Downer asks SBY not to cut Ba'asyir's, bombers' sentences<\/p>\n
Eva C. Komandjadja and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer met President Susilo
\nBambang Yudhoyono and several ministers here on Thursday,
\nreiterating his appeal for Indonesia not to cut the jail terms of
\nradical Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir and those convicted of
\nthe Bali bombings.<\/p>\n
However, Downer said he was not attempting to intervene in
\nIndonesia's legal system regarding the remission issue.<\/p>\n
\"These (cases) are a matter for the Indonesians ultimately,
\nnot a matter for us,\" he said after meeting with Susilo at the
\nState Palace, Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Downer said he had raised the issue during separate talks with
\nSusilo and Indonesian ministers \"just to inform them of the
\nreaction in Australia to the remissions\" granted to Ba'asyir and
\nconvicted Bali bombers during Indonesia's 60th independence
\nanniversary in August.<\/p>\n
Ba'asyir is serving a 30-month prison term in Jakarta for
\nconspiracy in the 2002 Bali bombings. He and other terror
\nconvicts may get their sentences cut further during next month's
\nIdul Fitri.<\/p>\n
Such a regular prison remission program grants jail term cuts
\nto prisoners with good conduct if they have already served at
\nleast six months of their sentence, on Independence Day and
\nreligious holidays.<\/p>\n
Downer said he was \"impressed\" by what the Indonesian
\ngovernment promised to do to revise its remission system, so
\nterrorist convicts may be exempted from its remission program in
\nthe future.<\/p>\n
\"We have been assured that this is a matter which the
\nIndonesian government is now working on. They are working on
\nmaking changes to this remission system.<\/p>\n
\"They explained some of that to us but I am not going to do
\ninto publicly because these are sensitive issues here in
\nIndonesia,\" he said. \"But it remains to be seen what conclusion
\nthey'll will finally reach as a result of the work they are
\ndoing\".<\/p>\n
As Downer left the room, Indonesian journalists loudly
\nprotested, criticizing Downer for refusing to answer their
\nquestions, while complying with their Australian counterparts.<\/p>\n
Downer, who was accompanied by Justice Minister Chris Ellison,
\nalso mentioned the sentence reduction issue during separate
\nmeetings with his Indonesian counterpart Hassan Wirayuda,
\nCoordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs
\nWidodo Adi Sucipto and National Police chief Gen. Sutanto.<\/p>\n
Hassan has confirmed that the Indonesian government was
\nreviewing the 1999 presidential decree on prisoner remissions,
\nparticularly concerning serious crimes such as terrorism, saying
\n\"there is a need to do that\".<\/p>\n
Earlier this week, Vice President Jusuf Kalla, responding to
\nAustralia's request not to reduce Ba'asyir's prison term, said
\nIndonesia rejected any intervention into its internal affairs by
\nother countries.<\/p>\n
Downer also said President Susilo \"was enthusiastically
\nreceptive\" about Australia's offer to send a team of experts to
\nbrief Indonesian officials on new counter terrorism laws being
\nintroduced in Australia.<\/p>\n
He told the President that the new laws had been somewhat
\ncontroversial but nevertheless \"we had to show in our case, in
\nAustralia, a great deal of resolve in fighting terrorism and
\nprotecting our people\".<\/p>\n
\"The point I make is that we are making substantial changes to
\nour counter-terrorism laws, and other countries can note that and
\nbe interested in it or not,\" Downer said.<\/p>\n
Downer arrived in Indonesia on Tuesday evening and attended a
\nceremony on Wednesday to mark the third anniversary of the 2002
\nBali bombings, which killed 202 people, including 88 Australians.<\/p>\n
He flew home later on Thursday.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/downer-asks-sby-not-to-cut-baasyirs-bombers-sentences-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }