U.S. advised to give RI access to Hambali<\/p>\n
Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The U.S. government has been asked to give Indonesia much-needed
\naccess to alleged terrorist Hambali, in order to diminish the
\nskepticism prevailing among the Muslim community here concerning
\nthe existence of the Jamaah Islamiyah (JI).<\/p>\n
\"If the U.S. government keeps denying Indonesia access to
\ninterrogate Hambali, the Muslim community here will doubt whether
\nterrorism is a real threat or just a fabrication against Islam,\"
\nMuslim scholar Muslim Abdurrahman told a discussion hosted by the
\nInternational Center for Islamic and Pluralism on Friday.<\/p>\n
Another observer, Sidney Jones, agreed with Abdurrahman,
\nsaying access to Hambali would help subdue the growing suspicion
\nof U.S. purposes in its war against terrorism.<\/p>\n
\"I don't understand why they are doing that, I think it's a
\nvery shortsighted thing to do,\" Jones told reporters. \"It doesn't
\nmake sense. I wonder whether they want to do the interrogation by
\nthemselves or Hambali is in a so very poor condition that they
\ndon't want anybody to see him.\"<\/p>\n
Jones has conducted a series of studies on JI and terrorism in
\nthe country.<\/p>\n
In mid-August, Hambali, the alleged top Southeast Asia
\noperative of the JI, was arrested by Thai and U.S. security
\nofficers in the city of Ayutthaya, north of Bangkok. He is
\ncurrently in U.S. custody at an undisclosed place. Quoting a
\nsource, Time magazine reported that Hambali was being held on
\nDiego Garcia, an island in the Indian Ocean.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian government has repeatedly asked for direct
\naccess to Hambali, a native of the West Java town of Cianjur.
\nU.S. President George W. Bush recently maintained that his
\nadministration would keep Hambali in its custody but would share
\nall information on the terrorist suspect with Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Bush is scheduled to visit Indonesia on Oct. 22 and will hold
\ntalks with President Megawati Soekarnoputri.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman urged the U.S. do whatever it could to defuse
\nskepticism among Indonesian Muslims in its antiterrorism drive.<\/p>\n
\"They manage to convince our people and the fight against
\nterrorism will grow stronger, and outsiders will also see that
\nMuslims in Indonesia are not synonymous with terrorists,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He said skepticism of the U.S. antiterrorism move prevailed
\namong Indonesian Muslims because they saw that Washington adopted
\na double standard in dealing with the Muslim world. He was
\nreferring to the U.S. failure to take strict measures against
\nIsrael in the Palestine issue.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/us-advised-to-give-ri-access-to-hambali-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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