Hamzah allows ulema to be tried

Thu, 24 Oct 2002, 00:00 WIB | Source: JP

Tiarma Siboro
and A'an Suryana
The Jakarta post
Kuta, Bali

As police are scouring the country for three possible suspects
in the deadly Bali bombing, Vice President Hamzah Haz said here
on Wednesday that any party, including Muslim clerics, should be
brought to court if evidence indicated their involvement in the
terror attack.

When visiting the bombing site here on Wednesday, Hamzah
pleaded for all parties to refrain from attaching the blame to
certain groups, including hardline Muslim groups, until
investigations revealed the perpetrators.

"Please, don't hold misperceptions about these radical groups
because we must see how the investigation progresses. ... Whoever
is responsible for the attack must be tried, even if they are
ulema," Hamzah said.

Hamzah Haz, who previously denied the presence of terrorists
in the country, called on the security forces to take stern
actions against terrorists now operating in the country,
regardless of their religious background.

"We now believe that terrorist groups have been operating here
and we are conducting an investigation into it," Hamzah told
reporters after inspecting the bomb site for 20 minutes.

At least 190 people, mostly foreigners, were killed and more
than 300 others injured by the powerful bomb blasts.

"The terrorist attack here was aimed at isolating Indonesia
from the international community and destroying the country's
economy," Hamzah said further.

Accompanying Hamzah were Coordinating Minister for Political
and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Minister of Health
Achmad Sujudi and the National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar.

Hamzah has in the past defended hardline group leaders,
including cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, named by Singapore, Malaysia
and the U.S. as the leader of Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) which the
U.S. labels as a terrorist group.

The police are still waiting to question Ba'asyir, currently
receiving treatment at a hospital in Surakarta, Central Java.

Gen. Da'i said earlier that police investigators were looking
into a possible connection between the Bali bombing and JI,
noting that the bombs had similarities to previous attacks by an
alleged JI leader Riduan Isamudin alias Hambali.

However, investigators have not linked Ba'asyir nor JI with
the Bali blasts.

The Indonesian investigation team leader Insp. Gen. I Made
Mangku Pastika said that the police were searching for three men
-- all Indonesians -- for their possible role in the Bali
bombing. Sketches of each have been produced, but they would not
be made available to the public yet.

"The team has concluded that there might be suspects after
interviewing dozens of witnesses, who observed three people
acting suspiciously at the blasts sites," Pastika told reporters
at the Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar.

Meanwhile, National Police deputy spokesman Brig. Gen. Edward
Aritonang said the joint investigative team, including foreign
investigators, had cooperated with Interpol to locate the three.

He also said that the joint investigative team had completed
forensic examinations of the dead victims.

The number of identified victims has now reached 56.

The joint investigative team will consult with the Bali
administration, families of the deceased and their respective
embassies over the fate of the remaining bodies that have not yet
been identified or could not be identified.

"It depends on them whether the deceased would be buried or
cremated," said Aritonang.

Editorial -- Page 6