Hambali's younger brother admits assisting him

Hambali's younger brother admits assisting him

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Rusman Gunawan, alias Gun Gun, one of five arrested Indonesian
students in Pakistan, has admitted that he aided his elder
brother, top terrorist suspect Riduan Isamuddin, alias Hambali,
but denied the involvement of other detained students.

"They are not guilty. I am the one guilty of helping Hambali
by sending him $50,000 and compact discs a few months ago," Gun
Gun was quoted as saying by Indonesian consulate official Temu
Alam, Antara reported on Thursday.

Gun Gun, Muhammad Saifuddin, Ilham Sopandi, Furquon Abdullah,
Muhammad Anwar Asshidique and David Pintarto -- all students of
Abubakar Islamic University -- were arrested by Pakistani
authorities for their alleged link with the terrorist network
Jamaah Islamiyah (JI). JI has been blamed for a series of bomb
attacks in Indonesia, including the Bali bombing in October 2002
and the attack on the JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta on Aug. 5,
2003.

One of the students, Saifuddin, was released on Thursday.

Gun Gun had earlier denied being connected to any terrorist
group, insisting that he was only guilty of failing to renew his
student visa.

Temu said Gun Gun claimed he did not feel he was directly
involved with Hambali's terror activities, but regretted helping
his elder brother.

Gun Gun had sent several compact discs to Indonesian Abdul
Rohim, the younger brother of Abu Bakar Ba'asyir. Thought to be
the spiritual leader of JI, Ba'asyir was sentenced to four years
in jail by an Indonesian court for immigration violation and
sedition, but his connection to the terror group was not proven.

Temu said similar discs were confiscated from another
Indonesian student, Anwar.

Saifuddin admitted to keeping the discs, but denied knowing
their contents, saying he did not have any computer, Temu added.

The Pakistani Home Affairs Ministry gave Temu permission to
meet with Gun.

Separately, Agence France-Presse reported on Thursday in
Karachi, Pakistan, that Gun Gun was proving hard to crack in
interrogations since his arrest here three weeks ago.

"Rusman Gunawan (Gun Gun) is hard to break. He's come out much
tougher than his baby-faced appearance," an intelligence official
involved in the arrest told AFP.

"It took two days before he started speaking, but even then
there were a lot of contradictions in his statements."

Although Gun Gun continued to deny any links to JI, he spoke
with admiration for the group when asked about it, the official
said.

"He smiled when asked about jihad," he said.

Another Pakistani intelligence official said, "I don't think
any of them will be prosecuted here, but what we are trying to
find out about is their terrorist plans. These are sensitive
matters."

Indonesia will send on Saturday a joint team consisting of
officers from the National Police, the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) to Pakistan to
meet with the detained students.

Foreign ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa said the
delegation would ask Pakistani authorities to indict the students
immediately.

Meanwhile, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf told Antara on
Wednesday (Thursday, Jakarta time) at the UN's New York
Headquarters that the U.S. would not object if Pakistan handed
over Gun Gun to Indonesia.

Musharraf said Pakistan's attitude was based on its good
relations with Indonesia.

Separately, an Indonesian official said the U.S.' security
authorities had promised to give eventual access to Indonesian
investigators to question Hambali, who is in U.S. custody.

Lt. Gen. Susi Silalahi, assistant to Minister for Political
and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, said the pledge
was made after the minister's meeting with several U.S.
government officials.

Susilo met with Secretary of State Colin Powell and deputy
defense minister Paul Wolfowitz, as well as several congressmen.

"Now we just have to wait for the U.S. officials to set a
date," Sudi said.