The government is on the right path and the situation is under control,' he told the Italian news agency Adnkronos International (AKI).

Laskar Jihad, which was formed in 2000, was accused of fanning violence which raged in the Moluccas from 1999 to 2002 and spread to Sulawesi. Thousands of mujahedin were mobilised, with the alleged backing of some hardliners within the Indonesian military.

Thousands of Christians were forced to flee their homes. Thalib is quoted as saying that Laskar Jihad was disbanded in 2002 because 'the government's good faith and efforts were helping to end the conflict'.

Many observers would disagree with Thalib's assessment of the current situation in Central Sulawesi. The execution of three Christians in September and the murder of senior church pastor Rev Irianto Kongkoli within a month have only raised tensions. As recently as October 21, Muslim residents clashed with police - allegedly after false reports that officers had attacked a Muslim school. A church in Poso Kota was set alight in the unrest. AsiaNews claims that extremists keen to stir up trouble had instigated the violence.

Thalib also told AKI that some Laskar Jihad militants were still in Sulawesi, though merely to 'improve the local population's knowledge of Islam and to monitor the situation'.

• Pray for the Indonesian government, that it would be committed to rooting out extremists and protecting the rights of the minority Christian community.
• Pray against the influence that extremist groups such as Laskar Jihad hold over government and military.

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