Megawati, Downer applaud police<\/p>\n
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Words of appreciation and praise were showered on the joint team
\ninvestigating the Bali bombing after the arrest of Imam Samudra,
\na key suspect in the deadly Bali bombing, but some have cast
\ndoubt on the swift progress the team has made thus far.<\/p>\n
President Megawati Soekarnoputri joined Australian Prime
\nMinister John Howard in paying tribute to the work of the
\ninvestigative team on Friday.<\/p>\n
\"This thorough investigation must proceed in a professional
\nway and without resorting to unlawful means,\" Megawati said as
\nquoted by National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar.<\/p>\n
Da'i was attending a breaking of the fast gathering with
\nCabinet ministers and House of Representatives' leaders hosted by
\nthe President at the state palace on Friday.<\/p>\n
Vice President Hamzah Haz, who once was zealous in his defense
\nof Muslim hard-line groups in the country, expressed the hope
\nthat the arrest of Samudra would uncover once and for all whether
\na terrorist network was present in Indonesia, a network that
\ncould be linked to Jamaah Islamiyah (JI).<\/p>\n
The police on Thursday arrested Samudra at Merak port, Banten
\nprovince, some 90 kilometers west of Jakarta, as he tried to slip
\ninto Sumatra.<\/p>\n
Samudra has long been hunted by both the Indonesian and
\nMalaysian police forces as he, along with a number of Muslim
\nclerics in these countries, including Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, the
\nleader of the Indonesian Mujahiddin Council (MMI), was allegedly
\ninvolved in various bombing outrages.<\/p>\n
Hamzah left the final say to the court on \"whether or not he
\n(Imam) is found guilty.\"<\/p>\n
In Australia, foreign minister Alexander Downer praised the
\nclose cooperation between the Indonesian and Australian police
\nforces since the joint team was set up in October.<\/p>\n
\"We're delighted with the progress that the Indonesian Police
\nhave been making and the cooperation between the Indonesian and
\nthe Australian Police in Indonesia in following up the Bali
\nbombing,\" he said as quoted by Antara.<\/p>\n
Amien Rais, speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly, was
\namong those expressing doubts about the progress of the
\ninvestigation.<\/p>\n
Amien, also the National Mandate Party chairman, questioned
\nhow the police could so easily solve the Bali bombing case
\nwhereas they found it \"difficult to investigate the other bombing
\ncases that rocked the country in recent years.\"<\/p>\n
\"I am 80 percent convinced that Imam Samudra masterminded the
\nBali bombing. But how are the police able to solve this case so
\neasily now while they failed to investigate earlier bombing cases
\nin Poso (Central Sulawesi), Jakarta and Medan (North Sumatra)?\"
\nAmien said as quoted by Antara.<\/p>\n
He further requested that the police be transparent in their
\nprobe into the bombing for the sake of the public's right to
\nknow.<\/p>\n
Sharing Amien's view was Hasyim Muzadi, chairman of the
\ncountry's largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), who
\nsuspected that the police, as well as the country's intelligence
\nagencies, were trying to hide something in the investigation
\nprocess based upon an agenda orchestrated by \"foreign
\nintelligence.\"<\/p>\n
\"Many believe that some explosive materials, such as RDX, can
\nonly be produced in a certain foreign country. If the police can
\nreveal the various local bomb-making materials that were used to
\nblast Kuta, Bali, recently, why should they be hesitant to
\nuncover the story about these imported materials?\" Hasyim asked.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/megawati-downer-applaud-police-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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