Jafar Umar T.: [foreign language]. Speaker 2: America says this man is linked to Osama Bin Laden. Jafar Umar Thalib is the commander of the Laskar Jihad, an extremist Muslim militia responsible for massive unrest and bloodshed in the eastern Indonesian province of Maluku. But for this, he blames America. Jafar Umar T.: [foreign language]. Speaker 2: For a man on America's wanted list, he seems totally at ease at this press conference in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta. And no wonder, Umar Thalib's connections go right to the top, all the way to Indonesia's recently installed Vice President, Hamzah Haz. It went almost unnoticed, but on his first day in the job, the Vice President opened his doors to the man US intelligence believes is part of the wider Al-Qaeda network. But neither that, nor his record in Maluku, bothers Hamzah Haz. Jafar Umar T.: [foreign language]. Speaker 2: The symbolism of the Vice President playing host to a man like Umar Thalib gives a stark warning to President Megawati Sukarnoputri. Hamzah Haz leads the group which has always opposed her. Speaker 3: And so what's happened is, I think, that they're showing that, "Look, if you cause us any problems, you don't go up to deal, which is share power with us, we have groups like Laskar Jihad that can cause problems for your administration." Speaker 2: Was Hamzah using it as a threat? Speaker 3: That's right. I think indirectly, yes. Speaker 2: Privately, diplomats in Jakarta are concerned about links between Laskar Jihad and Hamzah Haz. The President, too, is feeling the heat. On Sunday, with her Vice President listening, she came out strongly opposing the bombing campaign in Afghanistan. This was a shift from her original expression of support for America's anti terror campaign. President M.S.: [foreign language]. Speaker 2: But events in Indonesia are moving quickly and she has buckled under domestic pressure. Although the protests are small, there is a danger that, as the bombing continues, Indonesia's very tolerant and moderate Muslims will fall into the hands of the extremists. Neil Watson: I think that stage has already been passed. I really believe that it's become subsumed into a broader nationalist agenda, and also an innate anti-US sentiment which has existed here for many, many years. Speaker 2: Neil Watson is a security consultant in Jakarta. Neil Watson: You can see more and more non-Islamic groups getting involved in the protests. You can see them making demands of the government along the lines of the Islamic groups. Megawati is particularly, and must be, sensitive to this, given that her father was so stridently anti-US in the '50s and right into the '60s. "Go to hell, America." All the various withdrawals from the United Nations, breaking off the diplomatic relations and so on. Now there are more and more people calling for her to prove that she is her father's daughter and do the same. Speaker 2: But Megawati's greatest vulnerability now is political Islam, and her Vice President, Hamzah Haz, is a major power broker. He leads the PPP, the largest of the Islamic parties. Immediately after September 11th, he said that the attack was atonement for American sins. Although he's since been silent, his party executives now continue on that theme. Speaker 6: [foreign language]. Speaker 2: And what of US intelligence that Laskar Jihad is connected to Al-Qaeda? It's leader says that although he met Bin Laden once in Pakistan, he questions his religious credentials. Jafar Umar T.: [foreign language]. Speaker 2: Jafar Umar Thalib admits to fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan. The Americans say that his contact with Osama Bin Laden has continued to this day, and Laskar Jihad receives Mujahideen fighters and funding from Bin Laden's network. Speaker 3: We've heard from credible sources that there are some Afghani Mujahideen were fighting in Maluku, and if that's the case, then we could probably suspect, I think, substantially, that there's probably some support coming from Al-Qaeda going towards Laskar Jihad activities in Maluku. Speaker 2: But Jafar Umar Thalib ridicules the claims that Afghans ever fought in Indonesia. Jafar Umar T.: [foreign language].