Indonesia negotiates access to Hambali: U.S. envoy Black
Indonesia negotiates access to Hambali: U.S. envoy Black
Associated Press, Jakarta
U.S. law enforcement personnel are in Jakarta to discuss a
request by Indonesia for access to Hambali, a leading terror
suspect who is in American custody, the U.S. State Department's
top antiterror official said.
Cofer Black, U.S. ambassador at large for counterterrorism,
said U.S. law enforcement personnel who traveled to Indonesia
last week with U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft had remained
in the country to address the Indonesian request.
"The access issue is important to the Indonesians. General
Ashcroft assured (Indonesian President Megawati Soekarnoputri),
assured the Indonesian officials the United States wanted to work
with the Indonesian government," he told The Associated Press.
"Attorney General Ashcroft came with a number of legal
personnel and law enforcement personnel and they have remained
here. We have put them in contact with the appropriate officials
on the Indonesian side to work this matter through. We are moving
ahead."
Police officers were not available on Sunday to confirm
Black's statement.
Indonesia has been seeking to interrogate Hambali, an
Indonesian whose real name is Riduan Isamuddin, hoping his
testimony could help it apprehend and convict other suspects.
Hambali, the alleged former operations chief of the al-Qaeda-
linked terrorist group Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), was arrested in
Thailand last August and is being held by the United States.
Police investigators have accused JI of carrying out a series
of terrorist attacks in the country, including the deadly Bali
bombings on Oct. 12, 2002 and the JW Marriott Hotel bombing on
Aug. 5, 2003. Over 200 people were killed in the two incidents.
During his visit to Bali for a regional antiterror conference,
Ashcroft urged Asia-Pacific nations to bolster their cooperation
in the antiterror fight but said he was "not able to give a
specific timeframe" for granting Indonesia's request to see
Hambali.
U.S. officials have said privately that it would be premature
to allow others access to Hambali because he was still being
questioned for information that could help prevent more attacks
or lead to more arrests.