Bush shuns RI's request to question Hambali
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
United States President George W. Bush has played down Indonesia's demand to question terrorist suspect Hambali, saying Washington had to secure as much information as possible from the man believed to be behind a series of bombings in Indonesia.
In an exclusive interview with television station SCTV on Wednesday, Bush said that Indonesian-born Hambali was no longer an issue between the two governments.
"I explained to the President (Megawati Soekarnoputri) that we would share information and right now the key is to find out as much as we possibly can. When we get information we will share it," the U.S. President said.
"I wouldn't say no way, but right now we are going to give as much as information as we can to make sure that America is secure and Indonesia is secure," he stressed.
Hambali has been in U.S. custody since he was arrested in Thailand in August for his alleged role as a top operative of al- Qaeda-linked Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), which is on the United Nations list of terrorist groups.
Hambali was on Indonesia's wanted list for his alleged role in a series of bomb attacks since 2000, including the Christmas Eve bombings in 2000, the Bali bombings in 2002 and the J.W. Marriott Hotel bombing in Jakarta early in August this year.
President Megawati has called Bush personally to ask for direct access to Hambali, a native of the West Java town of Cianjur who was born Encep Nurjaman.
While denying Indonesia access to Hambali, Bush said he expected Megawati to continue to cooperate closely with the U.S. to bring terrorist suspects to justice.
"What I want her to do is to continue to closely cooperate with the U.S. and with other countries to bring these people to justice," he remarked.
Indonesia has sentenced three people to death in connection with last year's terror attack in Bali and 23 others to between four years and life.
Bush also hailed the steps Megawati's government had taken in the global war against terrorism, especially in the handling of Oct. 12, 2002 Bali bombings, in which American nationals were among the 202 people killed.
The U.S. President is slated to hold talks with Megawati during his four-hour stop-over in Bali on Oct. 22 on his way to Australia from Singapore.
During his stop over, Bush will hold talks with President Megawati at a not yet determined location near the Ngurah Rai Airport.
Bush also plans to meet noted Indonesian Muslim leaders: Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) chairman Hasyim Muzadi, Muhammadiyah chairman Syafii Maarif, scholar Azyumardi Azra and preacher Abdullah Gymnastiar.
He said in his first trip to Indonesia he would like to explain to Muslim leaders that the U.S. was not as biased as most Indonesians thought, especially in its foreign policy in the Middle East.
On the issues of Aceh and Papua, Bush underlined that separatist problems would be best settled through dialog instead of a military approach.
"Like in Aceh for example it should be solved by peaceful negotiation, also in Papua," Bush said.
The U.S. is among the foreign donors that promised funds needed to finance the post-war rehabilitation in Aceh, which will only be disbursed if peace returns to the natural-resource rich province.