Megawati calls Bush over Hambali
Megawati calls Bush over Hambali
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, and Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post,
Jakarta
President Megawati Soekarnoputri has personally called up U.S
President George W. Bush to ask for access to interrogate
Indonesian-born terrorist suspect Riduan Isamuddin alias Hambali
and to hand him over to Indonesia.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda said on Sunday
that Megawati talked with Bush over the phone on Saturday night,
in which Megawati stressed that Indonesia needed a lot of
information from Hambali over his alleged involvement in a series
of terrorist attacks in the country.
"The President called President Bush on Saturday night,
underlining that we need to have access to question Hambali and
eventually to get him back to Indonesia for trial," Minister
Hassan said.
"I do not know what President Bush said, but I believe he gave
a very positive response to the request," the minister said.
On a separate occasion on Monday, Hassan said Indonesia needed
information from Hambali to strengthen the case against Muslim
cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, whom police believe to be the
spiritual leader of regional terrorist group Jamaah Islamiyah
(JI), who is currently on trial for plotting to overthrow the
government.
State prosecutors have demanded a 15-year prison term for
Ba'asyir, who was reelected as chairman of the Indonesian
Mujahiddin Council (MMI) recently.
Police investigators had declared Hambali a suspect in a
string of Church bombings on Christmas Eve in 2000, in the Bali
bombings on Oct. 12, 2002, and the JW Marriott Hotel attack on
Aug. 5, 2003.
Over 30 suspects have been arrested in the Bali bombings,
which killed 202 people and injured some 350 others, with one of
the key defendants, Amrozi bin Nurhasyim, sentenced to death
early this month. He appealed the sentence.
Twelve people were killed and 147 others injured in the
Marriott attack. Police are scheduled to reveal on Tuesday the
names of the 11 principle suspects arrested so far.
Indonesia hopes that Hambali would reveal the extent of the
links between JI and the international terrorist network al-
Qaeda, and help investigators "fully uncover what is behind the
Bali bombings and other past bombings in Indonesia and the
possibility of future bombings," Hassan said.
With such a strong case, it is still possible to claim Hambali
from U.S. custody despite the fact that Indonesia has no
extradition treaty with the U.S, he said.
"We engage in mutual legal cooperation with the U.S. that
opens up the possibility of the U.S. releasing Hambali to
Indonesian custody, as a number of his crimes occurred in
Indonesia and he is an Indonesian," he said.
He cited as an example, Oki, who was indicted for murder
several years ago and was also sent back by U.S. authorities
under a similar type of understanding.
Hassan also stressed that Hambali's case was different from
that of Omar Al Faruq's, who was arrested by Indonesia but handed
over to the U.S.
"Al Faruq is not Indonesian and the government has no clue
about Al Faruq's involvement in terror attacks here," Hassan
said.
Hambali, who was born Encep Nurjaman in Sukamanah, Cianjur,
West Java, was arrested in Thailand earlier this week, in a joint
operation by Thai intelligence and the U.S. Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Hambali, who is believed to be the main operative of the JI
terrorist network, had not been implicated in the Sept. 11
attacks in New York and Washington.
Thai authorities, according to Hassan, had informed Indonesia
about the arrest of Hambali before it was announced to the public
and decided to hand him over the United States.
Hassan also claimed that the government was making headway in
the war against terrorism following the recent arrest of Hambali
and other JI members.
"We are on the winning side, but we must continue fostering
international cooperation against terrorism and strengthen our
own country's security," he said.