A former chief of Indonesia's intelligence agency has dismissed US allegations of Islamic terrorist bases in Indonesia and said it was unsupported by evidence.
"The entire statement is based on an analysis, not based on evidence," retired general Maulani told journalists in Solo, Central Java, on Saturday according to the Detikcom online news service.
Maulani said as Indonesia is composed of many islands and has a population of 220 million and because of the presence of some extreme Muslims in the community, US analysts concluded the Al Qaeda network must exist here.
The US State Department, in its annual "Patterns of Global Terrorism" report issued Tuesday, said Washington was concerned that terrorists related to al-Qaeda, Jemaah Islamiyah, and the KKM (the Malaysian Mujahideen Group) were operating in Indonesia.
"The US is trying to create the image there is an al-Qaeda network in this country, with the aim of forcing the Indonesian government to act more firmly, more proactively in taking part in the fight against what the Americans label, in quotes, terrorism," Maulani said.
He said the main aim behind the US accusation was to weaken the forces of Islam in Indonesia and to control its abundant natural resources.
"To maintain its sole superpower position, its war and economic industries should survive, and they need oil. The world's largest oil producers are in the Islamic world and that is why there is a need for US hegemony over the Islamic world," he said.
Maulani said he believed the United States was bent on dividing Indonesia into smaller states so that none will have the power or capability to stand up to the Americans.
"They are applying a preventive strategy, to prevent Islamic countreis, including Indonesia, from becoming advanced countries," he added. He said Indonesia should do all it could to safeguard national dignity in the face of such pressure.
"The problem is our dignity is burdened by 140 trillion rupiah [15.6 billion dollars] in debt. There is no dignity in the international world for debtors and the worst thing is that we are the world's largest debtor," Maulani said.