Jakarta.President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the terrorism issue must never be brought into the political and religious domains.

“I have never taken the terrorism issue into the political arena because it is not a political issue and we also cannot associate terrorism with any religion because it is not a religious teaching,” he said at a cabinet meeting here on Tuesday.

Therefore, he said, he had always referred the need for action to fight and prevent terrorism to the law enforcing agencies, including the police, the prosecutor`s office, the courts.

“We must stick to this path. The terrorism issue must not be mixed up with politics or religion,” he said.

He further said terrorism was a sensitive issue. “We know, it is sensitive matter in our country because we often misunderstand what the law enforcers have done,” he said.

Therefore, he said, the threat of terrorism must be dealt with in a correct and professional way, and clarified to the public.

At the meeting President Yudhoyono asked National Police chief General Bambang Hendarso Danuri to brief the cabinet on the most recent terrorism cases.

When he was about to visit Bandung, West Java, last weekend the President referred to certain elements in the Ciwidey region that intended to pull off something against him physically. But he also said terrorism would never prevail in Indonesia.

The police on Saturday arrested a number of terror suspects in several places in West Java including Bandung.

Early on Monday they also arrested Islamic cleric Abubakar Baasyir in Banjar, Ciamis, West Java, for alleged involvement in terrorism while he was on his way home to Solo after preaching in West Java.

Source : ANTARA News — 11 August 2010