Indonesia branded as "unreasonable" the arrest by Yemeni authorities of 43 Indonesian students suspected of having ties with radical Islamic groups. Foreign ministry spokesman Wahid Supriyadi said Saturday that the Yemenis had arrested the students in boarding schools in San'a and the eastern region of Hadramawt province as part of their campaign against terrorism.
"We are deeply concerned about the treatment of our students who were unreasonably arrested," Supriyadi said. "The Yemeni authorities are watching hardline Muslim learning institutions very closely and unfortunately some our students were studying there."
Muslim nations - including Yemen and Indonesia - have been under pressure to crack down on religious extremists linked to various militant groups since the Sept. 11 attacks in the U.S. U.S. officials say terrorist groups are active in at least 50 countries around the globe. Bureau Report