'Fight against terrorism goes on'<\/p>\n
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post,
\nNew York\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
President Megawati Soekarnoputri has insisted that despite
\nincreasing protests, her government will continue to take
\npreemptive measures against terrorism in Indonesia and to keep
\nhard-line groups under surveillance in an effort to prevent
\nfurther terror attacks in the future.<\/p>\n
Speaking in front of the Indonesian community here on Monday
\nevening local time, the President said that the country has been
\nconsistently fighting against terrorism -- a task made especially
\nnecessary by the string of terrorist attacks that had occurred
\ninside the country.<\/p>\n
\"We will continue taking the necessary measures against
\nterrorist suspects according to the law, and to monitor
\nparticular hard-line groups that may be planning to launch terror
\nattacks,\" said Megawati, who was applauded by the dozens of
\nIndonesians in attendance.<\/p>\n
The President, who is accompanied by 70 government officials
\nand legislators, is here to deliver a speech on terrorism and
\nmultilateralism to the 58th session of the UN General Assembly.<\/p>\n
Megawati also defended the recent arrests by police of 18
\npeople suspected of having links to the recent terrorist attacks
\nor those who were allegedly involved or convicted of involvement
\nin the attacks.<\/p>\n
She told her audience that Indonesia has enacted a strict
\nantiterror law and other regulations to deal with terrorism at
\nhome, and transnational crimes involving other countries.<\/p>\n
\"We have transparently announced how many people have been
\ndetained under the new law,\" she said, adding that the police had
\narrested 18 people alleged to be linked to the Aug. 5 JW Marriott
\nHotel bombing in Jakarta and other bombs in the past.<\/p>\n
The key suspects in Oct. 12, 2002 Bali blasts have been
\nsentenced to death while an accomplice was given a life sentence
\nand many others were punished with terms of between four and 16
\nyears imprisonment<\/p>\n
The police have insisted they are hunting down a number of
\npeople, including the main suspects who were still at large, for
\ntheir roles in the terrorist attacks.<\/p>\n
A number of Muslim organizations have protested the recent
\narrests of 18 terrorist suspects and called for their release as
\nthe claim the arrests were not conducted in line with due
\nprocess.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of Muslims grouped in the Muslim Solidarity Alliance
\n(ASOUM) staged a protest at police headquarters and the
\nprovincial legislative council in the East Java city of Surabaya,
\ndemanding that the police release the detainees.<\/p>\n
The protesters claimed the police had abducted the suspects
\nand said this would jeopardize the Muslim people's future in
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
The police in Semarang announced on Tuesday that they had
\nreleased two of three suspects arrested in Karanganyar due to
\nlack of evidence. With the releases, the police are still
\ndetaining 16 suspects, who are still undergoing intensive
\ninterrogation.<\/p>\n
A number of wives of the detained suspects submitted protests
\nwith the Crescent Star Party (PBB) faction in the House of
\nRepresentatives, and called on the police to release all the
\nsuspects.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the President guaranteed the safety of investors in
\nIndonesia during a dialog with the America Business Society.<\/p>\n
\"We are continuing to tracking down the perpetrators,
\ndismantle their cells and bring them to the court in accordance
\nwith our law,\" she said.<\/p>\n
The President said that this kind of crime should not be
\nrelated to a particular religion or race as \"Terror may happen
\nanytime, anywhere and may be committed by anyone.\"<\/p>\n
Asked to comment on Vice President Hamzah Haz's close ties
\nwith certain hard-liners, and a recent statement in which he
\ncalled the United States \"the king of terrorists\", the President
\nsaid: \"What the Vice President has said is really his personal
\nopinion, while the government remains consistent in the fight
\nagainst terrorism.\"<\/p>\n
National Police Chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said at a hearing
\nwith the House of Representatives Commission II on security and
\nhome affairs on Tuesday that the police have released four of the
\n17 detainees -- not 18, as reported recently.<\/p>\n
But he declined to provide details about the four who were
\nreleased.<\/p>\n
Da'i defended the arrests, saying the detainees were hiding
\ninformation, harboring Bali bombing suspects or planning other
\nterror attacks.<\/p>\n
Asked about the manner in which the arrests were carried out,
\nDa'i said the controversy stemmed from a misunderstanding of the
\n2003 Antiterrorism Law and the Criminal Law Procedures Code
\n(KUHAP), which allows the police only one day to interrogate a
\ndetainee.<\/p>\n
The Antiterrorism Law allows the police seven days to arrest
\nsomeone allegedly involved in terror acts.<\/p>\n
Da'i said warrants would be issued before an arrest in future
\nto avoid a similar controversy.<\/p>",
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